Christian and gay?

I'm with you on this one. I hear it all the time it's the one of the biggest reasons I haven't told anyone about my attraction to both sexes yet. The bible doesn't say gay people cant be christians but it does say God look down upon the act of being gay but its doesn't mean that God doesn't love you because he does love us no matter what. Just because we are sinning for being this way doesn't mean were not allowed into heaven because and straight person sins too so yes you can be gay and be a christian.

 

FWIW, the Christian Bible never says that merely being gay is a sin.

 

Hey there -

You are definitely not alone. The whole tradition of Christians being against homosexuality is just that - a tradition. Not many people look deeply into the issue for themselves, especially straight people. They just parrot off what they have heard. Add to that the social stigma that still exists about homosexuality, and they have even more reason to think it's wrong.

I went through a long process of trying to find peace with myself. I'm a gay christian and I thought I'd never be able to do anything, have any relationships, nothing. But I'm finally coming around to the fact that it's actually....OK. I definitely encourage you to do some research on the issue. Check out gaychristian.net, or soulforce.org, and check out A Letter To Louise. God Made Me Gay

I also love John Shore's writings on the topic: John Shore - Trying God's patience since 1958

You do not have to choose one or the other.

 

As a young teenager, I was consistently told by my church that being gay was wrong, that it was a sin, and that it was a choice. Turns out, my church was horribly, stupidly wrong on all of those counts. When the Bible is read correctly (that is to say, from the closest to the original documents we have and using historical context as a guide) homosexuality is no more a sin than heterosexuality is. Adultery, lust, etc. are all still sins, but the fact that one yearns for a same-sex partner is not sinful, nor is marrying that partner or consummating the marriage with that partner.

I'm not a Christian anymore, but during the two months between my self-acceptance and my loss of faith I definitely did my research. It's definitely possible to be gay and Christian (or gay and any faith, pretty much) and those who say otherwise are either unaccepting Christians or gay individuals who still remember the scars the Christian church has left on the LGBT community.

 

My church told me it was wrong, and when they found out I was bisexual.

I then went to another accepting church. The difference was amazing!! God does not discriminate, he loves everybody. It's just people that are that way.

 

Welcome to EC, Closeted (*hug*)

I agree completely with this and other posts stating that the Bible doesn't teach that we're less than straight people. Read up on Jonathan and David and the Centurion and his "servant." My all time favorite on this subject is Mel White, and Gene Robinson is pretty great too. Mel, however, has a great video at Soulforce, and there's other great info as linked above. Here is the video I always point people to in our situation. How Can I Be Sure That God Loves Me, Too? A Sermon by Rev. Dr. Mel White.

I hope you keep coming here and asking questions and that you'll find peace with your faith and sexuality. (*hug*)

 

God loves everybody, your correct, but that includes rapists and murders as well. you have to actually ask for forgiveness to get into heaven. but i think that gay related topics in the bible are mistranlated by us. im sorry to be a downer by thats how it is ...

 

i have been trying to work this out myself
i consider myself a Christian and also consider my self to not be straight
i have spent alot of time looking for information about been Christian and Gay (or in my case not straight) and something that i found quite useful was some youtube videos made by the founder of a site for guy Christians. he was talking about how we can be gay and Christian.
i strongly believe we can be both!!!

 

Of course you can be both gay and christian!

Actually, we have a pretty decent amount of members here who are VERY religious and VERY much gay as well.

You have gotten some awesome links so far so I'll just add a couple of documentaries that you might want to check out.

For the Bible Tells Me So. Great documentary which interviews 4 christian families and follows their progress as they learn to accept their LGBT kids. Its really well done and it also tackles some of the most common passages that are misinterpreted by the church. Its both on youtube and on netflix. (I will link a trailer once I can get on youtube xD)

Through My Eyes. Its a documentary done by the Gay-Christian Network and its a short documentary that only concentrates on interviewing young gay christians and their experiences. Doesn't touch on scripture, but its very worth it to be able to see people dealing with the same stuff you are.


There are also PLENTY of churches that are "gay-friendly" so if you ever want to check those out you can certainly do so.

Either way, don't let anyone tell you have to choose between the two, because you certainly do not have to

 

Homosexuality Is NOT A Sin: What Christ Said And More | Forum | Gaia Online

This site helped me a lot.

 

i'm gay, and I'm christian. some people interpret the bible differently than others, but I believe God loves us no matter what.

 

The hostility I perceived from my church toward gay men and women was one of the reasons I abandoned my faith several years ago. As a child of the 1990s, I grew up in the shadow of the culture wars. My church was very socially conservative and outspoken about it. Some members organized rallies supporting the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). At the time, I was too young to understand what everyone was so worked up about. But as I entered puberty and realized that I was one of "them", I felt torn between my faith and my sexuality. During high school I was in denial, thinking my attraction to guys was a phase that would pass. When it didn't, I felt I had to make a choice. Either the church or my inborn nature; I saw it as a stark, either/or choice. As my sexual repression got worse, I grew angry and bitter toward Christianity. I thought to myself, 'why stick around a community that thinks you're flawed, perverted, a mistake, and condemned?'. I quit attending church and convinced myself God was an man-made concept.

