Is lgbtq christian
Queer, Christian, and Embraced by Family
Top image: Paul at Taipei Pride 2019
Two years ago, a few days before Christmas, my parents finally confronted me about something that I had flatly denied six years prior.
“Paul, alam namin yung pagkatao mo, at mahal namin kita,” my mother said. This was it, my coming out moment, complete with an assertion of their love for me.
There was something deeply poetic about the way my mother told me that she knew I was gay. The manage translation of what she said could be summed up as: we comprehend who you are, and we love you.
But the word “pagkatao” can more literally be understood as: the quality of your personhood.
Growing up in a Christian household, I always thought coming out to my parents was out of the question.
I spent years of my adolescence navigating being gay and Christian, negotiating between two equally crucial facets of my identity, and teaching how to find the point that was neither a compromise nor a middle ground. Now, I find myself not at a crossroads but a complete acceptance and identification with two defining aspects of myself.
I had no plans, however, of ever coming out to my parents.
This may not be a huge surprise, but we receive A LOT of questions via email, social media, and in person on Tuesdays. What caring of questions? Well, anything from, Should I obtain back together with my boyfriend or girlfriend? to What should I undertake next with my life? to How should I lovingly engage those in the LGBTQ community?
In this blog series “Ask The Porch,” we’re answering real-life questions that we’ve received from you. Disclaimer: our highest priority is always to first respond with biblical counsel from God’s Word. The hardest questions to answer are those in the “grey” areas. So we’ll do our best to share our biblically-informed opinion, but understand that we may acquire different convictions on the non-essentials (vs. the essentials).
Now, let’s dive into the question for this week emailed in from an online listener:
Can a Christian be gay?
“Hey David,
I am a Christian and acquire struggled with same sex attraction since childhood. I would not wish it on anyone. It’s very hard being alone and longing for someone to hold hands with. I want the chance to love and have someone love me back. I want to live a life for God but I also don’t crave to live on this earth alone.
What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality?
What Does The Bible Speak About Homosexuality?
Introduction
For the last two decades, Pew Investigate Center has reported that one of the most enduring ethical issues across Christian traditions is sexual diversity. For many Christians, one of the most frequently first-asked questions on this topic is, “What does the Bible speak about attraction to someone of the same sex?”
Although its unlikely that the biblical authors had any notion of sexual orientation (for example, the legal title homosexual wasn't even coined until the late 19th century) for many people of faith, the Bible is looked to for timeless guidance on what it means to honor God with our lives; and this most certainly includes our sexuality.
Before we can jump into how it is that Christians can maintain the authority of the Bible and also affirm sexual diversity, it might be helpful if we started with a brief but clear overview of some of the assumptions informing many Christian approaches to understanding the Bible.
What is the Bible?
For Christians to whom the Bible is God’s very written word, it is widely understood that God produced its contents through inspired
LGBTQ people raised Christian announce more minority stressors, similar health to those who were not
A new learn by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law and Utah Declare University finds that among LGBTQ people who were raised Christian, those who are older, Black, cisgender men, and/or live in the South are more likely to continue to identify as Christian as adults.
LGBTQ people who were never Christian reported coming out to family and friends at younger ages than those who were raised Christian. More people who stayed Christian had a history of conversion therapy than those who left Christianity or who were never Christian.
Using statistics from the nationally characteristic Generations and TransPop studies, researchers examined Christian religious identification and de-identification among LGBTQ adults and how it correlates with psychological distress in adulthood.
Almost two-thirds of LGBTQ people who were raised Christian no longer identify as Christian. Results show that LGBTQ people who left Christianity were bullied in childhood more frequently than people who stayed Christian. People who identified as Christian as adults reported more internalized homophobia/transpho
Is being gay a sin?
Answer
In order to answer the interrogate “Is being homosexual a sin?” we need to oppose some assumptions upon which the interrogate is based. Within the past fifty years, the legal title gay, as applied to homosexuality, has exploded into mainstream culture, and we are told that “being gay” is as much outside one’s control as “being short” or having blonde hair. So the doubt is worded in a loaded way and impossible to adequately answer in that form. We need to shatter this question up and deal with each piece separately. Rather than question, “Is being homosexual a sin?” we need to inquire, “Is it sinful to have lgbtq+ attractions?” And, “Is it sinful to engage in queer activities because of those attractions?”
Concerning the first question, “Is it sinful to have same-sex attractions?” the answer is complicated. First, we should probably distinguish between (actively) sinning and (passively) creature tempted:
Being temptedis not a sin. Jesus was tempted, but He never sinned (Matthew 4:1; Hebrews 4:15). Eve was tempted in the garden, and the forbidden fruit definitely appealed to her, but it seems that she did not actually sin until she took the fruit and ate it (Genesis 3:6&n