Has God called me to be celibate?

In all honesty, Do what you want. I understand Your relationship and wanting to please but It's up to you whether you want to be celibate or not. I think, God only wants you to do what makes you happy

 

Please don't be offended by this but I was raised Catholic and Catholics are against Gay Marriage AND gay sex. As a Christian, it depends what church you're involved in. They all have different beliefs. Some believe that gay sex is wrong some believe that just being gay is wrong. I know that God created me this way but I support gay marriage. I also am not against gay sex even though I am a practicing Catholic. So even though you are a Christian...it really is a personal choice and completely up to you.

 

I'm also very strong in my faith. My relationship with God has always been an awe-inspiring one, and I have no doubt of it. I have studied the science, history, and psychology of Christianity and it all points to "this is the faith for me!"

I actually wondered for a long time if I could just be in a platonic relationship with a woman, but I know it'd be way too much temptation for me to cross that line. It was a very, VERY hard decision, but I decided for myself personally to remain celibate. I'd pray as much as possible about it because we all have our crosses to bear and this is mine. However, God is the only one who can answer you. Nobody else can.

Also keep in mind this may be the bargaining stage of grieving in accepting your sexuality, so if you want to be celibate now keep it in mind that that will probably change LoL You have to be serious about it.

Anyways, you can always write to me as I'm facing similar struggles and hardship and I can help you in being your accountibilibuddy if you ever want to compromise on your faith. Hugs dear~

 

I'm no Christian, nor am I religious in any way, but I recently came across this link that discusses how the opposition to Homosexuality came to be in history, and later in Christianity from a historical point of view. It's definitely an interesting read. It's a little long, but still worth taking the time to read it.

It's also worth noting that there are many things in the Bible (mostly Old Testament, but there are still traces of it in the New Testament) that condoned activities which are not "applied" or "followed" in this day and age. The view of women as sinful creatures who are less than men, and slavery are both great examples which are supported by the Bible, but that society now frowns upon, and so does the Church today. Abolishing the opposition to Homosexuality is simply the next logical step as society becomes more and more accepting of it. Because of this, it goes without saying that homosexuality should not be at odds with your belief in Christianity.

If you can, try to find LGBT-friendly churches near you and see what the pastor there has to say.


See? I didn't challenge your strong faith in God, however tempting it was. :lol:

 

Really. Why would god make you think men are fuckable, and not want you to fuck them?

 

It's not God's word you need to question; it's your interpretation of His word. What makes you think that you are destined to be celibate or punished otherwise? How would that help His kingdom here on earth? I guess it's impossible to tell as I'm reminded of Bohemian Rhapsody's references to transmitting a lethal case of AIDS, but that in particular is firmly under human control. You don't have to abstain from sex just to avoid accidentally harming people.

Some people are strong enough in their faith that they feel compelled to do God's work. But I would remind them that pleasure and independent thought are not sinful nor mutually exclusive with living a Godly life. But if you still feel called to abstinence for some other reason, know that something is likely in store for you if you follow through.

 

Bohemian Rhapsody was written and released a few years before the AIDS epidemic even began, and many more years before Freddie Mercury contracted it.

To the OP: As others above me have said, you are placing too much emphasis on other people's interpretation of the Bible. Your religious beliefs should be something that you openly think about and explore, rather than allowing other people to influence you. Whether or not you think that the God you believe in would allow you to be gay and expect you not to act on your desires is up to you to decide, and nobody else.

 

I was raised Catholic and still am very much so, and I'm familiar with the whole party line that it's all right to BE gay as long as you don't actually have gay sex. I understand the rationale--sex is part of God's plan to be fertile and multiply, etc. etc. But it doesn't take much to shoot holes in the plan, because really, it's peoples' INTERPRETATION of God's plan.

Should straight couples stop having sex after the woman goes through menopause? Not much fertility or multiplying going on then. What about a young couple that is infertile? What if there are hereditary problems that would be perpetuated by having kids--should they not have sex? Even if it's protected?

Add that to the fact that the number of references to homosexuality in the Bible are dwarfed by the number of warnings and punishments regarding assorted heterosexual activities, and you have to wonder what the big deal is. Plus, let's not forget that there are plenty of things in the Bible that make a lot of sense for nomadic peoples living on the brink of extinction who were one or two steps away from being savages, that really don't seem applicable today, at least not in the context that they were written.

So, is God telling you to be celibate? If your conscience truly, deeply tells you that it's wrong and you can't get past that, then I would say yes, you probably should be celibate, because a sexual relationship will be devastating for you in the end. But I would give yourself enough credit to think it through and decide for yourself if it makes sense, rather than rely solely on your own faith tradition and its viewpoint. Many different faiths have come to many different conclusions. Just because your tradition says it's wrong--can you be sure that that is God's conclusion?

 

Crap, I feel pretty ashamed now as an LGBT guy that I have gone all these years not knowing that. :eek: I just figured there's one way to interpret "put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger now he's dead" but I suppose the point can still be made.

 

Try not to lose sight of these overall concepts too much - there are a wide variety of interpretations of how one's orientation and one's faith can or should intermingle, and the "it's okay as long as you don't act on it" interpretation is often, not coincidentally, accompanied by very conservative social viewpoints that preclude any active acceptance of homosexuality in the first place. In a lot of ways it's the old "I don't mind gay people as long as they act straight in public" deal - which really in the end just boils down to "I don't like gay people."

Also, without getting into details, I will say this - my boyfriend is a pastor, and he doesn't feel called to live celibate. Make of that what you will. But he and I have had some fascinating conversations on gay life and Christianity, and a lot of the traditional party lines leave a vast amount of information out of the picture (among other subjects - think christian scripture doesn't say anything about gay women or gay women's relationships? think again, and what it does have to say can be very positive).

Above all of this, though, there's the issue that whatever answer you come to needs to be about you and your own path - nothing trumps that. Just be careful not to let socially determined answers steer you down a path that you don't ultimately want, as "universal" as it may seem. The world's a big place, and so is the church.

 

I would highly recommend reading "The Body's Grace" by Rowan Williams.

It is simply one perspective on same-sex relationships, but one that certainly resonates with me in many ways (particularly in the notion that while the presence of celibacy can help all Christians better understand God's desire for us, and some gay Christians may be called to celibacy, they are not so called simply because they are gay).

The issue is certainly one you'll ultimately have to decide for yourself, but I think the essay is definitely worth checking out.