Hi there I don't belong to rue religion but as my religionwe never talked about anyone's sexual orientationsexual orientation doesn't define who u are from insideno religion in this world preaches hate but all love and respectwe don't bring hate in a religionreligion is like loving GOD and how can u love GOD if u hate the very being he has created
Been a christian and been a Hindu is NOT defined by who u are or rue lifestylelife style doesn't define us we are defined as human beings on this planet earth which we should love and respect each human being around us no matter what their caste, creed, sex, orientation, race is
I am glad that u are open to learning morelearning is educatingplease continue.take care

Take a look at this article from a gay and Christian website.
While the letter is meant to be sarcastic, it has real laws from Leviticus in it.
http://www.gaychristianalliance.com/2010/05/23/gay-abomination-leviticus-1822/
Why should we obey this law, but not the others in Leviticus?
The letter mentions many of the other laws, that in the words of the person who wrote the article: "...really puts the Leviticus verse in perspective with the culture we live in, doesnt it. While we wouldnt condone any of the above behavior, the church holds tightly to that single Leviticus verse as universal truth."
Here is one example: Leviticus 19:19

King James Version (KJV)


19 Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.

Should we condemn people that mix seeds and cloth?
And another: Leviticus 20:9:
ESV

For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him.

Should we kill children that do that?

What should we do? Pick and choose which laws should be enforced, enforce all, or none?

I believe that if a law hurts people and does not help them, then ignore that law.

Dear SalenaMarie,

I am gay and consider myself Christian. The Bible is not so cut-and-dry. If everything is taken at face value, it is a book of contradictions and social backwardness. The same book of the Bible that bans same sex unions, also bans tattoos, eating shellfish and wearing clothes of mixed fibers. The old testament laws are a relic of when civilization was a daily battle for survival. For example, women who were menstruating had to exile themselves until it was over, slavery was active and encouraged, women were property, rape was legal as long as the rapist took his victim as a wife, and if a woman was not a virgin on her wedding night, she was put to death.

The Bible is a living document. It details the foundations of our faith; from uncivilized, slightly barbaric people under an angry and vengeful God, to a cultured and settled people under a kind and compassionate God. The ultimate change is of course Jesus. Please look up the New Covenant of Christ. it explains most clearly how one can be both Christian and gay. Jesus explained that to receive the kingdom of heaven, one need only love his fellow man and believe in Him. Basically, the "Old Laws" were done away with. It is why people in mixed race relationships can call themselves Christian, why people who enjoy lobster can call themselves Christian, why people who wear poly-blend fabrics can call themselves Christian, etc. Jesus is often called God's greatest gift to mankind, but not everyone appreciates every reason why that is. As a people, we have advanced spiritually, emotionally, mentally and philosophically over the millennia. Why would God not plan for that? Our existence has shifted from one of survival to one of personal happiness. The laws that Christ did away with were meant to continue us as a species, the ones he instilled were meant to continue us as a community.

Also, my sexual orientation is not a lifestyle. I promise you, this is not an affectation that I adopted. I was most definitely born gay. I prayed from the time I was a small child, until I was an adult that God would take this burden from me. Sadly the reason that did not happen was because I was not listening to Him. God WAS testing me with my homosexuality, but I was failing. He wasn't testing me to see if I could turn away from my natural inclinations, but was testing me to embrace who I was and how he made me. Once I finally opened my heart and mind I became a happier more well adjusted individual. God made me gay, who am I to argue with Him?

So try opening up your heart and your mind. This girl in your group deserves compassion free from judgement. Do unto her as you would have done unto yourself. Don't cast judgment on who she is, celebrate it. Encourage her to make smart, productive choices with her life. Most of all remember this; the Bible is an instrument for compassion, not a weapon of destruction. Any Christian who treats it as the latter is not a true Christian.

All the best,
Steve

Steve:
You said some really good things.
What you said about God testing you is something I have not heard before. I liked it very much.
I am agnostic. I believe that Jesus said some great things. I wish more people would follow his teachings.

