Religion and acceptance

Hey patricia97, welcome to EC!

Of course you can hold on to your faith and accept your sexuality. The best way I know is to learn more about your religion, and to dig deeply into what it means to be a person of faith.

Read the texts, understand them, and find out what they actually say. Don't take anybody's word (interpretation) for it, just read them yourself and you will see that there is nothing said directly about homosexuality as we know and understand it today. Yes, not even that line in Leviticus applies to us.

Alexander Pope wrote the following about knowledge that everyone should remember:

 

Ok, if it was God who made you born gay, then he did not make a mistake, right? So you could interpret this as a test, to see if you are strong enough, brave enough to face an homophobic enviroment... Or even stronger : Making the others see there is nothing wrong with being gay!

Anyways... (*hug*)

 

Hi. I was a Christian up until last year, and I've learned so much more about Christan beliefs and the Bible as an atheist since then. I do want to let you know hat I'm not going to try and convert you, but I want you to know the perspective I'm talking from. The short answer is yes. There are many Catholic Churches that, while they don't condone LGBTQ folks, won't discriminate against you. I do want you to realize though, that even the most liberal church will have people strongly against it. I also want to say that "Praying the gay away" does NOT work, nor has it EVER. Either your friend or the man who she's talking about is lying. Many people lie and say they are straight to get religious folks and their family off their back. These people often become depressed and have lots of repressed emotions. I'm sorry that you don't have anyone in real life to talk, but we're always open to talk here. Good luck! <3

 

It's arguable that 2 passages in the Bible have in fact been translated correctly and condemn male homosexuality. However there is not a single passage in any translation of the Bible that so much as mentions lesbians. It makes no sense for anyone to condemn you. It doesn't make sense to condemn gay men either when the entire new testament seems to be about God's love and forgiveness.

Read Deuteronomy 22:12. It says that to get in to heaven you must sew tassels in to your clothing. Do any of the people condemning you follow that passage? Do they eat kosher? It's only Deuteronomy and Leviticus that condemn homosexuality, and Leviticus also says that if a woman touches testicles that belong to someone other than her husband, her hand is to be cut off. Peter decided when he built the church that we didn't have to follow the laws of the old testament as Christians.

 

I completely understand what your going through. I was brought up in a religious family and it took me years to accept myself and come to terms with being a christian and gay. I felt the fear that i was sinful and that being gay was a cholce. All the lies that the church said were fixed in my mind and it took a awhile to put two and two together and find out the church was wrong.

The difference is that a church is a religious organization ran by ministers, priests, and so on and there is a big difference between God and them. You cannot take the opinion of a minister or a priest and say you know God. Anybody who uses a priest or a minister to defend their religious views does not really know God because you need to do the research to really know that God was.

A minister gets their views from a English bible and every minister has their own perspective on what each story means. That is why I find organized religion useless and misleading to what really is the truth. The truth is the bible was not originally written in and was translated into English hundreds of years ago by bible scholars. Now bible scholars have translated the verses that condemn homosexuality into English and found that those verses don't even condemn homosexuality. A example is that Sodom and Gommorah was not about homosexuality it was about greed and being selfish. This a unpopular belief among alot of churches still so you don't see this argument often until you really looking into. A person rather take what their beloved minister says to heart than actually do the research and discover God on their own. Those kind of people such as your friend are tragically mislead into those lies that need to stopped.

Most important of all when Jesus died on the cross for our sins that meant something more than you will ever know. That meant as long as you believe in him you will have everlasting life. Read John 3:16 because it is one of the most defining verses in the bible. As long as you have faith in him you will enter the kingdom of God. Only God not a minister, priest, or your friend or family can judge you but him and he loves more than anything and you being a lesbian is not wrong in his eyes.

I hope you find this helpful and I hope your family and friends will come to understand and accept you as you are. Because who you are is the way you were born and God does not make mistakes like that. God bless you.

 

[I too struggled with my sexuality because of my religion. I'd think of a woman in a romantic way but then dismiss it, telling myself I was just that desperate for romance, as no guy has ever shown a romantic interest in me. I dismiss the old testament law, as Jesus dying on the cross fulfilled it, meaning the old law no longer needed to be followed. God gave us a new covenant, one of love and grace. There are a few verses in the new testament that are negative toward homosexuality,

1 Corinthians 6:9 lists homosexuals among a list of sinful behavior that will disqualify you from entrance into heaven. However, there was a footnote specifying catamites, which are young boys in sexual relations with men.

1 Timothy 1:10 lists homosexuality as "contrary to sound doctrine"

I still haven't been able to reconcile these verses with my sexuality. I'm currently holding to two theories:

1. We are not perfect beings, nor are we meant to be perfect beings, not on earth...so IF, homosexuality is a sin, it is no greater a sin than any other. The bible says All sin and fall short of the glory of God (romans 3:23). It doesn't say all except Christians. Its also written that we're saved by grace not works (Ephesians 2:8). The only requirement to get into heaven, is to believe that Jesus died for you, that he is the only way, and believe in his saving grace. In the new testament God gave 2 commands, to love Him with all our being, and to love everyone around us. So if I am sinning in loving a woman, God's grace will cover it.

2. All the new testament references about homosexuality were written by Paul the Apostle. Paul writes interesting stuff, saying women should be submissive n wear coverings. He also says that its better to be unmarried than married, encouraging celibacy and total dedication to God. Many church leaders write off what Paul writes about women as being out of date, a cultural thing....so perhaps homosexuality is the same way.

The second theory is the one I lean toward. There's much talk in the bible about God sending the holy spirit to guide us n steer us away from wrong, providing guilt....like a sub conscience. I don't feel that guilt I'm supposed to have when thinking of women, I feel the opposite....I feel like its right for me. Ultimately I decided to let God bring me my soulmate, n asked him to do so. 2 months ago I met an amazing woman online...who am I to tell God he brought me the wrong gender? Lol

Srry this got kinda long. If anybody has an answer to some of the new testament verses I mentioned I'd love to hear it, as one day I'll have to defend my sexuality n my faith to my religious family. Bottom line, God loves me no matter what.

 

I too have had the same issues. You should take a look into this book its really good and talks about the passages that talk about homosexuality in the Christian faith. Its called God and the Gay Christian by Mathew Vines. It was highly recommended to me by a lady who works at the church I go to.

 

I'm really sorry to hear that you are struggling to see a way forward. You didn't mention your denomination, but I'm guessing it's one of the more conservative Churches in your country? Sometimes, it's necessary for LGBT Christians to seek out a more tolerant Church where they will feel loved and accepted. Often this is easier than living in a pressure cooker, where we feel this horrendous conflict between our faith and sexuality. A welcoming Church and Minsiter/Pastor can make all the difference.

I posted a fairly lengthy comment on a similar thread a few days ago, if you'd like to read it:
http://emptyclosets.com/forum/anony...estion-any-gay-christians-im-so-confused.html