(RNS) — As whe evangelil nomatns double down on their opposn to equaly, many younger evangelils, gay and straight, are votg wh their feet.
Contents:
- COMG OUT AS A GAY EVANGELIL CHRISTIAN - LGBT+ HISTORY MONTH REFLECTN BY PAM GOLD
- GAY AND EVANGELIL
- CAN YOU BE GAY-VANGELIL?
- GAY AND EVANGELIL, SEEKG PATHS OF ACCEPTANCE
COMG OUT AS A GAY EVANGELIL CHRISTIAN - LGBT+ HISTORY MONTH REFLECTN BY PAM GOLD
In early March, evangelil Pastor Stan Mchell announced to his ngregatn, GracePot Church Nashville, that he fully affirmed gay members. Growg numbers of evangelil pastors the Uned Stat are g out favor of full acceptance of LGBTQ+ people and their sir and relatnships, albe wh the nf of tradnal, monogamo, chaste, and lifelong marriag (which are strict nf ed). * gay and evangelical *
I knew what others had said about ‘gays’ as I was growg up, but I uld fight no more, I prayed ‘please God if this is real then brg someone to speak to me’ my surprise the next week I got chattg to a patient (I’m an optometrist) and she me out to me - she said she felt that I need to hear . I ntacted an anisatn lled LGCM (Lbian & Gay Christian Movement, now OneBodyOneFah) and I was sent a bundle of urage my heart and hope for somethg new I went along to a gay Christian group Manchter, where I was the only woman!
Neverthels, they put me touch wh a uple of women and, through them, I went along to Metropolan Communy Church (MCC), also known as ‘the gay church’ first urageo steps set me on the path to disvery of beg an ‘out and proud’ lbian Christian wh a ep and meangful relatnship wh God. Support for gay marriage across all age groups of whe evangelils has creased by double digs over the past , acrdg to the Public Relign Rearch Instute, and the fastt change n be found among younger evangelils — their support for gay marriage jumped om 20% 2003 to 42% 2014.
The great diversy prent among fundamentalist and leralist Christians, relative to the small number of Bible passag that actually mentn homosexual activy, leav a lot of room for someone to be an LGBTQ+ fundamentalist Christian. A lifelong unselor, teacher and tor, havg worked elementary and sendary tn for 25 years, Gary Simpson is a member of the Canadian Counselg and Psychotherapy Associatn and has spoken and led workshops on gay-straight allianc, bullyg, spirual self-fense, gay Christian inty, and the needs of GLBT youth and young adults.
GAY AND EVANGELIL
The lears of gay evangelils have led the fight agast greater acceptance of homosexuals. * gay and evangelical *
" Stephen Board, edor of Eterny magaze, replied, "In 1978 1 thk that the most tertg story will be the rponse of the Uned Prbyterian Church to var nservative ncerns, specifilly the qutn of the ordatn of homosexuals.
CAN YOU BE GAY-VANGELIL?
"(3) Also 1973, an ecumenil Natnal Task Force on Gay People the Church was regnized by the erng board of the Natnal Council of then, tert the subject of homosexualy and the church has mhroomed to the pot that there are prently fourteen nomatnal gay uc seekg acceptance for homosexuals the church. Report, for example, nclus that " view of the plexy of the issue, the disagreement among Christians and the variety the character and experience of homosexual persons themselv, seems unwise at this time to propose any one posn as the posn of our Church. For grantg lol ngregatns and prbyteri the optn of ordag self-affirmed sexually active homosexuals, seemed to dite that homosexualy per se was not to be nsired on the church and homosexualy have been rollg off secular and church prs alike creasg numbers.
Taken together, such evince suggts that homosexualy has bee a major theologil ncern of the Prottant church spe of the general tert the topic among the wir Prottant church, is surprisg that homosexualy has bee a major issue among evangelils.
His The Wtenburg Door, The Journal of the Amerin Scientific Affiliatn, Eterny, Dghters of Sarah, The Reformed Journal, Christiany Today, Inspiratn, Moody Monthly, The Christian Herald, Fah at Work, The Other Si-all have had sce 1977 major featur or whole issu voted- to a Christian unrstandg of homosexualy. While nflict between Reformed, Anabaptist, and Amerin fundamentalist tradns has been largely rponsible, as we have seen, for fosterg divisn over the church's unrstandg of social ethics, and while a lack of nsens regardg Biblil hermentics li behd much of the ntug ntroversy ncerng women's place marriage and church, is the fluence of ntemporary culture that has forced evangelils to rensir their theologil unrstandg of homosexualy.
GAY AND EVANGELIL, SEEKG PATHS OF ACCEPTANCE
Moreover, is nflictg views ncerng the theologil efulns of ntemporary culture that one n discern the velopg l of divisn wh evangelilism ncerng homosexualy the Role of Contemporary CultureThe gay liberatn movement was born on a summer eveng 1969 New York's Greenwich Village when patrons at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, risted police harassment. In 1973 the Amerin Bar Associatn lled on state legislatur to repeal all laws which place homosexual activy between nsentg adults private the tegory of a crime., In 1973, as well, the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn voted to remove homosexualy om the tegory of illns and the Amerin Psychologil Associatn siarly voted to- remove homosexualy om the tegory of the abnormal.
Mister William Johnson wr: Rather than lookg to the psychologists and the psychiatrists and the soclogists, and even to the theologians, to fd out about gay people, there is a need to listen to gay people whour church and wh the society, to beg to unrstand what we perceive to be the problems, and then together to work on those problems. Rather than homosexual activy beg donfed to a few people who are abnormal, Ksey documented the fact that mt be viewed much more wily on a ntuum of human sexualy that ns om the exclively heterosexual to the exclively homosexual.