Pl-Anthony Turner, a gay semary graduate, has a ep mment to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. "I will not leave Adventism," he says. "I won't hand over to people who operate out of fear and bigotry."
Contents:
A GAY MAN’S JOURNEY THROUGH THE ADVENTIST CHURCH
The Adventist Church’s official statement on Homosexualy, adopted 1999 and revised 2012, says that the church is “opposed to homosexual practic and relatnships. ” The Church Manual also nmns “homosexual and lbian practic, ” though the statements—and the church’s Workg Policy—do not explicly addrs bisexualy or prohib intifyg as non-heterosexual. In s Media Reference Gui, the Gay & Lbian Alliance Agast Defamatn (GLAAD), a US-based non-ernmental anizatn, intifi “liftyle” as a term to avoid when discsg LGBTQ issu.
“We ll on lol Adventist ngregatns to provi sanctuary and wele to gay, lbian, and transgenred people, their iends and fai, ” SDA Kship said a statement. The book advis parents ncerng how to rpond to their gay children orr to reta close ti to them, how to exprs acceptance and avoid alienatg language, how to wele their partners and LGBT iends to their hom. While travelg the world dog rearch on ternatnal Adventism, I asked pastors and admistrators wherever I went how many homosexual members they had, and tried to fd opportuni to meet and terview gay members personally.
Ined, he was aware of many homosexuals who had been Adventists — all had exed the church, eher bee had disfellowshipped them or bee they had realized was a hostile environment. One gay uple Buenos Air, Argenta, had grown up one of the largt ngregatns there, but had disfellowshipped them after disverg their homosexualy. When I asked another gay former pastor, who had fled to the US after he was disvered and fired, about the impact of growg up as gay and lbian Adventists Uganda, he replied, “It is the most difficult thg you uld ever thk of — they tell you that you are already nmned, gog to hell.
SEVENTH-GAY ADVENTISTS
Blais Ruguri, a Ugandan, had livered a speech at an Adventist church Uganda which he had clared that Adventists “fully” supported the ernment’s “Anti-Homosexualy Bill. It is embarrassg that Jamai is wily scribed by rights anizatns as among the most dangero plac the world to be a homosexual, wh the thori often turng a bld eye to asslts and murrs of gays, lbians, and their alli. In November 2012, Sir Patrick Allen plaed an addrs: “There is mountg prsure on stat such as Jamai to regnize specific rights for lbians and gays, wh even threat of whholdg fancial assistance om those who do not.
In the first of this century, a Jamain member of the Metro New York Adventist Fom, who had been livg the US on a stunt visa while pletg his tn, appealed to be granted permanent rince on the grounds that he, as a gay man, would be ser personal danger if obliged to return to Jamai. The Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was first diagnosed 1981, although was known ially as Gay-Related Immuno-ficiency Disorr (GRID) bee was first found among gay men Ameri. Sce was seen as a gay disease, many Adventists saw as God’s judgment on willful sners and a sign that the end of the world was imment.
While the disease raged and gay Adventists died, the GC broaned the Adventist fn of adultery to clu homosexual behavr as a legimate ground for divorce, and sued SDA Kship an attempt to force to change s name. When Msage, the missnary magaze addrsed to Ain Amerins, published a clter of articl alg wh AIDS, omted any reference to homosexualy and dg abe, fearg that this uld be terpreted as approval of such liftyl.