OK so currently I'm going through a bit of a cross roads. I have a friend that wants to become more in tune with his faith, but I know (according to Christianity) any relations outside of man and woman isn't really how things work. My friend feels very guilty about not being straight because of this and also doesn't know how to go about becoming a devout Christian if they have to suppress that important part of them. Any advice here? Also, what advice can I give to my friend about feeling guilty about his tendencies, because he is also into drugs and feels like a failure because he has an addiction. He feels like a failure because he believes that he is supposed to let all of these feelings go but deep down he doesn't really want to because, of course, it has become a part of who he is as a person. I really want to encourage him and tell him that he shouldn't put so much worry into stuff like this and take baby steps, but I fear he needs more than encouragement. Has anyone went through anything similar? Thanks in advance
That's not necessarily correct and it really depends upon how one reads and responds to the Bible. If we take the Bible literally and elevate it to a false position then we might arrive at the conclusion that same sex relationships are sinful, but that's not a healthy and mature way to approach the Bible or Christian tradition. I'm not saying it doesn't happen like that, because very clearly it does, but there are millions of Christians the world over who manage to remain faithful, tolerant and progressive and see it as part of the Christian heritage to love without exception and refrain from pious judgement. We don't all do the guilt trip and lead a celibate existence! This might be a good resource for you and your friend: https://www.gaychurch.org/
I'm a trans and gay Christian. There are lots of us actually and many straight/cis Christians are accepting and non-condemning of LGBTQIA people. A great pastor to listen to speak about what the Bible says about homosexuality is Matthew Vines.
I struggle with the same thing! We are also commanded to multiply and replenish the earth; which requires M/F relationships - so how does that view of Christianity agree with M/M or F/F relationships which obviously cannot fulfill that?
Ditto. Faith and being LGBT are not incompatible. It is your personal relationship with God that matters, not the legalism of a fundamentalist sect.
I firmly believe we can be Christian and LGBT. I've spent too much time reading various views of this and the history of the Bible so to me it's obvious how much men controlled what texts went into it and later how they were translated to other languages multiple times. Which version of the Bible is the right one? I can't believe that it is 100% literal word of God based on its history and knowing how corrupt humans are. For example, although it sounds like the new testament authors were right there with Jesus, the various texts were written after His death so I wonder how accurate are all the quotes of what He said? Most of it is other people's opinions, such as Paul. Who decided his word was direct from God? Human men did because it served their purpose. I don't think anything in it refers to same sex relationships as we're discussing today. It has sexual prohibitions and rules for straight people but that doesn't mean straight people are evil simply bc they're straight. Churches that say just being gay is sinful, to me is obviously wrong. The next type of church says you can be gay, but must be celibate. Then there are the ones that fully welcome LGBT people in service and marriage although they probably think sex is just for marriage, same for straight people. I've read that the prohibition of sex before marriage only applied to women who had to be virgins, but not men. My belief basically comes down to this. A sin is something that hurts other people. Being gay, loving the same gender and having consensual sex are not hurting anyone and not sinful. We need more love in this world! Excluding and targeting gay people causes a lot of hate, suffering and death so I see no way that is Christ-like.
My entire family has been Christian Methodist ministers up until my parents, so I have grown up in a devoutly religious household. Just yesterday, my mom explained her thoughts on that to me and I thought she brought up a good point for this conversation: She said that the God she believes in loves everyone, and the God she believes in would not turn away one of his children. Everyone sins and Jesus died to repent for everyone's sins. All sin is equal in God's eyes, so whatever negative karma was created by not being straight was wiped clean long before our birth by Jesus.
There exist many LGBT affirming Christian denominations. Episcopalians are openly pro LGBT, Quakers likewise. The Anglicans, at least those in the west, have taken great leaps to accept LGBT people in their midst, and the Catholics have the most moderate stance from among the mainstream churches. He should just avoid associating Christianity with evangelical retardation, the absolute worst of all it's manifestations.
Ex-Catholic here and I know many Christian/Catholic denominations that accept LGBT people. Religion is your own thing and I still read some of the papal encyclicals on family and found it to be enlightening. Tell him to research, research, research and maybe talk to the Catholics. I know right? That coming from an ex-Catholic but the Catholics and I mean most of them are loving towards the LGBT community.
Christianity and homosexuality are mutually incompatible. Anyone who says otherwise is essentially just inventing their own version of said religion. If you can just pick and choose what to follow, doesn't say much for the truth of anything to it. People should be true to themselves and ignore the crazed teachings of Bronze Age middle eastern goat herders. Happy days
