It has become common for some persons to sum up their their attitude toward gay and lesbian persons by saying, "hate the sin, love the sinner." What they believe is that it is love to want other persons to become what they approve. That is not love "Abominable grace," is amazing grace - true grace, and as amazing as any other grace that God bestows. It is an abominable grace to persons who deny it, resent it, and resist it, as the elder brother resented the grace given the prodigal son. This book is about those GLBT persons who know, or may come to know, this grace. It is written for them, about them and to a large extent by them because it contains much of their voice, their story, and their experience. One of the voices heard in these pages is that of David Dean Bottrell, a successful actor and screenwriter. "I remember having this epiphany. I was living in New York City, and I was walking down Columbus Avenue, sort of mindlessly window-shopping. I wasn't thinking any particularly deep thoughts, when suddenly, out of nowhere, I had this realization that everything good about my life had sprung from the fact that I was gay. Everything had its root in that. Because I was gay, I had been forced to think differently than the people around me. I had been forced to get an education so I could leave this small town my family lived in. Because I was gay, I had become good at being a chameleon and fitting in places, so as a result I had become a very intuitive and creative person. Being gay had forced me to learn and grow in order to survive. It had given me courage, passion, commitment, resolve, a sense of justice, my sense of humor, my compassion for others - particularly the 'different' people of the world. Basically everything that brought me joy or pride was the result of my having been born a gay man... and in that moment, I felt so completely grateful to be gay. What a wonderful thing this had turned out to be. It was the beginning of my feeling genuinely good about myself. I felt so strong. I had found this image of myself that no one could scratch or mar. It didn't matter now how many scriptures were quoted at me. If fifteen teenage boys had driven by at that moment and screamed 'faggot ' out their car window, it wouldn't have touched me. I had found this core truth - this way of loving myself, and no one could ever take that away from me again." "Abominable Grace" is written for those who love gay and lesbian persons; parents, siblings, grandparents, and friends; and it is written for those who want to love them but are unable to accept what they do not understand and cannot accept. In a society that is changing, and many may feel is changing rapidly - though the change has in fact been long in coming - there is reason to receive it with joy rather than reluctance or regret. The author's hope here is that this book may help some in knowing that joy.