I'm conflicted right now. I've been a Christian since August 2016(since starting to close to the faith and beginning a walk). I've been involved in Chi Alpha, a college ministry part of the Assembly of God(a Pentecostal denomination). I slowly got invoivled in and ended up getting baptized in April 2018. I slowly began to read the NT a bit more starting with the Gospels and going up to Revelation by St. John. I've attended several Chi Alpha services and attend Catholic mass with my mom and sisters. Now I've attending Sunday morning church services at a local UMC(United Methodist Church). But I have been having a growing conflict of labeling my sexuality. I admit I have some same sex encounters with a few guys near my age in the Spring of 2016. Just mild, dry hump/or hand job I had received. But I've been growing curious more due to my new Iphone and exploring a "hook up app"(but not actually having a hook up yet) and chatting with guys near my age. But I am interested in girls near my age also. I'm conflicted of trying to determine my sexuality and being a Christian. I feel that if I even have sex with either a guy or girl, I automatically committed a sin in the eyes of Jesus and God. And if I even have sex with a guy in any shape of capacity, then its sodomy. I mean I don't where in the Bible where it say that I can attempt to explore my sexuality. I mean I can't just explore my sexuality whenever I'll explain. I live with family and I don't have a car, and my (disabled veteran/retired) dad drives me to and from work each day. So it's not easy for me to just drop what I am doing and meet a guy or girl up for a hook up. Plus my parents know who my friends are from Chi Alpha and would know if any random guy or girl they don't know pulls up my house. I'm not wanting some random guy or girl from a hook up app to pull up to my house to pick me up. Not my thing. I am still in Chi Alpha to some degree. I mean my white conservative evangelical friend Zach invited me to small group this which I attended. But I feel a bit distant from Chi Alpha for some reason for my 3rd year. My ageand my growing confusion of my sexuality and my faith. No one in XA knows about the issue with my sexuality, because if I did say that I would probably be persona no grata from XA if I did, worse if I said blasphemous things about Jesus. I don't know if any of the experts like @quebec could assist.
Seriously? In my opinion you are not sinning by enjoying being together with whomever you love. I am a Christian, too, although I am not that devoted since I am sceptic about Jesus but I really cannot see any conflict. Same as society the Christian community has changed as well and does not abide to every single rule that is written in the testament. Where I live most christians are open to gay people and accept or respect them. It's as same as people with other religions. Even though some christians once had claimed that a guy believing in someone else as god must be possessed by the devil because he calls the demons just with other names it doesn't mean it is true. Christians had after all waged wars in the name of god, burned innocent by calling them out of being witches and tortured those who dared to say anything against the Catholic Church. And who knows, what the homosexual condemning passages actually mean? Maybe there had been a slight misunderstanding? The Bible had been written a long time ago by man. It is more important to concentrate on the love your next part than to worry about Christianity clashing with your faith. Do not kill, greed, envy, hurt another and enjoy loving your next and god. That's the most important thing Christianity is about. It's about helping and helping another. The simplest lesson that we all have to learn. Even me.
I mean 1st century AD of Jesus's time, the word homosexuality didn't exist. That is a 19th century construct added in later translations to the Bible. And the Catholic Church did do some horrible things in the early modern era of sanctioning colonalism in Latin America and the Spanish Inqusistion, and also the centuries long pedophila in the Catholic Church. In the Gospels themselves, Jesus said not one word about homosexuality or lesbianism. Paul's letters does touch on that but you have to remember the word "homosexual" was a 19th century construct adopted to later translations.
I am not a Christian, so I am probably not your target audience. But I will say that I don't believe any religion teaches that it is wrong to love someone. Jesus was all about love, loving your neighbor, your enemies, all of that, so I can't imagine he would judge you for loving someone of the same sex. And I know there are many Christians who feel the same way.