The Bible itself does not say that homosexuality is a sin. Rather that is an interpretation of the literal words. The bible itself is based largely on symbology and illustration and less on literality than most religious poeple think. This is why the new Catholic Pope says back of the anti gay stuff, where the last one was heavily anti gay. At its core, there are some simple things dealing with both the catholics and the christians that needs to be kept in mind. Firstly, its all interpretive. You take from it what you will and leave behind what you do not need. Even the most devout I know believe this (mind you I know a good number of "fathers", "reverends", Priests you name it). Sure some are more against it than others spouting that the book says this and another of the same faith and level of knowledge will say they are full of it. End of the day, you are dealing with a question that is soley based on your belief in "god" "Jesus" and the basic sentiment of the bible and the morality that it teaches. Lets face it the bible lists it is wrong to kill, yet catholics have been doing that for hundreds of years... killing "for god". The bible also states that you won't find god in a building of stone and mortar but in the rocks, trees, mountains and air around you. You will have to choose which is more important to you. Living by the multiply translated and re-edited words in a little black book, or living by the faith that you have and the feelings in your heart for that person. That is going to be completely up to you. Now all this said, bit about me, I am NOT christian or catholic, but i have studied it heavily along with other religions of this world, both old and new. I have read the bible probably a couple hundred times and its a good read. That said, i will never consider myself a member of said beliefs as i have chosen to adopt the beliefs of many religions of this world as a means for finding my moral value and my own sense of justice. So i will let you have that bit as well so agian you can evaluate my words based on the value you choose to place in them. I do hope you can reconcile this one way or another. It's a world shaker for many, and a bit of a chunk to swallow.

First of all if you read the entire Bible, especially the verses that do pertain to homosexuality, no where will you find where God says that BEING homosexual is a sin. He never says that being attracted to the same sex is a sin.

Unfortunately it does say that acting on those feelings/attractions is a sin. However if you also read your Bible you will see that in the beginning God created the institution of marriage, He then set up rules for divorcement. Then He says that divorce is a sin, and getting remarried after a divorce makes both the man and woman a whore. So is He contradicting Himself on divorce? No, He loves us enough to allow us to divorce, and remarry even though it is a sin.

Lastly if you read the entire Bible, old and new testaments, (I don't remember the exact verses right at the moment), the Bible says that when Christ was on the cross he suffered every affliction, every grief, every feeling, every desire that man experiences, He knows what it's like to get divorced, He knows what it's like to steal, He knows what it's like to be gay, and He came out of the grave, with nothing but love for sinners. With everything He suffered for our sins, He still loves every one of us.

I applaud you for wanting to understand, I know where you are coming from in your beliefs, every preacher I've ever heard speak on the subject of homosexuality confuses the feeling/attraction/desire with an actual act. At one time a divorced person was shunned and was not allowed to worship in a church anymore because of their sin, but divorce became so common that the church began to change with society and eventually allowed divorcees worship in church, and even become pastors. While on this subject, the Bible says that a woman should not have authority over a man, that a woman is to keep silent in church, however now some churches allow women to be pastors, which is directly against what the Bible teaches, so you see, you can't just take what your "religion" teaches you to believe, and follow blindly, you have to study for yourself, and you have to make your own decisions. You and you alone are responsible for what you believe.

I use to hate myself because my strong faith went directly against what I was living. My entire life I was told I was a sinner, and there was no hope for me to get into heaven because I needed the gentle touch of another man. That was until I started reading for myself, until I started learning the truth about what the Bible says, and doesn't say about a lot of subjects. I still have a very strong faith, I lived as a bisexual/gay man for many years, until one day God blessed me with a wonderful woman that became my wife. I still have the need to be held by a man, I still need to feel that another man loves me, most of the time if I don't have a man in my life that can make me feel loved and accepted by other men, I feel that I don't deserve to live. How could God allow me to be born with feelings that make me feel that I don't deserve to live if he really loves me? I struggled with that question for a long long time, and one day I realized that for what ever reason good or bad, I am who I am, and God loves me even though that is who I am. I've been able to love myself since then, and I've been able to have a closer relationship with Him. Id on't ususally worry about the small stuff anymore. I just focus on the fact that He loves me, and He understands how I feel, and accepts me because of that, not despite that.

I hope this has made sense, and has helped you in some way. Your friend is going to need a good friend now more than ever, don't worry she's not going to try to seduce you just because your nice to her. Why not be a leader, and show the rest of the kids in your church the true love of God, and accept your friend for who she is, and let her know that you still want to be her friend, that you still care about her, and that you are not going to desert her. If it makes you feel better, then make sure she understands that you are straight, you just want to be her friend, and nothing else. God will reward you for showing the true love of a Christian, and for showing His acceptance.

That is the dangerous thing about religion(s): They create outcasts. Every time one group declares itself as the CHOSEN ONE- war is inevitable. Every time one group says OUR WAY is the right and divine one- agression is inevitable. Some bishop said not long ago that homosexuals have to accept the fact to have less rights than the real people, since they have chosen to live out of the norm. What dangerous nonsens! The whole discussion of who -with -who -and -what -they -do is totally ridiculous. As if society wouldn't have real problems to solve. The fact that your friend prefers girls instead of boys is a non-problem. She is just as normal as you are and her sex-life is none of your or anybody's else's business. It's simply not important!

