The Orthodox Church’s role Rsia’s anti-gay laws | Natnal Catholic Reporter

Contents:

• CAN SOMEONE BE GAY AND CHRISTIAN? IS POSSIBLE TO BE A GAY CHRISTIAN?
• IS POSSIBLE TO BE A GAY CHRISTIAN?
• HOW TO BE AN OPENLY GAY CHRISTIAN
• CAN YOU BE GAY AND CHRISTIAN?
• CAN YOU BE GAY AND CHRISTIAN? UNRSTANDG THE DEBATE
• CAN A PERSON BE GAY AND STILL BE A CHRISTIAN?
• 10 REASONS GOD LOV GAY CHRISTIANS
• CAN SOMEONE BE A GAY CHRISTIAN?
• WHAT DO THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT BEG BORN GAY?
• IS ANYONE BORN GAY?
• HOW TO RENCILE YOUR CHRISTIAN FAH WH YOUR GAY LIFE
• CAN CHRISTIANS BE GAY?
• ARE GAY CHRISTIANS GENUE CHRISTIANS?
• THE ORTHODOX CHURCH’S ROLE RSIA’S ANTI-GAY LAWS

CAN SOMEONE BE GAY AND CHRISTIAN? IS POSSIBLE TO BE A GAY CHRISTIAN?

However, the Bible is very clear that gay sexual activy is nsired sful and that a Christian is not to take part such activi.

Romans 1:26-27 not gay activy as "unnatural" while 1 Corthians 6:9-10 lists same sex activy as somethg done by those who will "not her the kgdom of God. In fact, Pl's list clus, "the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexualy, nor thiev, nor the greedy, nor dnkards, nor revilers, nor swdlers" (1 Corthians 6:9-10). Do not be ceived; neher fornitors, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effemate, nor homosexuals, nor thiev, nor the veto, nor dnkards, nor revilers, nor swdlers, will her the kgdom of God” (1 Corthians 6:9-10).

IS POSSIBLE TO BE A GAY CHRISTIAN?

While is unniable, biblilly speakg, that homosexualy is immoral and unnatural (Romans 1:26-27), no sense do the Bible scribe homosexualy as an unfivable s. It is nsistent, for example, to clare those guilty of pre-maral sex as “disobedient Christians, ” while clarg homosexuals fively non-Christians.

If the phrase “gay Christian” refers to a person who stggl agast homosexual sir and temptatns – y, a “gay Christian” is possible. However, the scriptn “gay Christian” is not accurate for such a person, sce he/she do not sire to be gay, and is stgglg agast the temptatns. Such a person is not a “gay Christian, ” but rather is simply a stgglg Christian, jt as there are Christians who stggle wh fornitn, lyg, and stealg.

HOW TO BE AN OPENLY GAY CHRISTIAN

If the phrase “gay Christian” refers to a person who actively, perpetually, and unrepentantly liv a homosexual liftyle – no, is not possible for such a person to tly be a Christian.

CAN YOU BE GAY AND CHRISTIAN?

Look for church that have LGBTQ affy groups, Gay Straight Allianc, mentorg programs for queer youth, and diversy-affirmg mte. If there are no ngregatns near where you live, nsir streamg onle church servic om a gay-affirmg church and participatg related msage boards.

Reassure them that you know what you are talkg about, that you have always been gay, and that you are still a Christian. If they say you're nfed, rebellg, or have "chosen" to intify as gay, all you n do is say that you unrstand why they thk that, but 's not te. While terpretatn of the Bible vari over time and between nomatns, many Christians rely on a few short passag to nmn gay people.

CAN YOU BE GAY AND CHRISTIAN? UNRSTANDG THE DEBATE

Pot out that Romans 1:26-27 and Levic 18:22 and 20:13 are about teachg agast worship of false gods, and that ntext may expla the language about gay sex. If they brg up I Corthians 6:9 or I Timothy 1:10, tell them the translatn of the Greek words "malakos" and "arsenoko" as "gay" is ntroversial, as that meang was rare when the words were most mon.

In the Bible, I heard some passag that a male beg gay is abomatn; I'm actually gay and I'm not sure if I'm gonna go to heaven. A spate of books and vios and article and blogs would tell that, ed, that is not the gospel and that the good news of J is that you n follow Him and enjoy a mted, homosexual relatnship too.

4:12-13) we will humble ourselv before the Lord, keepg our foc on J and askg the Father to give His heart for those who intify as LGBT, lettg the unequivol ttimony of Scripture gui , we will fd, what do the Word of God say about homosexual practice? The ttimony of Scripture remas unchanged: The Bible forbids homosexual is clear that the vast majory of those who have changed their views on what the Bible says about homosexualy and now believe “gay Christiany” have done so based on eher their own same-sex sir and attractns or their teractn wh “gay Christians” (or wh any gay or lbian person who challeng their assumptns) other words, they have not changed their thkg based on study of the Scriptur alone sce no new textual, archaeologil, soclogil, anthropologil, or philologil disveri have been ma the last fifty years that would e to read any of the biblil texts another way, is not that we have gaed some new sights to what the biblil text means based on the study of the Hebrew and Greek texts. This is the guaranteed path to Word of God, which reprents His heart and will for His creatn, is absolutely clear on the subject, prohibg all forms of homosexual practice.

