‘I never wanted to be gay’: Christian mician out, movg letter to fans - The Washgton Post

Contents:

• CHRISTIAN SGER RAY BOLTZ COM OUT, LIV A NORMAL GAY LIFE
• DID GOD CREATE RAY BOLTZ GAY?
• EVANGELILS AND THE GAY CLOSET: IS RAY BOLTZ STILL A CHRISTIAN?
• LEAVG THE GAY LIFE BEHD
• RAY BOLTZ – ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT BEG GAY
• GAY MARRIAGE BAN: THE SE AGAST
• ‘I NEVER WANTED TO BE GAY’: CHRISTIAN MICIAN OUT, MOVG LETTER TO FANS
• GOSPEL ARTIST RAY BOLTZ SAYS HE’S GAY
• CCM VETERAN RAY BOLTZ OUT OF THE CLOSET AND NFS HE’S GAY
• RAY BOLTZ ON HIS FAH, SEXUALY, AND GAY MARRIAGE

CHRISTIAN SGER RAY BOLTZ COM OUT, LIV A NORMAL GAY LIFE

I beme a Christian, I thought that was the way to al wh this and I prayed hard and tried for 30-some years and then at the end, I was jt gog, 'I'm still gay. “I don't want to be a spokperson, I don't want to be a poster boy for gay Christians, I don't want to be a ltle box on TV wh three other people ltle box screamg about what the Bible says, I don't want to be some kd of teacher or theologian — I’m jt an artist and I’m jt gog to sg about what I feel and wre about what I feel and see where go.

The majory of Christian publitns, while not openly attackg him, ma clear that they do not support his cisn to live his life as a homosexual man. Most of the gay publitns appld him for g out publicly and see him as a way to rencile fah J wh a homosexual liftyle. “I basilly lived an ‘ex-gay’ life — I read every book, I read all the scriptur they e, I did everythg to try and change.

There are some that feel that his "givg to the temptatn of s" and "succumbg to the homosexual lie" wip out every shred of value that his mic ever had the world and that he should be "shunned om the body of Christ until he repents and chang his ways bee he n not receive fivens until he actually repents om the s. Whether someone was born gay bee God ma him that way so he has no choice is pared by some Christians to beg born a fay of alholics wh a predisposn to the ndn. They see the rejectn of homosexual persons as gog agast the very gra of J' preachg to love your neighbors as yourself.

DID GOD CREATE RAY BOLTZ GAY?

"I don't want to be a spokperson, I don't want to be a poster boy for gay Christians, I don't want to be a ltle box on TV wh three other people ltle box screamg about what the Bible says, I don't want to be some kd of teacher or theologian — I’m jt an artist and I’m jt gog to sg about what I feel and wre about what I feel and see where go.

She is active on social media and remas iends wh her 2004, when Ray Boltz me out to his wife Carol and their four children, Carol has shown herself to be a woman of extraordary strength and hband or wife who fds out their spoe is gay, will undoubtedly face a variety of tratg suatns and want many qutns answered.

EVANGELILS AND THE GAY CLOSET: IS RAY BOLTZ STILL A CHRISTIAN?

She saw two choic: she uld hold to the olr views of homosexualy - that is wrong and offensive to God - and lose Ray as a iend, or she uld embrace newer views of homosexualy - that God won’t change what He created to beg wh - and lose her marriage. Francis ’S NOTE: This monthly lumn about the issue of homosexualy by var thors is a partnership between Baptist Prs and the SBC Task Force on Mistry to Homosexuals. SOUTHLAKE, Texas (BP)–“If this is the way God ma me, then this is the way I’m gog to live, ” Christian sger Ray Boltz said a recent article disclosg his cisn to divorce his wife and live as a did God really create Ray Boltz as a homosexual?

LEAVG THE GAY LIFE BEHD

The study had major gaps s methodology, and even LeVay, a homosexual nroscientist, has said that didn’t prove what he hoped article such as this monstrat the difficulty of speakg tth to our culture today.

Studi attemptg to normalize homosexual behavr are troduced wh much fanfare, and we hear about “important” new disveri that are accepted as facts.

We don’t hear, however, about the studi which don’t pan out or which uld lead to a different Hamer also me out wh a study 1993 which tmpeted the likelihood of a gay gene. Francis Colls, head of the Human Genome project, ma the followg ments:“An area of particularly strong public tert is the geic basis of homosexualy. However, the likelihood that the intil tw of a homosexual male will also be gay is about 20% (pared wh 2-4 percent of mal the general populatn), ditg that sexual orientatn is geilly fluenced but not hardwired by DNA, and that whatever gen are volved reprent predisposns, not pretermatns” (p.

