It is a sad but true fact that intolerant religious beliefs are the genesis of most of the hatred and discrimination against gay and lesbians. Unfortunately, intolerance is a difficult obstacle to overcome because it is so basic to man's nature. Rather than go into a detailed history of religion's relationship with homosexuality- let me do this in a question and answer format that will make it easier for you to get something useful from here: 1) Why is Christianity so anti-gay? Christianity evolved out of the Jewish religion. Jesus himself was Jewish, all the Apostles were Jewish- Christianity adopted the Jewish bible (the Old Testament) even though Jesus is believed by Christian's to be the fulfillment of the Jewish law and the New Testament is a better reflection of the things he emphasized- love, forgiveness, and brotherhood . There are just enough verses in the Old Testament that are anti-gay to have moved Paul, who wrote 13 of the 27 books in the New Testament, to feel that being gay was inconsistent with being a Christian. Although Jesus taught tolerance and love and never even specifically mentioned homosexuality, the Christian Church hasn't done a great job of following his lead and has accepted Paul's view as being correct. 2) Is there abundant evidence that homosexuality is wrong? Jesus taught a doctrine that asks us to be creatively caring towards others. That doesn't mean we have to give up our own goals and dreams and spend all our spare time in the service of others. But it does mean we have to respect the rights of others, to avoid being intentionally or carelessly hurtful- it prevents us from taking advantage of others, from being mean spirited or from being vicious with other people. So being gay isn't ever really an issue according to the teachings of Christ. Cheating on your partner is wrong- not because you're gay but because you're cheating on your partner. 3) Does Christianity allow for someone to be gay? Certain denominations within Christianity evolved more from the doctrines of Paul than from the doctrines of Jesus and thus see homosexuality as sin. These denominations usually place a great deal of emphasis on the bible as being "God's Word" and less on Jesus as being "God's Word." In John 1:1 It says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." In John 1-14, it clarifies that by adding, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." The bible has many teachings that emphasize that Love is the central way we follow Christ. To accept the few verses that Paul wrote that seem to point a finger at homosexuality requires one to reject the teachings that would seem to make it irrelevant. If we're forgiven in accordance with how we forgive others as Jesus taught- being gay is far less of a problem to one's spiritual walk than being judgmental. 4) Why do so many Christians hate homosexuals? They are never Christians who place an emphasis on Christian love. Believing in justice to too great an extent can make a person unbalanced. If you somehow feel you have the right to beat someone up or even to discriminate against them- you're obviously not walking in the things that Christ taught. Many Christians honestly believe homosexuality is immoral. My advice is to accept that as their right. Be open to dialog with them. Challenge them at every opportunity. But remember that disagreeing doesn't mean to hate. Unless they have an attitude of hatefulness it's not a terrible thing- merely a point of ignorance that has terrible consequences for gay rights. So try and change their perspective but don't mistake them for those who are hateful.
What about the whole "No sex for purposes other than producing" thing. I mean even masturbation gets Christians in a knot. Oral sex too! I left, i got sick of their bickering. Adopted something more, agreeable.
great post! i think this is a true way to look at christianity's relationship with homosexuality. personally, i have been brought up christian, but i do not (obviously) believe gayness is against god or anything. paul was a :***: sometimes... only one thing... i totally agree with the underlying sentiment of your sentence "Unfortunately, intolerance is a difficult obstacle to overcome because it is so basic to man's nature." however - as a feminist, i wonder whether you need to say man? in modern english "man" clearly means a male human, excluding women. maybe you would consider putting human instead next time. thanks
i believe god forgives murderers so why shouldn't he forgive gay people. When we go up there when we die i think god will want to know more like what good we have done instead of what sexuality we were.
Personally Im christian and I was raised by old fashioned Christian people but as Ive learned things that were good for them arnt necessarially going to be good for me. Times change. Now I believe as long as your a good person, you care for others, and your faithful and helpful towards others you'll be just fine. Im also getting baptised next summer hopefully.
alright so as I do what I do tonight Ive have gone through my bible something I dont usually do and Ive find three scriptures that are often used by Extremeists against homosexuals. The three main ones are Leviticus 18:22, Judges 19:22, and Romans 1:18-32 and everyone I read is talking about lust, rape, and adultery and how they will be punished. But how is it when two people LOVE each other not lust....LOVE for each other how can they hate Im just so confused and angry sometimes about it. As christians were taught to love and accept...unconditional love...I just I dont understand.
Leviticus is a book of mostly outdated laws and the passage from Judges is more of an incident report than a plea against homosexuality. The section from Romans, is not so much about homosexuality either. It's warning people about being sinful and turning their backs on God. In the context it is being used, it's more a reflection of the attitudes of the time. In the bible you never hear any prophet, angel, or any kind of divine being call it wrong. You only hear that it's wrong according to Jewish law, which is not necessarily given directly by God.
I used to be a huge church goer but after hearing enough times that I was going to hell I stopped. I believe there is a god but as far as christianity goes I'm not sure what I believe aside from there being a god of course.
Some people twist what's in the bible to fit with their own beliefs and they use it as justification to do rotten things. It's not right, but they have the right to believe whatever they want and the rest of us just have to live with it. I think of it this way. If you assume god is real and he really did talk to the ancient Jews, then there's about a 50% chance that god himself banned homosexual acts and a 50% chance that the laws were made by some intolerant jewish leader. Since we can't know for sure what the truth of the matter is we can never be sure which side is right. The only thing you can do is follow your heart and your beliefs and hope it turns out to be right.
I dont know I just get so angry sometimes about the whole deal. Its like I wonder is it possible for me too be a good christian woman and to be gay too? -sigh-