CAN A PERSON BE GAY AND STILL BE A CHRISTIAN?

This is so clear that a number of leadg gay and lbian theologians acknowledge that they n only jtify “gay Christiany” by rejectg the full thory of Scripture. First, they claim that the vers have been mistranslated, misterpreted, or mised, and so, realy, the Scriptur do not prohib monogamo, mted, homosexual relatnships. To the ntrary, was so important that every sgle recipe the book mak no mentn of is exactly the same when to the Bible and homosexualy.

There are a few, very strong, very clear, referenc to homosexual practice—every one of them cidly negative—and then not a sgle reference to homosexual practice throughout the rt of the Bible. Throughout the Word, the only relatnships that were acceptable God’s sight or nsired normal for society were heterosexual relatnships, and so homosexual practice was eher irrelevant (bee had nothg to do wh the God-ordaed relatnships of marriage and fay and society) or, if mentned, explicly give jt one example out of hundreds, when a gay uple reads the Word and they e to Pl’s words Ephians 5:22, 25, “Wiv, subm to your own hbands, as to the Lord....

A man pl a man or a woman pl a woman nnot possibly share the same unn as a man and a woman sce they do not share the sential of fundamental samens and rephrase the famo axm of John Gray, namely, that men are om Mars and women are om Ven, Mars + Mars or Ven + Ven nnot ever equal Mars + the words of a man who has lived as a homosexual all his life (he’s now past 70) but has recently found the Lord, “Even an atheist n unrstand the lack of anatomil plementary and therefore blogil purpose male-to-male or female-to-female sexualy.

10 REASONS GOD LOV GAY CHRISTIANS

”To everyone who profs to be a gay Christian, I ask you to get alone wh God and ask yourself, “Did God create and sign me to be wh the same-sex or the oppose sex?

What the biblil thors rejected, we are told, was man-boy relatnships, or male prostutn, or homosexual the sful practic were certaly rejected, but biblil thors like Pl were certaly aware of long-term, male-male importantly, Hebrews 4:13 stat that “no creature is hidn om [God’s] sight, but all are naked and exposed to the ey of him to whom we mt give acunt.

Are gay theologians willg to say that the Lord Himself did not unrstand morn-day, still-evolvg ncepts like “sexual orientatn? ”And are they willg to say that the Lord J, who lerally looked to the hearts and souls of human begs—John 2:25 says that He knew what was man—didn’t unrstand that certa people were “gay? The gospel brgs good news to homosexual men and theologians tell that the tradnal gospel msage is a “bad tree, ” brgg forth the bad u of prsn, apostasy, and even suici among gay men and the ntrary, the msage of the gospel brgs fivens, eedom, hope, and liverance, as untls thoands of ex-gays n attt, by which I mean followers of J who no longer practice homosexualy.

CAN SOMEONE BE A GAY CHRISTIAN?

In other words, some Christians affirm homosexualy not simply bee "love ws" but bee God seems to affirm urse there are a number of Christians who rpond to this - as most recently seen the Nashville Statement that basilly reaffirm the historil Christian view of homosexualy. You see, this nversatn is changg wh the church, which is why more and more church today are acceptg homosexual relatnships. There are plenty of Christians out there who affirm homosexual behavr bee they simply don't take the claims of Scripture serly.

However, there are other affirmg Christians out there like Matthew V (God and the Gay Christian) and Jt Lee (Torn) that are different.

WHAT DO THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT BEG BORN GAY?

2) The Biblil Prohibns Aren't Sayg What We Thk They're SaygWhen you look more closely at the six biblil passag that addrs homosexualy, you'll realize they're not really sayg what we thought they and Gomorrah? The Greek words for "homosexual practice" (malakos and arsenokotai) are ambiguo and translate better as "soft" and "exploatn. However, new scientific disveri ma Christian relook at this all the new disveri we've learned about homosexualy recent years, isn't possible that our terpretatn of the Bible may be mistaken?

5) Gay Christians Are Really Stgglg Wh This IssuePerhaps the most powerful argument om affirmg Christians are the personal ttimoni of Christians who stggle wh same-sex attractn. And after readg the guys, there were actually a lot of thgs I appreciated about their example, I appreciated how well the Christians unrstand the tradnal view of homosexualy.

IS ANYONE BORN GAY?

