When I started wrg my new book, God and the Gay Christian, I was well aware that Christians who oppose same-sex marriage the church have long ed the Bible to fend their pot of view. As a gay Christian om an evangelil church Kansas, that stat quo has had a damagg impact on my life, which is one reason I'm settg out to change the flty perspective. Here are 10 reasons why God accepts gay Christians.
Contents:
10 REASONS GOD LOV GAY CHRISTIANS
* god and gay men *
The term “homosexual” didn’t exist until 1892.
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. While the Bible rejects ltful same-sex behavr, that’s very different om a nmnatn of all gay people and relatnships. 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.
WHAT DO GOD THK ABOUT GAY PEOPLE?
The Bible vers aren't about nmng homosexuals, gays, lbians, or transgenr people. Rather, read God's lovg warng and grace for those who have strayed om His will for sex * god and gay men *
Mastream nomatns like Prbyterians and Epispalians now orda openly gay clergy, and there are seeds of change evangelil church as well. 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. Pope Francis was recently asked about his views on homosexualy.
Persons wh homosexual tennci are children of God. Crimalisg people wh homosexual tennci is an jtice. This isn’t the first time Pope Francis has shown himself to be a progrsive lear when to, among other thgs, gay Catholics.
As a biblil scholar, I would suggt that church lears who e their cultur and theology to exclu homosexuals don’t read Scripture refully.
20 GAY GREEK GODS
Those who would exclu homosexuals om God’s kgdom choose to ignore J, turng stead to the Old Ttament – most particularly to Genis 19, the stctn of the ci of Sodom and Gomorrah. Their terpretatn of the story is that is about homosexualy. Levic 18:22 and 20:13, for example, are not about “homosexualy” as we now unrstand – as the rg, lovg and sexual relatnship between people of the same sex.
Christians – no matter which church they belong to – should follow Pl and extend to the heterosexual-homosexual distctn. A mon argument for the acceptance of homosexualy and same-sex marriage is that, if God is love, He would not nmn the love of others.
The world and maybe even our own sensivi might say that allowg others to live a homosexual relatnship is to see to their well-beg. Romans 1:26 says homosexualy is disgraceful and dishonorg. First Corthians 6:18 says that sexual immoraly, cludg homosexualy, is a s agast one’s own body.