God gay

In Romans , Apostle Paul says that homosexuality is contrary to God's natural order and results from rejecting God. Additionally, 1 Corinthians lists homosexuality as one of the sins that will prevent someone from entering the Kingdom of God. Everyone needs God’s mercy, but 1 Corinthians is often taken out of context so that the emphasis lands on homosexuality.

This narrow-mindedness overlooks thievery, greed, drunkenness, abuse, and fraud which are also listed. It repeatedly affirms the love of God, exemplified through Christ, who extends salvation to everyone who believes. Romans reminds that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” For many interpreters, this forms the unified, scriptural teaching on homosexuality.

Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you.

A common argument for the acceptance of homosexuality and same-sex marriage is that, if God is love, He would not condemn the love of others. The main problem with this is the kind of “love” we’re talking about. First John says, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”. I was at work on an ordinary Monday morning when I received a text from my mother with an article link. We were in the throes of planning our wedding, and he knew what it would mean for me to possibly have a Catholic priest bless us.

Briefly, I allowed myself to feel a sense of excitement. I opened social media and watched the online discussion commence, eager to share this moment with others. But I was then quickly exhausted by the punditry and analysis. I was certain that our union would be blessed by an Episcopalian priest, but unsure about what if anything the Vatican declaration might mean for our future.

I grew up in a large Catholic family where belief in God was a given. Instead, my early experiences of God were more natural, unassuming consolations. I can remember sitting in my room with my brother and listening to intermittent outbursts of laughter as a family party raged below. The house was full of love, history and uncontrollable chaos, and I knew that my little world was being held together by some divine light.

The moment that word entered the scene, I started to look over there—in church, in prayer cards and in the ideas that my family argued about at the dinner table. I found myself going to confession compulsively to seek relief from my scruples, many of which sprung from knowing that my sexuality was different.

I was born with an anxious disposition and felt drawn to the sense of order that our rituals and ideas provided. When I hit my teenage years, my worrying turned towards religion. I was obsessed with the rules, which gave me a sense of control over a scary, invisible part of myself beginning to emerge.

bible verses about homosexuality bible gateway

I developed a distorted view of mercy as something to be fought for and earned with self-control and achievements. My inner life unfolded in a loving and fiercely dedicated extended family that seemed to understand God as a talking point. They were the type of Catholics who defended the doctrine of consubstantiation at the dinner table. A conversation about God almost always led to a debate about politics.

Their ideological opponents were not seated next to them but out there somewhere, looming. I internalized faith as a clear set of ideals that you could feel good about defending. In this context, I took for granted that my sexuality was a private cross to bear. In my 20s, there was a split. I moved to New York City and lived a life of creativity and freedom, but I was still sneaking out of my Manhattan office to seek confession.

Exhausted, I finally admitted to a therapist that I was gay. True to the hyper-rational faith of my childhood, I hit the books. I took an online course from Yale on the history of the Bible. I began to examine the lens through which I viewed Scripture, which usually involved looking for clues to justify my own shame.

I was surprised to discover a variety of opinions on sexuality within the institution of the church. I read theologians who interpreted Scripture in ways that opened up the texts to me, and helped me to discover new layers and meanings. I was preparing to defend myself, but in the process I discovered a deep spirituality lying beneath the externals of my childhood, filling them with new dimensions and life.

I discovered that while my faith was a source of anxiety, it could also be a source of infinite love and mercy.