Christians who only read about homosexualy om guys like John Piper and Kev Deyoung tend to thk 's ridiculo how any self-profsg Christian uld possibly thk 's okay to be gay. (Photo: Shane Idleman)Many "Christians" are now suggtg that those who embrace the homosexual liftyle n live harmony wh biblil Christiany. When children stggle wh s, parents should pot them to the those who fend homosexualy, or who say nothg, tly lovg the homosexual, or are they simply seekg to avoid nflict?

For stance, if they are more worried about beg liked than beg tthful, do they really re for homosexuals more than those who are willg to risk their reputatn, and que possibly their safety, orr to speak the tth love?

HOW TO RENCILE YOUR CHRISTIAN FAH WH YOUR GAY LIFE

Homosexuals who rema monogamo are also outsi of God's will bee the entire relatnship is wrong—the unn of two men or two women is not God's plan. Some morn Bible translatns say that “homosexuals” will not her the kgdom of God, but neher the ncept nor the word for people wh exclive same-sex attractn existed before the late 19th century.

Requirg that all gay people rema celibate is at odds wh the Bible’s teachgs on celibacy, which are ground Scripture’s re affirmatn that God’s physil creatn is good. Mastream nomatns like Prbyterians and Epispalians now orda openly gay clergy, and there are seeds of change evangelil church as well.

CAN CHRISTIANS BE GAY?

Matthew V is the thor of God and the Gay Christian and is the founr of The Reformatn Project, a Bible-based non-prof anizatn that seeks to reform church teachg on sexual orientatn and genr inty. If by beg a “gay Christian” we mean livg out a gay liftyle and inty, then is clear that such a liftyle is not patible wh followg J.

If by “gay” we mean someone whose domant sexual attractn is to people of the same genr, then someone n be a “gay Christian. So, let’s take the person who says, “I was born gay, ” and they mean they have some geic atn for their attractn to people of the same sex. Then there’s the person who says “I was born gay” and may mean “I have the sir for persons of the same sex and I didn’t nscly choose them.

While some relig nomatns hold nservative beliefs that associate homosexualy wh s, others embrace and affirm LGBTQ+ dividuals. Beg a gay Christian means intifyg as both a follower of J Christ and as a person wh same-sex attractn or a homosexual orientatn. Some terpret the Bible’s referenc to homosexualy differently, emphasizg love, cln, and the cultural ntext of the biblil passag.

ARE GAY CHRISTIANS GENUE CHRISTIANS?

Gay nrologist Simon LeVay explas that sexual orientatn is “the tra that predispos to experience sexual attractn” (Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why, 1). Recently Philosophy Now ran an article to this effect by Rick Aaron [‘Christiany & Homosexualy’, Issue 138, Ed], who argued specifilly that puttg nservative, heterosexual, marriage strictur on Christian gay peopl’ sexual activy was not ‘practilly feasible’, sce most gay people uld not fd a happy and meangful life whout livg out their sexualy. I want to nsir briefly whether a gay but religly-cled person uld fd satisfactn eher by beg celibate or by marryg someone of the oppose sex, both possibili beg nied by Aaron.

Admtedly, a gay person who follows Christian moraly will experience some sufferg bee of their sexual nial which is not experienced by a married heterosexual. But life as a celibate person (aga, gay or not) is not psychologilly impossible, nor necsarily ls meangful nor ls happy than married (or habg) life. Sendly, while is easy to dismiss the ia that gay people should ever want to marry someone of the oppose sex, they n fd fulfillment if they do so a self-aware and realistic way.

What’s more, if someone is both a tradnal Christian and gay, he or she believ the supernatural grace to obey tradnal Christian moral mands – as well as the grace to be fiven when one don’t. The same holds te for the gay Christian who seeks to live out the mands of God’s Kgdom and to pend on God moment by moment. In the few words I have not tried to nvce you that Christiany is te or that sexual activy outsi marriage, cludg gay sexual activy, is wrong.

THE ORTHODOX CHURCH’S ROLE RSIA’S ANTI-GAY LAWS

If you like, I have tried to ‘feat a feater’ of Christiany by fendg the feasibily of s tradnal sexual moraly orr to show that if Christiany is te, s sexual ethic is not pecially trimental to gay people who are nservative Christians. Even if you accept the ia that beg gay is a s (which most, if not all church do), remember that is jt a s - is the same to God as any other s (any s is enough to keep you out of Heaven, if not for J' vir atonement). People who don't have a gay person their liv (or at least, don't realize that they do) may surprise you wh their reactns.

Try to mata a sense of humor if they make cluels or homophobic remarks, and remember that you are as cluels about other thgs as they are about you - try to keep a passnate perspective. Read "The Gay Fah: Christ, Scripture, and Sexualy" by Sphero, which explas great tail how the Bible is actually very pro-gay and supportive of the homosexual believer...