Recently though, I've begun to see things differently after I approached the Bible with new eyes. I wouldn't label myself a Christian at this point, but I'm more open to it now than I've been for years. I did some reading on the subject, and after plenty of thinking and reflection, I now find no conflict with being both gay and a Christian. In my view there is nothing in Scripture that indicates a loving, consensual relationship between two people of the same sex to be sinful or immoral.

Stories like Sodom & Gomorrah, the Holiness Code in Leviticus, and Paul's apparent warnings against homosexual activity have all been the victims of mistranslations and cultural prejudices. Under closer scrutiny, it's clear that those infamous 'clobber passages' are in reality concerned with things like gang rape, child temple prostitution, and a perceived threat to the ancient patriarchal sexual structure. In each of these cases, the relationship in question is inherently unequal and exploitive...completely different from how we approach healthy relationships, both gay and straight, today. However, bloviating televangelists and leaders of the modern Religious Right (Falwell, Robertson, Dobson, etc) have been experts at taking a vague, ambiguous passage and distilling it into a simple talking point which is easily remembered by their followers, who soak up their words like sponges. It's human nature to latch on to concise soundbytes rather than engage in in-depth study of a topic . Few people take the time to read up on the linguistics and context of Bible verses. If they did, they wouldn't be so easily misguided. But since such research takes time and effort, they instead just recall that their preacher said something about 'homosexuals' and 'abomination', and assume that God hates gay people.

Two books I found helpful were "Hate The Neighbor" by Linda J. Patterson and "The Children Are Free" by Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connolly. They reinforce the point that you can take any isolated verse and twist it to suit your own purposes. Only with context and language analysis can you be sure of the author's intent.

That said, even if Paul and the Old Testament prophets did condemn homosexuality as we think of it today (which I don't think they do), in my opinion we need to read Scripture in light of the ministry and example of Jesus, which is the core of the Gospel. Nothing is recorded about Jesus addressing homosexuality (which doesn't mean he didn't have an opinion about it, but it does indicate that it wasn't a top priority for him). And based on everything else about his message (grace, love for neighbor, service and care for the needy, etc), it doesn't seem as if he would blanketly condemn any subgroup of people outright. It's the heart that counts, not who you love romantically.

While I now find no conflict between the two, I'm under no illusions that being both openly gay and a Christian will be easy. There is still plenty of judgment by churchgoing folks who refuse to depart from the intolerant dogma they've been taught, no matter how much you enlighten them on how the Bible has been misinterpreted. You just can't reason with certain people who are set in their ways. And then there's the whole "small pond" problem. Finding a soulmate who is gay, a Christian, okay with being both of those, and who possesses all the other normal qualities that go into attraction might be difficult, just in terms of sheer numbers. But that doesn't mean you should give up! Just know that the deck is somewhat stacked against people in your situation, unfortunately.

 

Arsenokoites was never used in antiquity with our modern meaning of homosexual.

Great for forming counter-arguments to the "but the Bible says being gay is wrong!" folks. Surprise! The Bible doesn't condemn homosexuality. Period. =]

 

I am Christian and gay. Part of what has helped me is the process the Episcopal Church has gone through over the years. Several years ago I was given a paper by my rector that debunked all of the arguments made by those who persecute gays in the name of God. At that time I was just starting to admit to myself that I was gay.

I just watched the video, For the Bible Tells Me So. That says it all for me. :icon_bigg

 

Honey, I am Christian and “something” (still figuring it out ha ha) but regardless I AM A PROUD CHRISTIAN! Jesus LOVES me so much He died for me. And I LIVE for Him.

 

Alright this is something I have been studying and praying about for a long time. First off Google "what the bible does and doesn't say about homosexuality" this article gave me many point I have used in religious debates. It breaks down all of the key "condemning" verses.

Next look at Matthew 19:12,
"For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”
When I brought this up it stumped the people I was talking with, do research on this and use it to your advantage.

Next is you absolutely have to watch "for the bible tells me so" it is on instant netflix and YouTube. But be warned I cried for most of the movie because it reflected my life in so many ways. The best thing I gained from watching this though was the feeling of love and knowing I was not alone.

You are not alone, I love my lord and I will not turn from him because the majority of my religion if filled with hateful bigots. They will slander you, hate you and say you are going to Hell, but Jesus loves every person no matter what. Just remember what Christianity is supposed to be about, loving others as God loves us. It is not you who is wrong it is those who try to hurt you.

I have had this debate with other Christians before so if you have any questions send me a pm and I will get back to you. Keep your head up!