Christians, how do you deal with the bible's perspective of being gay?

Anybody looking for a clear answer isn't going to find one, at least not here among man. The different versions of the Bible, the arguments and points, the passage of time and addition and subtraction of various pieces, are either allowed because God does nothing (for whatever reason) or he is allowing it because he is fine with it (for whatever reason).

Ultimately though, if you somebody wants to find a perception that eases them, just find somebody or something that regurgitates this. If I want to find a reason why white people are destined to save the earth, I'll find me a Nazi. If I want to find a reason why Mike Huckabee should be President, I'll find a supporter. If I want to find a reason why Dr. Who is the greatest show in the world, I'll find a Whovian.

But when you seek validation from others, you lose yourself. If Jesus is there, it should be him that tells his followers what to do. Not a book that has been used more than a keg at a fraternity party, and differs in how it tells a message to the point nobody really knows what to do. Sure, folks say we should do as Jesus did and listen to his words, but those things he did differ -- even among the Gospels themselves -- as does his way of saying things.

This may not seem very important, but it actually is. "Won't" and "don't" are both negative, but they come with totally different implications. 'I won't drink that soda' is not the same as 'I don't drink that soda'. One implies a sort of resistance of will, while the other implies an inability to do so. And when we tally in the "translation argument" and the "context is important" rallying cry, it becomes even more problematic.

To sum it up:

If Jesus isn't giving you your answer, it isn't hard to find somebody to justify how you believe or perceive. What matters is if one actually accepts it, as opposed to deluding themselves into thinking they do. Christianity, ideally, should be about facing trials and becoming enlightened, helping others, and being a positive force with a firm strength.

But what to be firm on, well, that's the fun part. There's so much division, and a lot of it comes from different interpretations. But if you really want to see the fun start, ask who is right, who is guided by God and who has fallen into Satan's charm -- that always amused me, back in Sunday School.

Thus the cycle begins anew.

And now you know why churches disliked me.

^.~

 

I am not sure how that relates to what I said or this topic, but I understand your point of view to a degree. Everyone seeks validation from some group though, whether it be the faith community or another organization. For me, it is not about pounding my chest and saying "I'm right" because everyone must come to their own decisions. But I take umbrage to the idea that Jesus' message is somehow inconsistent. There are legitimate trails of differences between the original text and how we interpret the Bible in English. That's not a red herring. But everyone has a different interpretation of what we read, and that's only natural. Just my take and my own opinion.

In general, I am just tired of people saying I have to pick between being bi and Christian just like the OP is.

 

Dealing with the Bible's perspective means dealing with the perspectives it instills in people. That is how it relates.

The issue with people interpreting things is, how do we know it's God speaking through folks, or if it's their own idea? That is where things get murky.

Somebody has to be right on this. I'm simply curious to who is. This is the main point I'm stressing. There is nothing particularly personal here for me, and if somebody finds it feasible to be non-heterosexual and Christian, so be it. That is their call to make.

 

I use to be Christian when I was growing up and when I was coming to terms with my sexuality I found out about how being gay is considered a huge sin in the bible. I was scared at first but I absolutely refuse to believe that me loving/adoring women is a sin. I'm more so spiritual then religious these days! I don't particularly care for religion to be honest with you. I believe that when I marry a beautiful woman that commitment I give involves my undying LOVE for that woman. I do not see how love could be considered a sin. Love has no gender. I truly believe this! xx

 

I honestly don't think God appearing would be 100% effective. Many conservative Christians--most?--would probably write the whole thing off as an appearance by Satan, who comes appearing like God.

 

That is a good point... though even if it was Satan, it's something, and it'd have me thinking, hm, maybe there is something to all of this, because if there is a Satan, it stands to reason there should be a God.

 

I have no belief in a god or heaven and hell so a book doesn't change any of that.

 

Doesn't that depend on the book? (*wink*)

I mean, science books are books, right?

 

This is a point that I feel cannot be stressed enough when dealing with 'what the bible says'.

Whether or not 'God' exists is really up to the (non-)believer, but it gets really...interesting when it comes to the thought/question of who exactly is interpreting things correctly, (and) if there is -actually- anything to interpret.

It'd be one thing if the bible were in existence since the beginning of time(with some solid proof) but it wasn't. Then you look at the period of time where it came from, and how the world was run, and it all just becomes really suspicious, if you ask me.

I'm not going to derail the topic, but one of my biggest personal pet peeves with this kinda stuff is God's supposed 'gender'(which links back to the italics above; hmm...).

 

I don't know much about the bible except what I learned and read in catholic school, but if you're CHRISTIAN (and not Jewish), didn't Jesus say he came to fulfill (aka get rid of) the old, archaic old testament laws and replace them with new laws of love.

 

I'm semi-religious and I used to be really scared about this. Until I watched this video which helped me a lot:
[YOUTUBE]ezQjNJUSraY[/YOUTUBE]

 

Well I guess for me its not really a problem for me because I'm not a very devout Christian. Personally I don't believe in quite a lot of things in the Bible such as Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. Also the Bible bans heaps of things. In the same passages where it bans homosexuality it also bans things like wearing two different types of fabrics and polyester, something that we all do today.
I just think that God or Jesus would be accepting and wouldn't really care what your sexuality was. They would love you for who you are. And Jesus actually did things like healing the centurion's lover, when they were in a same-sex relationship.
If you are LGBTQ then God made you that way.
You might also want to read this article on how the Bible does not ban homosexuality:

Six reasons why the Bible is not against gays

Hope this helps! Don't be afraid of being who you are, I'm sure God will love you anyway! (*hug*)

 

I'm totally relaxed about it. I've read the Bible many, many times and I really don't think it has anything to say about being gay. Putting aside the debates about scriptural authenticity.. there are passages that condemn sexual perversions (a very different thing to "being gay") and there is the old holiness code of Leviticus, which can hardly be applied to Christians in the year 2015.

It's very easy to distort what the Bible says to satisfy a bigoted world view, but that doesn't make it right.

 

I am speaking to you as a devoted Christian woman of Jewish background, married to a devoted Christian woman.

All of the scripture regarding homosexuality is in the Old Testament, which also tells us not to eat shellfish or wear mixed fabrics. Clearly the concepts are a bit... dated. We all agree on that to a certain extent. I have definitely seen Catholics enjoy some shrimp. But all that aside, in the New Testament Jesus tells us that the Old Law is dead, that He is the new Law, that love is the fulfillment of that law. Jesus is basically saying "The stuff in the Old Testament isn't working. Forget that crap and follow me instead." So essentially, if you still live by the Old Laws written in the Old Testament, you are not following Christ. The only people who ought to be following the Old Laws... are Jews. Because that's their book. The Old Testament still serves a purpose for Christians because it tells us the history of our faith, but we follow the teachings of Christ, not the ancient teachings of the pharisees. And Christ never said anything about gay people. He was too busy teaching prostitutes to love themselves more.