I'm not arguing my faith with anyone. I'm also not saying Averyi is a bad person. However, her sex life became our business when she came out to the group and now wants to talk about it. I want to try and understand how she can support her lifestyle and still be a christian. I love her to pieces! She and I have been becoming very good friends. I don't need to hear about how wrong I am for believing what I believe. I simply want to understand her perspective, thats why I preferenced this post with, IF YOU ARE A GAY CHRISTIAN I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR TAKE ON THIS.

It is her life. Not her lifestyle. You may as well say that because she is female that it is a lifestyle.
A lifestyle is chosen, like you choose to be Christian.
She was born gay, like you were born hetero. You did not chose to be hetero, did you?
I do not believe anyone said you were wrong.
You asked for gay Christians to respond, but did not specifically bar anyone else from responding.
I hope you are not saying that gay non-Christians have nothing of value to say.

SalenaMarie,

I gather that you understand that from some of the colder replies, that calling homosexuality a lifestyle, or insinuating that it is voluntary, is quite offensive. I know you don't mean to be, but it is still quite hurtful. So take it as a learning experience.

I applaud you for stepping out of your comfort zone to be there for your friend. As far as her confiding in you things that make her feel uncomfortable, try to reverse what she is saying in your head as if she were talking about her and a boy. Gauge how you would react to that and proceed in that mindset. We aren't so different in the gay community. We sometimes need to lean on our friends for difficult decisions.

I am gay and Christian, so I hope my previous post was at least somewhat helpful in explaining my own journey. And as long as you keep a compassionate heart free from judgment, I see no reason why you two cannot be helpful supportive friends to each other.

All the best,
Steve

I think joe has given you one good insight, I don't think anyone here was saying you are wrong to believe in christianity, I don't recall anyone saying anything about anyone being a bad person or being wrong for that matter. The fact is what you believe is what you believe. As long as it makes you a better person and you aren't deliborately hurting others due to it then its all good. I guess the biggest question you have to ask yourself is, does the person you love and choose to share your life and heart with, truely effect a relationship with "god"? Would you dating a boy who doesn't go to church all the time or possibly doesn't even believe, but in no way stops you from it and infact encourages you to and treats you wonderfully in every way, cause "god" to disown you (for lack of a better word)? Is her being a lesbian truely effecting your ability to be her friend? From the sounds of it, it has made little difference. She is still the exact same person she has been with the same beliefs she has always had. The only thing she did was tell you she likes women. We can tell you that there is nothing wrong with being gay and christian, we can tell you that its a horrible unspeakable thing and is utterly impossibe, but in the end, it will be inside you to decide which view you choose. Do you choose based on the person you have come to know and the friendship you foster, or do you go with a generalization. All I can say is that her belief in the religion she has chosen has not changed no more than would her choice in favorite foods, color, or entertainment. That is how she can be gay and christian. From there, it is in your hands as to whether you wish to remain friends with her or not.

