What do Christians/ God expect from me?

It's weird, really. Christians are taught to love others. Jesus were friends with those that others didn't like, and they are trying to follow His footsteps, which is clearly failing.There are very open-minded Christians out there, I'll tell you that. Don't let others stop you from what you want to do in life, do what makes YOU happy. At the end of the day, it will be God that will judge you if you are going to heaven or not, not them. I say it's okay to be Christian and gay. Just have faith in Him

Here's a video I found whilst trolling before I was a member haha http://www.matthewvines.com/transcript

 

I'm sorry you find yourself in this difficult position. You will not always have to do what your parents say and in a couple of years you'll be able to choose which church you attend.

Not all churches condemn gay relationships. Some say that BEING gay is not a sin, but having gay sex is. As you say, some Christians DO expect you to remain celebate and to resist the temptation to act upon your sexuality.

Others do not believe this. Here in Holland, there is a church called the Old Catholic Church (not Roman Catholic) which not only allows gay marriage within the church, they are also happy to have gay clergy and bishops.

Many people, myself included, have left the church we grew up in because it is a matter of conscience to be honest with yourself and with God.

I was excommunicated for being a practising homosexual and I chose to leave the church altogether. I don't regret this decision at all, even though I miss the community.

I am currently "thinking about" attending services at the Old Catholic church to see if it suits me.

When it comes down to it, all religious matters are matters of conscience and NO-ONE can tell you what your conscience should think. It's private between you and your maker, not the pastor, not the Chick Fil A executive and not your parents.

Be patient and bide your time - you'll have a whole lot more freedom in a couple of years, freedom which will include whether you decide to marry and what gender that person will be.

 

I understand completely, being christian myself I find myself disagreeing with alot of things my pastor says about gay marriage and stuff like that. You do have to remember though that the Bible does say that being gay is wrong, but then again it also says eating pork, or women having jobs, or any of the other things that christians do on a daily basis is wrong. Just remember that God loves you no mater what you do, and wants you to stay true to yourself, and if some christian says that you'll go to hell for being gay, tell them to read john 3:16

 

Yes the bible does say that being gay is a no no but those old rules don't matter anymore because Jesus sacrificed himself. Actually they would be stating that his sacrifice did not count if they chose to believe those crazy rules, even if its just the one about being gay a sin. So they are the ones in the wrong, not you

I'm not Christian, I was (tecnically i never was since i never got confirmed) a catholic, now agnostic. Being lgbtq is totally fine.

 

I haven't read the previous posts so please forgive me if I repeat what others have said.
I do not believe in God. I used to, but I don't any longer, however I know people that do and I know they consider themselves religious people, so perhaps my thoughts on this topic will be pertinent.

For me, I think those that believe in God need to divorce that belief from a religion that tells them what they should and shouldn't do.
You ask, vhrebels, "Does god want me to remain single my entire life, or does he want me to lie about my sexuality?" - well, if God exists, then only s/he/it can answer that question.
Yes, Christians have a tome they believe to be the word of God, but through-out history they have routinely disregarded things that they no longer think is wrong, which means in those cases they have gone against their belief in the word of God.
Add to that change that we also have the word of God but written by man. By any belief structure man is fallible. So even if we believe that God is infallible and what s/he/it says is how we should live our lives, the presence of the infallible in the notation gives rise to misinterpretation of the word.

Now, for me, it seems a simple matter of love cannot be wrong. Something so pure as love must be right, and if God exists, they must also have that understanding, so no matter who you love, the fact you do love is right, is good and honest and if anyone tells you differently, then they need to go home and think about how they are living their lives rather than cast aspersions on others.

I don't condemn someone who believes in God but I do condemn someone who uses that belief to dare to tell someone else they are wrong, or evil or any other negative slur you can think of in this context.

Basically, God wants you to live the life you feel happiest in, that brings you the most joy and love. Do that and God will be happy too...if he exists

 

I was going to post that link!:dry: But I think that perfectly explains things. Most Christians still don't like gays, but some are becoming more understanding. God still loves you, gay or straight.

 

Some Christians believe that the Bible doesnt mention homosexuality (as we know it today) at all.

Watch these videos for an explanation of this:
http://emptyclosets.com/forum/blogs/robert/4479-homosexuality-lecture.html

 

Short and simple: God expects faith

Faith does not make Christians better people. They sin and make mistakes, including their interpretation and manipulations of the Bible. Don't let their hate affect the way you love. What actions do you think will be judged in the end, love or hate?

Hope this helped! There are plenty of gay Christians.

 

As Catholic, I can give you three possible answers to your question:

1. Live in extreme and total chastity. Most of you will quickly jump and say "It's stupid" but it is not, and it is certainly possible. Give God the time you would otherwise spend having sex or engaging in loving/lustful relationships. Volunteer at your church or at a community center. If you choose this path, make sure to always talk to your spiritual counselor and ask for guidance. Also, understand that having sexual thoughts is completely natural, and the wrong thing to do in this particular situation is to act on them.

