Hi. I’m the Anon with questions. Sorry it took me awhile to get back to you. I’ve been taught my whole life that the LGBTQ community was wrong and goes against God, the God I believe in. I don’t want that to be true and judging by the content you post and reblog you don’t believe it is true. Can you show me sources that use the Bible and that are reliable so I can see what’s true? I’m tired of feeling confused, or like an impostor especially since I believe that I might be Ace.
I’m so sorry that you’re feeling confused right now. Know that I have been there, and that hundreds of thousands have been there too, you’re not alone in this <3
queertheology.com is a great site to check out for loving affirmations and lots of easily digestable resources. you can also check out religioustolerance.org’s sections on christianity and queerness. Religioustolerance.org is not a christian website, it is a world religions education resource, but its goal is to explain all points of view in whatever faith it is discussing, and thus I find it to be good at clearly laying out all the conservative arguements against queerness as well as all the liberal rebuttals to them.
If any of my followers know of other good queer christian resources, feel free to add on! (I tried to look at hoperemains but i think they’re doing site translation maitenence right now)
I am in the process of reading several articles from queertheology and so far so good! I love this article from hoperemains about transgender people (here’s another one) and this article on thegreatgaydebate (it presents both sides of the argument “is being gay a sin?” based on Jesus thoughts and actions). This collection is another non-biased source about the debate but largely based on Old Testament verses. Below are my personal thoughts and beliefs.
I grew up in a church that shuffled around the topic of homosexuality. It’s like if we didn’t talk about gay people, then they didn’t exist. There were implications that “that sort of thing” was not good or God-ordained even though it was never explicitly called a sin. I didn’t know how to feel so I took the same approach. I didn’t talk about it and honestly tried not to think about it. As long as I wasn’t gay, I was good.
Then I became friends with a group of lesbians, bisexuals, and pansexuals. In case you’re wondering, I didn’t do it on purpose. I thought they were straight until I talked with them and saw them making out at a mutual friend’s sleepover. Imagine my surprise 😅 turns out, not only were they not straight, but I was the only straight person at that party (double surprise: I’m not completely straight either, but I didn’t realize at the time 😂). My point is, I had little to no exposure to anyone in the LGBTQIA+ community prior to this moment (summer after 9th grade). I was 15.
I was 15 the first time I had heard of the term “pan”. I thought there was just gay, lesbian, and bi (and I didn’t even really understand bi at the time). I didn’t know about asexuality until I was 18-20 and I’m an ace! Like, how could I not know that? Simple. I didn’t know there was a term for it. That’s why I now take representation and advocacy for the LGBTQIA+ community so seriously. How many others still don’t know?
Based on the above articles, I believe it is not a sin to be gay. I think many of the Old Testament verses thought to be about homosexuality were taken out of context and even if they weren’t, Jesus himself says nothing on the subject. If it were that much of a sin, don’t you think He would have made a point to tell us? Some people say He was silent because there weren’t any gay people back then or because they were closeted and He didn’t know. What about the woman at the well (John 4:1-42)? Jesus practically read her mind and knew about her situation. If He wanted to condone being gay, I think He would have called it out even if the opportunity didn’t present itself.
As for being intersex and transgender, I think God created the universe in spectrums and it makes sense that humans were created to be the same. Adam and Eve (assuming they were male and female) were opposite ends of the spectrum to show the boundaries of what is possible. They don’t have to prove that those are the only two options.
As for polyamory, I’m still reading, thinking, and wrestling. I definitely don’t condone it if you don’t believe in or follow God. I’m just not sure yet if it’s something that is “okay” for those who do believe in or follow God. I’ve read this article and am hoping to read more before I come to my own conclusion.
Ultimately, I try to focus on what Jesus did say:
“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40 NLT
Regardless of what I or anyone else believes about the homosexuality, I hope we strive to love people. I love the Lord, which motivates me to love other people. While most Christians may find it hard to love gay people (and other members of the LGBTQIA+ community), I find it hard to love those who actively hate gay people and others in the community. How are you representing the love of God if you’re telling someone they’re a mistake and they need to change, that God created some people in His image but not them? That’s not love.
As my church’s youth pastor recently said, there are several gray areas when it comes to right and wrong in the Bible. Very few things are clearly defined. My interpretation? Homosexuality is one of those gray areas.
If my personal beliefs about that get in the way of me loving others, then maybe my beliefs are the problem.
I’m not here to shame anyone that does or doesn’t believe certain things about God and homosexuality. I’m just here to say that I think Jesus came to spread love and maybe we should too, especially on Easter.
Please feel free to (politely) message me if you have any questions about anything above. Like I said, I’m still working through my opinions on some things, but I do feel as though I’m a lot closer to seeing the world the way God wants me to: through a lens of love ❤️❤️
Love conquers all!
