How to Be Gay and Christian

Is it possible to be a Christian and also be gay? Though some people feel that it's problematic, many others believe that the Christian religion does not necessarily prohibit or condemn being gay or lesbian. If you're trying to reconcile your beliefs with your orientation, the following ideas may help.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bible

1. Know that God wants to be in relationship with everyone, according to the Bible. That means that even if you have turned away or denied God, your creator wants you back.

2. Understand that Christians have a range of beliefs about the Bible and many other issues, as well as about homosexuality. For example, fundamentalists believe that every word in the Bible is from God and that it contains no mistakes, but many other Christians believe that the Bible was written by people who sometimes made mistakes.

3. Look for condemnations of gays and lesbians by Jesus, and you'll find that he never spoke about the issue - or if he did, it wasn't recorded.

4. Read Ezekiel 16:48-50 for one view of how to interpret the story of Sodom. This passage says that the "sin of Sodom" was that its citizens were prideful and had a lot of food but did not help the needy.

5. Count the number of verses in the Bible that you think condemn homosexuality, and you'll find that they're a very small part of the Bible. Some people think that if God condemned gays and lesbians, the Bible would be clearer about it.

6. Notice that some verses may condemn certain sex acts, but they never explicitly condemn being gay or lesbian. Some people believe that these verses were meant only to condemn certain people who were doing the wrong things, in the wrong places and at the wrong times.

7. Keep in mind that eating shellfish and handling pigskin are prohibited in Leviticus 18, the same chapter that says it's wrong for men to "lie with men." Taken to an extreme, a literal belief in this chapter could mean that it's an abomination, punishable by death, to play football or eat shrimp.

8. Listen to the words of Jesus in John 3:16. He says that whosoever believes in him will have life everlasting, and many of the Bible stories about Jesus suggest that he never intended anyone to be excluded from "whosoever."

9. Continue to explore the Christian faith by visiting a gay-friendly or gay-led church. You'll find many independent gay churches, but about 300 around the world are affiliated with the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (see mccchurch.org). These churches may help you think through your questions about being a gay Christian.

Tips & Warnings

• Read everything you can on the topic, but try not to forget that people's ideas are often influenced by their agenda - the hidden ideas that they are trying to push. Accept only the ideas that make sense to you, whether the person who presents them is on your side or not.
• Don't try to debate the Bible with someone who believes homosexuality is wrong. You will frustrate yourself, and you probably won't convince the other person of anything; deep-seated beliefs can be extremely hard to change.
• If you do get into discussions about the Bible, you may want to be familiar with the following verses, which are sometimes used to argue that Christianity prohibits being gay or lesbian: Genesis 18:16-19:29 (the story of Sodom); Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 (Levitical laws); Romans 1:18-32 (abandoning natural relations); I Corinthians 6:9-10 (those who will inherit the dominion of God).

[SassyfrasT]

on 7/5/2009 PART 3! . ONE MAN, ONE WOMAN! You cannot get any more plain than that.
For all the justification of people trying to discredit the bible's thoughts against homosexuality and you want to say there isn't enough in there to prove it is so wrong....then find me please where it says that it's okay to do.

Again the article for reference....copy and paste...
http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=100921

[SassyfrasT]

on 7/5/2009 PART 2!parents would definitely opt to allow their innocent children to keep what wasn't theirs over all these indespicable acts in a heartbeat.
This article says it all really. Copy and paste it to read it.
http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=100921

Jesus spoke of homosexuality in Mark 7:14-15. In verse 14, he clearly states that EVERYONE should listen to what he is warning about. Then in "Mark 7:15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him:"
Doesn't this make you stop and think????
We are ALL accountable for our OWN interpretation of the bible. We should be very careful not to twist pieces of verses around to cater to our own justifications. Yet this verse makes me wonder!!! When Jesus spoke of one man and one woman becoming one flesh, He was reinforcing what God created us for as spoken of in Genesis. ONE MAN, ONE WOMAN! You...

[SassyfrasT]

on 7/5/2009 We walk a dangerous line when we try to justify our sins. And while Jesus was no more homophobic than I am, He did make it clear that a sin is a sin, with one sin being no worse or better than another. Hard for us humans to comprehend as I find almost daily. To think that if I stole a pencil from the office, it is no lesser of a sin than murder in God's eyes. This is hard to explain and yet even believers have many questions when we meet our creator. We always slot more evil crimes into a more severe category and certainly anything considered immoral is difficult to digest. We don't want to teach out children that keeping something that isn't ours is okay when no one is looking and that is certainly understandable!!! Yet if we were given the choice between that and allowing our kids to see horrendous acts of fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, or sodomites; parent...

[12magazine]

on 6/19/2009 That is impossible! Homosexuality is a sin!

[cookiefan]

on 6/13/2009 Thanks for such a thoughtful, open-minded, and inclusive article.