1. I fully agree that no one who claims to be a Christian should engage in homosexual activity. The Bible is clear that this is a sin as God intended marriage to only be between one man and one woman.
2. While I have no problem referring to someone by whatever name and pronouns they prefer, men cannot become women and women cannot become men. I, too, would not be supportive of a gender-dysphoric Christian choosing to transition.
3. That being said, I do not believe that "gay/lesbian/bisexual Christian" is an oxymoron. Since these labels describe attraction rather than behaviour and lifestyle, I do not think there is any contradiction between a Christian and also experiencing same-sex attraction. Someone identifying as gay/lesbian/bisexual does not necessarily mean that person engages in homosexual activity or even believes it is moral to do so. The Substack "A Side B Collective" (https://asidebcollective.substack.com/) is a good resource for this.
4. I do think that demisexual is a real thing, though I would not go around trying to put that label on people. I myself am aromantic and asexual, meaning I do not experience romantic and/or sexual attraction to anyone and demisexual is considered part of the asexual spectrum. It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on someone being aro ace and Christian.
5. With that all being said, I appreciate your courage in not avoiding controversial issues. Conversations like this are important to have and I think it is valuable to discuss disagreements!
i love your clarification in #3. i definitely think it's important to realize that having same-sex attractions is not the same as committing homosexual acts. to state it directly, being gay or bisexual is not considered a sin, but acting on same-sex attractions is.
Not trying to start an argument or anything but, I would say being "gay" or "bisexual" is considered a sin. The same way a man who is lustful is an adulterer in the heart. It's important to bring clarity to the fact that just because you can be a christian who may struggle with same-sex attraction DOES NOT make it right nor even "natural". It's an abomination and God will drive it out of his children through sanctification.
Yes. You can have self-control (though some may have a harder time than others) in who you are attracted to. Who you are attracted to reflects what you find attracting. You have to remember we are fallen beings. However, God does not tempt us. This is important to clarify because we don't want to bring God into this as the one who "makes us attracted to same-sex".
so if you say it’s a choice, does that mean all gay people can simply make themselves straight?? bc that seems very illogical. sexual attraction is not something anyone chooses and one can’t just stop themselves from being attracted to a certain gender. straight people are never told that they cannot love who they do so they’re not really qualified to tell gay and bi people that they can just change who they find attractive.
The fact that God has given laws (read Leviticus) on abstaining from homosexuality and etc. show that we do have a choice of who we are attracted to. The same way I am responsible for lustful thoughts, etc.
leviticus 18:22: "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination."
leviticus 20:13: "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them."
i find no mention of sexual attraction. what is addressed is sexual acts.
i have a few thoughts, but i just want to ask you guys one question. so the a in lgbtqia+ stands for “asexual/aromantic” and the i stands for “intersex” so whenever you mentioned lgbtqia+, you were addressing intersex and aro/ace people as well, so i’d like to know what are your thoughts on those two things?
I have not personally looked into those two specific groups. Being born intersex is completely different from identifying as LGBTQ, so I guess I don't really have anything to say against them. I'll actually edit my post, because it makes more sense that way :D
Great post y'all! Y'all spoke the truth in a loving way (although there will probably still be people who get mad at you over it). I think, though, on the issue of "following God" that humans can't really truly believe in Jesus without repenting, because to believe in Jesus — who He is and what He has done — requires a person to see their own sin and want to get rid of it, which can only be done through Christ. If a person truly believes in Jesus, then in conjunction I think they will simultaneously have a repentant heart and turn from their sins. If a person says they believe in Jesus, but they refuse to acknowledge or repent of their sin, then they don't really believe in Jesus because He has warned us to repent of our sins.
I agree (as usual) with you about this, but I want to take this a bit further. Particularly with the label "Christian" and how sin affects your salvation status and to what level. Maybe I will wait until part 2 comes out, though.
Amen. I'm sorry to hear that... Confusing times we live in, huh? We definitely need revival in the church and that isn't going to happen with coddling what God hates.
This was amazing I really loved reading all that you guys had to say on it. And I really appreciate and love that you didn't do it in a way that was discriminatory in any way. You are simply just laying out what you believe and explaining why you believe that and I think that is great and I completely agree.
Oh your so welcome it was my pleasure. And I understand that completely and I think that most of them do have that mindset but that just isn't the case, I likewise don't hate them at all I just don't support it and they seem to think that means the same thing sometimes. That was a big issue at my old school.
“I know what you have done; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were either one or the other!So because you are lukewarm (spiritually useless), and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth [rejecting you with disgust].”
hi! so i do think that the term "lifestyle" was gravely misused in this post because it implies a choice, despite the fact that sexual attraction is not a choice. i think the connection to christianity is that the bible doesn't portray other sexualities as acceptable or godly. in fact, multiple times homosexuality is labeled as a sin. so part of taking up the christian lifestyle would be suppressing homosexual attractions to follow christ instead.
You have a choice! Everyone is given free will! God does give us a temptation we cannot resist. Sexual attraction might be natural, but becoming gay, lesbian, bisexual or homosexual is a choice that we make as human beings to act upon that temptation. God is always willing to help if we cast our worries onto Him.
umm... no. being bisexual or homosexual means you are sexually attracted to the same or both genders. ATTRACTED. homosexual acts are another thing. no one decides who they are attracted to.
God’s design is a marriage relationship of a man and a woman, so if we are Christians, we should be adhering to His design. If you are living as a gay/etc person, that’s not His design, which is instead the way of the World.
A few thoughts here!
1. I fully agree that no one who claims to be a Christian should engage in homosexual activity. The Bible is clear that this is a sin as God intended marriage to only be between one man and one woman.
