What I learned growg up as a gay Jehovah’s Wns north Cork – The Irish Tim

Contents:

• BEG A GAY JEHOVAH'S WNS MA DANIEL FEEL LIKE HE 'DIDN'T BELONG ANYWHERE'
• THE HARDSHIP OF BEG A GAY JEHOVAH'S WNS
• WHAT I LEARNED GROWG UP AS A GAY JEHOVAH’S WNS NORTH CORK
• IF I’M A GAY JEHOVAH’S WNS, IS HETEROSEXUAL MARRIAGE THE ANSWER?
• INSI AND OUTST: MULTIFACETED STIGMA AND REMPTN THE LIV OF GAY AND LBIAN JEHOVAH'S WNS

BEG A GAY JEHOVAH'S WNS MA DANIEL FEEL LIKE HE 'DIDN'T BELONG ANYWHERE'

"That was how homosexuals were always portrayed at the meetgs and bible discsns, so beg aware that you were gay, you really were odd. Although the Bible nmns homosexual acts, do not enurage prejudice, hate crim, or any other kd of mistreatment of homosexuals. ” (Hebrews 12:14) While they reject homosexual acts, Jehovah’s Wns do not force their view on others, nor do they participate homophobic hate crim or rejoice when they hear of them.

Still, some people would say that the Bible promot prejudice agast homosexuals and that those who adhere to s moral are tolerant.

For example, the Bible speaks of “those who are sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, men who subm to homosexual acts, ” and then adds: “That is what some of you were. In sayg “that is what some of you were, ” do the Bible mean that those who stopped engagg homosexual acts never aga experienced any homosexual sir? (Romans 7:16-25) A person who has homosexual leangs n ntrol what he allows his md to dwell on, jt as he would ntrol any other wrong sire, cludg leangs toward anger, adultery, and greed.

THE HARDSHIP OF BEG A GAY JEHOVAH'S WNS

A few weeks later, our ngregatn’s pridg elr lled me on the phone and asked if I was “a homosexual” and planng to live as one, as if the two n be separated.

WHAT I LEARNED GROWG UP AS A GAY JEHOVAH’S WNS NORTH CORK

Whilst I was told I uld have Jehovah’s favour if I did not practice my homosexual feelgs (like a straight person uld whilst not mtg fornitn) I personally felt that was different if you are gay.

IF I’M A GAY JEHOVAH’S WNS, IS HETEROSEXUAL MARRIAGE THE ANSWER?

Many tim I have sat through meetgs and the topic of homosexualy or homosexuals have e up and I crge at what I’m hearg and I have to get up to go to the toilet jt to stop hearg , bee I don’t want to be remd how beg gay is wrong and how gay people will be stroyed at Armageddon. Y, I know only refers to those who are practisg homosexuals, but knowg how God hat homosexuals and knowg that I am one and n’t fix that is mentally bilatg. Whilst imprsed wh their level of fah orr to do this, is sad gay people are nied very basic human rights, the right to love someone and build a home wh that person.

I was not after sex, and had no plans to sexually attack the people, but bee I was outed as beg gay, people beme unfortable wh me. My only memory of gay people ever beg mentned at home was my stepmother once mutterg "disgtg" when a gay character appeared on a televisn belief of not beg good enough took root. Of urse, there were noticeable cultural differenc, however, I uld see the same pa them that I had endured my childhood and how led to parable Dubl, the gay Arab iends uld be “out” gay men, as I had been Cork.

INSI AND OUTST: MULTIFACETED STIGMA AND REMPTN THE LIV OF GAY AND LBIAN JEHOVAH'S WNS

Of urse, I nnot know if what I experienced as a gay man growg up a fundamentalist Christian sect north Cork is tly the same as a gay man growg up wh a Mlim fay the Middle East. Every time they travelled home, they were forced to go “back the closet” sufferg gay people endure om hom where dogmatism tmps kdns is utterly stctive, sometim fatally so. Though I have ma much progrs wh years of therapy, I am still untanglg the black roots of self-hatred imposed on of that untanglg was to tell my mother that I was gay when I first met her a fe off St Patrick’s Street.