RAY BOLTZ – ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT BEG GAY

”I would certaly enurage rears to do that, payg particular attentn to pag need for Christians to be prepared to al wh this issue is shown another ment by Boltz: “I gus I felt that the church, that they had wrong about how I felt wh beg gay all the years, so maybe they had wrong about a lot of other thgs. I’ve often thought that many people turn to var pro-gay groups bee the church was not there at the time of their crisis. I pray that one day Ray will realize that God did not create him a homosexual and that there is a way are sperate need of children of Issachar, who unrstand the tim and know what to do (1 Chronicl 12:32).

” Scripture (1 Corthians 6:9-11) tells that people n leave wh long experience this mistry will tell you that very few people have left homosexualy whout the support and volvement of others. Boltz is hont and open about his life, and is actually que passnate towards people who attack him for beg gay. Remember, most Evangelils believe homosexualy to be a sign of a reprobate heart; that there is no such thg as a “gay” Christian; that there will be NO LGBTQ people Heaven.

GAY MARRIAGE BAN: THE SE AGAST

A 2018 Thought Co article tled, Christian Sger Ray Boltz Com Out, Says He Liv a Normal Gay Life, tails how many (most) Evangelils view Boltz’s g out:.

“I basilly lived an ‘ex-gay’ life—I read every book, I read all the scriptur they e, I did everythg to try and change. There are some that feel that his “givg to the temptatn of s” and “succumbg to the homosexual lie” wip out every shred of value that his mic ever had the world and that he should be “shunned om the body of Christ until he repents and chang his ways bee he n not receive fivens until he actually repents om the s. 5 ln rerds before retirg om Christian mic a few years ago, me out of the closet Friday to announce that he's gay.

‘I NEVER WANTED TO BE GAY’: CHRISTIAN MICIAN OUT, MOVG LETTER TO FANS

In an terview wh the gay magaze The Washgton Bla, Boltz said he me out to his fay and some close iends December 2004, but only now cid to go public wh the news. "I beme a Christian, I thought that was the way to al wh this and I prayed hard and tried for 30-some years and then at the end, I was jt gog, 'I'm still gay. Boltz also told The Bla that he don't want to get to bat about Scripture and has no plans to "go to First Baptist or an Assembly of God church and n there and say, 'I'm gay and you need to love me anyway.

When Christian mic veteran Ray Boltz released a statement sayg he was gay last fall, the announcement sent tidal wav of disbelief through the CCM world, shockg longtime listeners wh his assertn, "If this is the way God ma me, then this is the way I'm gog to live.

" The news prompted hundreds of related articl, msageboard threads and fom discsns on the topic of homosexualy and the church.

GOSPEL ARTIST RAY BOLTZ SAYS HE’S GAY

David, whose own history of homosexualy and spirual downward spiral h rock bottom 1997—which he lls "the worst year of my life"—shar Boltz' ndidns, but not his nvictns.

”Sce g out to his fay, Boltz spent much of his time visg a variety of Metropolan Communy Church and other gay-affirmg church. ”Though Boltz has overe the barrier to thentic happs, many the Christian mic dtry are likely still hidg the fact that they are gay out of fear of losg their reer, or simply not beg able to rencile their fah and sexualy. Y, his divorce is apparently a nsequence of him cidg that he was born gay and that this is a gift om God and the way his creator wired him.

2> What do one do wh the Bible passag that clare that the homosexual liftyle is not pleasg to God and was not behavur that the Lord tolerated then still do fd acceptable now? However, man’s s n also send him there if he do not repent and accept the ee gift of eternal life offered only by J Christ who shed His blood for the fivens of ss – cludg the s of homosexualy.

CCM VETERAN RAY BOLTZ OUT OF THE CLOSET AND NFS HE’S GAY

He was gay, and he had been tryg not to be gay sce his teens, and he had habed and ed thrived a fundamentalist Christian culture that stcted him he uld pray to be livered om his afflictn, his s.

As an openly gay man, livg a gay-iendly part of South Florida wh his partner, Fran Sperduti, he has released his first album sce g is lled “Te, ” and s songs talk about same-sex marriage (“Don’t Tell Me Who to Love”), bias crim (“Swimmg Hole”), and nservative claims that there is a polil “agenda” for gay men and lbians (“Followg Her Dreams”) ZuckerMost libly, several of the songs aim to rencile the gay inty Mr.

RAY BOLTZ ON HIS FAH, SEXUALY, AND GAY MARRIAGE

His recent gigs have clud a gay pri celebratn Long Beach, Calif., and liberal Christian church om Anchorage to At.

They were secure their nservative Christian fah that viewed homosexualy as a Boltz, who had grappled privately wh prsn, told his wife of three s and their four grown children somethg is — and always has been — many ways, what me next for the Boltz fay reflects the ongog evolutn of attus toward gay rights and same-sex marriage Indiana over the past the state nears the fal rounds of nsiratn for a proposed nstutnal ban on gay marriage — an amendment that has seen creasg support the polls — the Boltz now are among many Christians who have e to accept same-sex Boltz rejects the view of some evangelils, who ce dividual Bible vers as nmng homosexualy, as too leral and too selective.