Latest Update:
OK, after the disclaimer I wrote below on the original, original post way below, I decided to take down the post, even with the disclaimer. I felt like I was putting confusion out there and while I completely believe in asking questions and not knowing answers, it just didn’t feel right. Mostly because the more I thought about it, the more I could not agree with Justin’s interpretation of Scriptures. Specifically, it came down to the meaning of verses in Romans and Corinthians and more importantly, marriage and how that should look. I went back and finally read the other side of the argument from Ron and I have to say that it was spot-on to the way I am feeling. Yes, homosexuality is a reality but acting out is a sin and that marriage is a picture of Christ and the church and meant for a woman and man. I beg you to read both sides. I can not handle when people blindly accept a truth just because they don’t care to learn about the other side. Given that, I simply could not find peace about Justin’s side and felt like it took a lot of flimsy arguments to let homosexual relationships be acceptable. On the other hand, Ron looks at Biblical history and Christianity as a whole and honestly, a whole lot of common sense. So, with lots of struggling, I am still back to my original stance that I can not support gay marriages (and of course any sort of sexual activity outside of marriage).
To those that are not Christians, feel free to do whatever you want. I don’t expect you to live by God’s law when you have no interest in following Christ. I still love you and God does too, though. For the record though, I think you’re missing out. God rocks pretty hard. For those that are Christians and struggle with this, I come to this conclusion with love and a hurting heart. I rest my hope in the fact that God knows best and that He will not give us any temptations from which we can not find a way out.
Everything below is the post I took down which also had a disclaimer about the ORIGINAL post I wrote:
I feel the need to preface this and say I did not mean to publish this. Well I did and then I didn’t. I thought I had moved it to a draft stage but then it ignored that and published at it’s scheduled time. I still am not settled on this issue. The more I wrestle with it the more I can not feel peaceful that practicing is not a sin, particularly after rereading the Corinthians passage. Still, there are other valid points in here that are worth the read.
Here is the original post:
If you aren’t around the Christian and/or gay circles you probably haven’t seen this interview with a gay Christian. I’ve written about my viewpoint on same sex marriages before and I just have to say my viewpoint is changing. It’s been 7 years since I posted that. I’ve met people, mentored people and done a lot more reading.
And here’s the thing. I’m more convinced than ever that homosexual tendencies are not simply a choice. Justin and others who are Christians willed themselves to not have these tendencies and could not. Some of these I think could be caused by emotional and relational trauma but reality is reality. They are attracted to the same sex and even when willed they can not stop.
So the question is what to do with that?
Justin called this decision Side A and Side B. He believes in a monogamous, Christ-centered same-sex relationship. The other side believes the person should be celibate.
I have no idea what I believe anymore.
I err on the side of celibacy. I’ll be honest and say I have a super hard time believing that Christ-centered same-sex relationships exist but you know, that doesn’t mean much. Up until as recently as a week ago I would have said acting out on those desires was sinful. After reading the interview and further on his site, I can follow his logic. I’m just not sure if I follow that logic and can make the same conclusions from Scripture. The point of the matter is it’s all interpretation.
But I do know what I’m pretty sure my mind is turning about…whether government should restrict same-sex marriages. IF there are (and there are) people out there like Justin that have whole-heartedly searched God’s word and still do believe that homosexuality is ok then who am I to stop them from marrying? What if their interpretation is right and I’m wrong? I don’t know that I’ll ever push for it and be able to say that practicing homosexuality is ok but that is between them and God.
Sarah Mae published her thoughts on Justin’s interview and I love that she is wrestling with this too. And my comment to her was this: Christians need to figure out what we believe and in a much more loving way than we have to date. The face of homosexuality has changed a great deal in the last decade or two and it’s not something that is just behind doors now. I figure my views will change, maybe even as soon as I publish this, but one thing isn’t changing. These people need LOVED. Period. The hate has to stop. Even if homosexuality IS a sin, we don’t turn people away that are alcoholics or drug addicts or obese or cruel or whatever their struggling sin might be.
Hating them is only turning them away from the one thing you’re wanting them to follow.
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