2. Disregard what the church says and simply follow the Bible's word for heterosexual relationships... but with a man (This is also my current approach and the one that works best, IMO!). God will not punish you for loving someone else. If He is love, then how can he condemn love? Follow the Bible's teachings on relationships, etc. and have a committed, monogamous long-term relationship with someone else. Date around, yes, but do not have one night stands, etc. If you feel uncomfortable attending church if you follow this approach, remember that there are plenty of LGBTQ friendly churches and God is not exclusive to one faith, but completely inclusive to all human beings and you don't have to be part of a church to worship Him.

3. Become a non believer/Atheist/research on alternative cults or beliefs. I think, with all due respect, this might be the worst decision that you can take, but that is just my personal opinion and when you are in a crossroads like you're now, it's only fair to consider all your options. You can ditch your faith and look somewhere else, however if you are still in your acceptance path and you're not completely open about your sexuality with everyone then making this change will be considerably more difficult. I also don't think you are considering doing this since you obviously cherish your faith and you're simply looking for guidance.

Having said all of that: Listen, dude. The Bible is good and all, but you can't expect guidance written for cultures that lived 4000, 3000 and 2000 years from today to apply to our cultures and our times. The problem is that most of the religious leaders pick and choose the verses they follow literally and those they either ignore or interpret to their liking. This does not mean the Bible is a bad book, this only means that the Bible can't be taken literally and I invite you to read it daily and study it slowly, with faith but also using logic and your deduction.

I wish you all the best.

JP.

 

Honestly this is a decision that you can only make for yourself. I myself was brought up as a very conservative Christian. It was all i had ever known and for a while it worked for me. But soon I realized I like women it all changed. I couldn't believe that this could be the case. So I ignored it for several years buried my hatred for myself inside. Soon I began having panic attacks. For me religion was nothing but a negative experience. I felt like I was in chains everyday because of it. I soon understood that the Christian religion I was taught was not compatible with who I am as an individual, I left it. After I did I never felt better. I huge weight was lifted off me. I can truly be myself. In the Christian religion I was raised I could not. So you see, are you comfortable in living a lie the rest of your life? There are churches who will accept gay people like you. I know you don't have that freedom now. But for me I had to let go of religion altogether. I was to jaded by my experiences in the church. It is a very personal decision on what you decide. But if you truly are gay will you be happy living life by yourself? You most certainly don't want to try to marry someone of the opposite gender. That would be unfair to them. It is a tough spot you are in I totally understand.

 

Bigoted "Christians" and other religious people like that do expect you to abstain from homosexual sex for your whole life, because in their narrow-minded world, sex is between one man and one woman, no exceptions.

Logic, on the other hand, dictates that a loving creator would want his people to be happy. If for you that includes being in a committed homosexual relationship, do not let Christians or others who "speak for God" change your mind.

 

The way I see it, God created all of us exactly the way we are: he/she doesn't make trash. We are all told to love one another, and the funny thing is is that some christians believe that being selective about who they love is loving everyone. HE/SHE SAID EVERYONE DAMMIT! We're people too, we have feelings, we are.no different than straight people (just who we wanna sleep with). We all deserve a fair shot at finding true love and being happy, so I don't see how being a gay married christian would be wrong. Not all christians thing being gay is wrong... it's just the few that do think it's wrong are publicized and basically put on a pedistal and honored for speaking "God's true intentions". To those people, I wanna see the letter that God him/herself sent you saying "I am God, and gay is bad". Otherwise, I will resume to sit here and worship the all-loving n' accepting God I was introduced to. God doesn't hate, so why some people assume he hates is beyond me.

PLUS, never once have I read the bible and seen "and God said to the people 'being gay is wrong'"! The one verse that was written about a man shouldn't sleep with another man is NOT divinely inspired: it was a law created by MAN ALONE, not from God. Now, in Genesis, God created us in his likeness and image. LIKENESS AND IMAGE. So, if what the insanely ignorant percent of christians are saying is true, then why aren't we all identicals copies of each other?! We were created EXACTLY the way we are for a purpose, and God him/herself even said after he/she created humans that we were VERY GOOD. Not good, VERY GOOD. So, I will say that it is absolutely fine to be a married gay christian... chances are, there are more out there.

Stay strong, bro! *hug*

 

I'm a Lutheran so my church is very accepting. Jesus didn't mention homosexuality in the new testament even once. The old testament mentions it though. I'm 50/50 on deciding if homosexuality is actually a sin. But god loves the sinner and not the sin. It's just like any sin and god will forgive everyone for there sins. Unless they are murderers and rapists.

 

I'm catholic and when I was in Sunday school I was taught that god loves all his children and that's what I take with me and I believe. I do enjoy having my faith but I don't agree with everything they Preach. I take my own feelings and my own belief in god and go with it. I don't believe it's a sin I do believe god lives us all and I do believe that heavens gates are open to us.