If she is a Bible believing Christian than she just may be aware, as I am , that homosexuality is not the sin. Homosexual sex with another homosexual is the sin. If she is not sexually active because of her relationship with Jesus Christ and has accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior than she will definitely make it into Heaven. She from a sexual point of view is more righteous than the hetrosexuals who are into all kinds of sexual sin whether married or not. And the prayer of the righteous avails much. Jesus when he walked on this earth made a declaration stating that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the only unforgivable sin. Sexuality with others of the same gender, homosexual sexuality, is a sin. It is not an unpardonable sin however as it is not that which constitutes blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, just as it is not hetrosexual sexuality outside the parameters of marraige that being sin does not constitute blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. But sexual sin is sexual sin irregardless as to whether it be homosexual or hetrosexual in nature. And both of these categories of sinners will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Do we therfore say that Christians who are hetrosexual and commit hetrosexual sex outside the parameters of marraige are going to go to Hell? If not than why insist that Christians who are attracted to those of their own gender are going to Hell if they commit acts of homosexual sexuality? Just as it is possible for unmarried hetrosexuals to refrain from sexual sin, as with married hetrosexuals, it is also possible for Christians who are attracted sexually to those of their own gender to abstain from sexual sin. It is wrong to judge others (homosexual Christians) by their sexual orientation and presume they must be living a life of homosexual sin which is immorral while pardonning those who are hetrosexual Christians because their sexual sin was committed with another hetrosexual. This is an unacceptable double standard which leads to hypocrisy : Self righteous individuals condemning homosexuals because of who they are attracted to sexually on facebook or elsewhere while approving of, facebook pages like playboy.com which are created to fulfill hetrosexuals' desire for immoral sexual gratification. That is hypocrisy and I called one on it on facebook publically. He did not choose to justify his double standard nor apologise. Also there is nothing wrong with being attracted to others of their own gender sexually as there is nothing wrong with hetrosexual Christians being attracted to those of the opposite gender sexually. If in both cases the individuals don't give into their momentary temptations to seek out sex with somebody than they have not sinned. It is not sin to be tempted. Jesus was in all ways tempted, but He did not sin. If temptation is a sin than Christians are wasting their time going to church because by Jesus being tempted He sinned in the same way Christians view homosexual temptations for sex with somebody of their own gender as sin. Thus Jesus having sinned could not pay the price required to have their sins forgiven and Christians have no hope of Salvation. So temptation is Temptation, abstinance is abstinance, and sin is sin whether the individuals be attracted to those of their gender or of the opposite gender according to the Bible. And if people do not want a relationship with Jesus as their Lord and Savior and prefer their sexual sin than they will not get into the Kingdom of God whether they be homosexuals or hetrosexuals according to the Bible. This does not pertain to Bible believing Christians who commit sexual sin irregardless as to their sexual orientation as having recieved Jesus as their Lord and Savior the sins committed by those of both orientations are forgiven. So say "Hi" to your female gay friend and do not condemn her nor modify your relationship with her. Some GLBT people are pretty cool as are some hetrosexuals. Check to see if she is Gay accepting or gay affirming though. Gay affirming Christians are those who want Jesus and heaven as well as their sex life. That does not work for them or hetrosexuals. But if she is gay accepting as Jesus is gay accepting than enjoy her company. You can even enjoy her company if she be gay affirming. But watch out for your own beliefs. I hope this helps. At this point I'm not saying where I'm at spiritually. Just what the Bible says on the topic you ask on. I have trusted Christians not worthy of my trust. So I'm not a practicing Christian.

I'm really not sure exactly what bible some of you are reading from but the bible does in fact states that homosexuality is a sin, in fact it states it as an abomination. it is easy to pull phrases and single line from scripture to try to prove what in fact would make one feel better about themselves. Fortunately that' s not why the bible is here. we can pick and chose what we like and don't like. Love your friend, accept your friend. You already know that you should not hate your friend. Her salvation resides between her and God. No one truly knows who is or isn't a real Christian, let how she lives her life be the proof.

If homosexuality is a sin than so is hetrosexuality as these two words are names of all that pertain to their respective sexual orientation. If therefore you are to tell me,Impaul, that you are a hetrosexual than it would be my duty ,if I was a Born Again Christian to rebuke you for having sex with those outside of your marraige,if you are married. I would have to rebuke you for looking at playboy magazines,etcetra, for cheating on your wife, for going to striptease bars to watch women strip and the list goes on. The reason is because homosexuals are condemned as sinners without being asked if they are sexually active with those of their own gender or doing other things that homosexuals do that constitute homosexual sin. And since hetrosexuals do many of the same things with those of the opposite gender than it is to be assummed that they also committed sexual sin and will go to hell if they are not rebuked. But again I'm not a practicing Christian and the bigotry you express towards homosexuals that is not expressed towards hetrosexuals Impaul is a big reason why. You are much gentler with pedophiles than with homosexuals. This theology of many Christians is abominable in my eyes, a victim of childhood sexual abuse, which is never touched on in sermons on Sunday morning services. I don't care to worship the God you worship, Impaul, because when I was abused sexually at age 7 I was abused by a pedophile.....not by homosexuals. But you would not be the first Christian to have a great relationship with one who abuses children if indeed you have such a relationship. Either way your priorities seem way off the mark. But summing things up homosexual sexual sin is not blasphemy of the Holy Spirit which is the unpardonnable sin Nor is sexual sin committed by hetrosexual, nor is sexual sin committed by pedophiles. But the worst of the pardonable sins that one can commit is that committed by pedophiles and others who in committing sins against children wind up severing the relationship between the child and Jesus Christ. These are the ones Jesus had the harshest judgement declared against when he said that it would be better that they have a millstone tied around their neck and be thrown into the sea than to face the wrath of Almighty God. That is the Bible I'm making my response on. AND how dare you assume that we have not read the entire Bible. Maybe you are the one who has not read it entirely Impaul.