Here's how various parts of the church (christians) seem to come out--hee hee--on the issue of homosexuality. (As far as i can tell) Thought it would be good contextualization for conversation.
1) The first perhaps most vocal category of christians says homosexuality is sin and if you are gay, or think you might be, your only option is to be healed or be celibate. This group has the most literal view of the bible. Some of the more vocal voices in this category are exodus international AND a yearly conference called the Pastoral Care Ministries School which happens in Wheaton Illinois. There are good people amongst them. And I'm not going to disagree with someone's story of being healed. This is definitely where my family falls.
2) The next category of christians would say being gay is biological and you can't change it or heal it. You can be a christian and be gay. Being gay is not a sin, however gay sex is sin because it's outside of marriage. Two of my friends (a gay couple) believe this. The way this works for them is they have a monogamous, mostly celibate, committed relationship. They own a house together. They share a banking account. They share a bed. But they try not to have sex. According to them they were in the gay lifestyle before meeting each other and came to believe that the sex they were having just wasn't right it didn't feel right. So this is their compromise. To be together but help each other not sleep around and to try to the best of their ability to not have sex with each other. Sometimes they fail but if they end up having sex at least it's in a committed relationship.
I highly respect both of these friends. This option sounds totally painful, although not as painful as thinking you are always broken or messed up for who you are.
3) The third category of christians is represented by open and accepting churches. They would say being gay is not a sin. God created some people that way. And having same-sex sex is not a sin. I don't know anyone in this category who is gay. Nor anyone who strongly believes the bible and believes this way. Which is hard for me. I'd like to know someone who fits in this category because it would help me. The tricky thing for me is that this group doesn't seem to have much to say about what a healthy sexual life looks like. Where the first two categories of christians have lots of thoughts about what is safe, moral, and right. . . Maybe this group does as well but I can't find much on it. I did find one link of a person who would be an example of someone in this category. http://pcusaboy.livejournal.com/93316.html
Where do I fall in general? Depends on the day. Today, probably in group two. Perhaps I should put a little image up every day that says where I fall on that day. Part of my issue is that depending on who I listen to and talk to I move amongst these three. I find all three groups of logic can be pretty persuasive. Although group two is the most persuasive. They hold the bible as important AND say being gay isn't a sin. Which is attractive to me. To be perfectly honest though, I would be a #3 in a heartbeat if a certain someone wanted me. And frankly that scares beyond words. Thank God that relationship ended. I couldn't handle it. I wonder these days if I subtly made it end on purpose so I wouldn't have to deal with figuring out where I fall on these three.
4 comments:
Why does the prospect of finding yourself in number 3 frighten you? Even if you decide that you're straight and asking yourself these questions turn out to be moot... what's frightening about 3? Why would you presume that the folks in group 3 don't hold the bible as important? Again, I'm just trying to understand how you feel about this stuff. Much love to you!
Have you read any of the resources under "homosexuality and the bible"?
http://www.mccchurch.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
-Zu
Here's something else I thought was interesting:
Sexuality and Sexual Expression
The Bible contains 6 admonishments to homosexuals, and 362 to heterosexuals. This doesn't mean God doesn't love heterosexuals, it's just that they need more supervision. - Unknown
We believe that human sexuality in and of itself is not sinful.
As Christians it is our responsibility to live in integrity, which means we try to live our lives in "wholeness." When we become a Christian, our sexual orientation does not change, but we are admonished by the Scriptures to conduct our life, including our sexual behavior in a manner consistent with our Christian faith.
Sexuality should not be ignored nor denied; it is a gift of our Creator.
On the other hand, it is just one part of our identity and should never be elevated to a point where it defines who we are and controls what we do. Sexual behavior must be conducted with an understanding of and obedience to the principles of God's Word.
In that context, we believe God's design for the optimum sexual expression is within the confines of committed, fidelity, and monogamy.
For further reading, get your Bible and check out: Ephesians 4:1-3; Philippians 1:27; Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 4:17-24; Colossians 1:10, 2:6-7, 3: 3:12-17; Ephesians 5:22-33; Colossians 3:12-19; Galatians 6:2, 5:1; Thessalonians 5:21-23.
Just read it now. Thanks for pointing it out. More than just you have reminded me to see the big picture. Hence my post today (Jan 3rd) and that's not even the big picture.
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