Gay Christians, how will you raise your kids?

I would definitely raise my kids to be Christian. They can choose later if they want to stay that way. Sexuality has little to do with what I choose to believe in spiritually as sexuality is not the main aspect of religion but just part of it.

 

I'm not Christian but I am Muslim and I would definitely raise my kids to be Muslims. Despite there being verses condemning homosexuality, there are different views on homosexuality so my kids will decide what they want to follow later in life.

 

I myself am an atheist but... if they decide that they believe in god or something then I'll be fine with that too. I'd even be willing to take them to church, but I'll probably never change my own beliefs.

 

Even if I were Christian, I would raise my children in a religion-free home. I really think that it's wrong to raise your child in a religious home, no matter what religion because their minds are so easily shapeable (if that's even a word), and children are so easily brainwashed. I think that religion shouldn't be taught to children so that when they are old enough to form their own opinions, and that comes from the experience I had of rejecting Christianity coming from a Christian home. The result of that was being forced to go to church every Sunday. My mom is still holding out hope that I'll reconvert to Christianity, and that won't happen.

On that note, I do have something to say about that. I'm not exactly an "atheist," as the existence of God is something that just can't be proven or disproven 100%. Yes, I'm conceding that there may be a god. That being said, I'm better described as an Apatheist, or someone who just doesn't care if there is a god or not. If he's there, I don't talk to him and he doesn't talk to me.

 

I completely agree with you! To me I see raising children as religious is just indoctrination into something they have no control over and it's the only thing they're fed and they just fall into the trap. To me I view it as an abuse, just my opinion though.

 

One pastor who tried to convert me (to no avail) when I mentioned this subject said that Sodom and Gomorrah really didn't have anything to do with homosexuality, and that was a victim of being changed in translation from language to language.

Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because God was sick of their treatment to outsiders who came into the cities. They would gang rape men who had wandered inside, because in those days, anal intercourse was the ultimate form of humiliation.

 

I would tell my kids the "other viewpoints" on those verses- I have read some things saying that Leviticus is talking about prostitution and what not.... I would also show them other verses in the bible which are "wrong" (such as stoning adulterers). Mostly, I will try not to bring the verses up, and since I will most likely go to a LGBQTA friendly church, they will not be mentioned in the service. By the time they hear the verses (and are older), hopefully they will love my partner and myself enough to believe that there is nothing wrong with being gay!

 

I wouldn't raise my children in a "religious" so to speak house hold. Being a preacher's kid, i hated going to church. I would, however, raise my child in a way that establishes good morals and harmony. I would explain to them about the different religions, how people fasted when they worshiped, how they excepted one another, and that the world is full of positive and negative energy. I would explain that there is a man named Jesus, who people believed was the Messiah and his life story. I would tell them about Muhammad and the Koran. I'd explain the ancestor-worship, Budda, and even Hindu to my child. That way, they can see the amazing religions and know that, they don't have to choose one. All of them rely on good principles. You become the best you can and give off positive energy to those around you.

 

OP, I am a Catholic and I have 2 kids who have been raised Catholic as well. One is in high school and knows I'm gay; the other is in middle school and does not yet. (I'm still in the process of coming out.) Neither one has been raised to believe that gays are anything but normal, and both are very accepting.

I think that the people who want to condemn gays work very hard to find Bible verses that they can use to prove their point (and there really aren't many), and people who really hate religion in general use those people to prove that ALL religion is a bad thing. If you use the Bible--particularly the Old Testament--as your book of law for life, you will be stoning people to death and doing all sorts of other things that are not exactly socially acceptable. If you look at the New Testament and what Jesus had to say as your general guidelines for life, you're going to be a very kind, tolerant, loving, caring person. You can stress that peoples' attitudes change over time, and the attitudes towards homosexuality in the Bible are a good example of that.

You're not required to buy into everything that your religion teaches. I know plenty of Catholic women on birth control pills, for instance, even though the party line is that they are not acceptable. It's perfectly acceptable to raise your kids as Catholic and make it clear to them that you don't agree with the Church's position on gays, and you're not required to.

I have no idea if my kids will stay Catholic once they are grown up. If they decide to become something else, or nothing at all, that's their business as adults. But you won't change the people inside the church by standing outside and criticizing. If your faith means something to you, be involved and active and show people that being gay and being faithful are not mutually exclusive.

 

I don't know how I want to raise my children, on one hand I want to share my beliefs with them but on the other I want them to come to their own conclusions. I know for sure I want them to celebrate holidays like Christmas and such, but I think I won't involve them with church since it doesn't sit well with me.

Also it depends on my partner and the conclusions we come to on what we want for our potential children. I do know that whatever my child decides to believe or not believe that I want them to respect everyone's belief/ideas and not be like people these days who are "Us Vs. Them".

 

I've never understood why Catholics hate the pill. It thickens the lining of mucus in front of the cervix and hormonally prevents an egg from being released, so if conception never takes place, what's the big deal?

 

Good job! I hate it when people are so dogmatically accepting of traditional interpretation, especially when there's substantial evidence to the contrary. All those little biblical inaccuracies I hear at a church service, how unwilling they are to think deeply upon something they believe deeply upon; a few of the reasons I've established an incredible distaste for the established church.

 

I would raise them as Christain or Catholic. Christains literally mean people of Christ so I would raise them to live out their lives like Christ. And Christ was accepting of all people so I can't see me raising my kids to discriminate against a certain type of people just because of who they are. Emphasizing treating people who they are instead of what they are will be one of the key things to bring them up on. On the bible verses against homosexuality, there are really none that speak against it. If they take the bible at face value, yes they will believe that but there is so much more to the bible than what it says.

 

I find it unfair to raise your kids in a religious home. You should introduce your kids to the religion and leave it up to them if they want to follow it or not.

 

I know many Catholics that use birth control. My reasoning is that death is defined by the absence of a heartbeat and brain activity. That means the presence of a heart beat and brain activity means life is present. That could be their reasoning as well.

 

Just an FYI for a lot of people in here, teaching your kid a religion that teaches them to hate themselves makes them go through a metaphorical hell to learn to drop it. Might as well be mental/emotional child abuse.

 

I was raised Irish Catholic and was never told homosexuality was wrong. I didn't even hear the word "gay" until 5th grade. I want to do what my parents did: make my children attend church and participate up to the fourth sacrament (Confirmation) and then let them decide what they believe in. I still consider myself Catholic, but my siblings are atheists.

 

No religion teaches one to hate themself. If you think that then, go over that religion's teachings