2. While I have no problem referring to someone by whatever name and pronouns they prefer, men cannot become women and women cannot become men. I, too, would not be supportive of a gender-dysphoric Christian choosing to transition.
3. That being said, I do not believe that "gay/lesbian/bisexual Christian" is an oxymoron. Since these labels describe attraction rather than behaviour and lifestyle, I do not think there is any contradiction between a Christian and also experiencing same-sex attraction. Someone identifying as gay/lesbian/bisexual does not necessarily mean that person engages in homosexual activity or even believes it is moral to do so. The Substack "A Side B Collective" (https://asidebcollective.substack.com/) is a good resource for this.
4. I do think that demisexual is a real thing, though I would not go around trying to put that label on people. I myself am aromantic and asexual, meaning I do not experience romantic and/or sexual attraction to anyone and demisexual is considered part of the asexual spectrum. It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on someone being aro ace and Christian.
5. With that all being said, I appreciate your courage in not avoiding controversial issues. Conversations like this are important to have and I think it is valuable to discuss disagreements!
i love your clarification in #3. i definitely think it's important to realize that having same-sex attractions is not the same as committing homosexual acts. to state it directly, being gay or bisexual is not considered a sin, but acting on same-sex attractions is.
Not trying to start an argument or anything but, I would say being "gay" or "bisexual" is considered a sin. The same way a man who is lustful is an adulterer in the heart. It's important to bring clarity to the fact that just because you can be a christian who may struggle with same-sex attraction DOES NOT make it right nor even "natural". It's an abomination and God will drive it out of his children through sanctification.
would you say same-sex attractions are a choice then?
Yes. You can have self-control (though some may have a harder time than others) in who you are attracted to. Who you are attracted to reflects what you find attracting. You have to remember we are fallen beings. However, God does not tempt us. This is important to clarify because we don't want to bring God into this as the one who "makes us attracted to same-sex".
so if you say it’s a choice, does that mean all gay people can simply make themselves straight?? bc that seems very illogical. sexual attraction is not something anyone chooses and one can’t just stop themselves from being attracted to a certain gender. straight people are never told that they cannot love who they do so they’re not really qualified to tell gay and bi people that they can just change who they find attractive.
You are making a straw man and misrepresenting my side. With all due respect I don't find it fair lol But I will answer nontheless heh :)
The fact that God has given laws (read Leviticus) on abstaining from homosexuality and etc. show that we do have a choice of who we are attracted to. The same way I am responsible for lustful thoughts, etc.
leviticus 18:22: "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination."
leviticus 20:13: "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them."
i find no mention of sexual attraction. what is addressed is sexual acts.
YES THANK YOU!!!!!
Haha. Who is this to? .-. lol
You 🤣
i have a few thoughts, but i just want to ask you guys one question. so the a in lgbtqia+ stands for “asexual/aromantic” and the i stands for “intersex” so whenever you mentioned lgbtqia+, you were addressing intersex and aro/ace people as well, so i’d like to know what are your thoughts on those two things?
I have not personally looked into those two specific groups. Being born intersex is completely different from identifying as LGBTQ, so I guess I don't really have anything to say against them. I'll actually edit my post, because it makes more sense that way :D
ok, thank you for clarifying!
Great post y'all! Y'all spoke the truth in a loving way (although there will probably still be people who get mad at you over it). I think, though, on the issue of "following God" that humans can't really truly believe in Jesus without repenting, because to believe in Jesus — who He is and what He has done — requires a person to see their own sin and want to get rid of it, which can only be done through Christ. If a person truly believes in Jesus, then in conjunction I think they will simultaneously have a repentant heart and turn from their sins. If a person says they believe in Jesus, but they refuse to acknowledge or repent of their sin, then they don't really believe in Jesus because He has warned us to repent of our sins.
Exactly!! Repentance is one of the most important steps to salvation. You need to repent in order to receive salvation!!
Amen!
Amen!
I agree (as usual) with you about this, but I want to take this a bit further. Particularly with the label "Christian" and how sin affects your salvation status and to what level. Maybe I will wait until part 2 comes out, though.
Absolutely!! This is just surface-level lol.
Where did that discussion thread go? Did someone delete it?
Amen. I'm sorry to hear that... Confusing times we live in, huh? We definitely need revival in the church and that isn't going to happen with coddling what God hates.
Awesome post! Good job ladies!!!
Thank you so much!!!
You’re welcome!!❤️❤️
Well written. Thank you for sharing
Thank you so much! And thank you for reading 😄
This was amazing I really loved reading all that you guys had to say on it. And I really appreciate and love that you didn't do it in a way that was discriminatory in any way. You are simply just laying out what you believe and explaining why you believe that and I think that is great and I completely agree.
Thank you so much for reading and replying! Yes, I really want to show that I don't hate the people, while most LGBTQIA+ people think I would 🤷🏼♀️
Oh your so welcome it was my pleasure. And I understand that completely and I think that most of them do have that mindset but that just isn't the case, I likewise don't hate them at all I just don't support it and they seem to think that means the same thing sometimes. That was a big issue at my old school.
No
{california laodicea}
“I know what you have done; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were either one or the other!So because you are lukewarm (spiritually useless), and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth [rejecting you with disgust].”
Revelation 3:15-16
Thank you for the enlightenment ☺️
All Glory, Holy Spirit
No
hi! so i do think that the term "lifestyle" was gravely misused in this post because it implies a choice, despite the fact that sexual attraction is not a choice. i think the connection to christianity is that the bible doesn't portray other sexualities as acceptable or godly. in fact, multiple times homosexuality is labeled as a sin. so part of taking up the christian lifestyle would be suppressing homosexual attractions to follow christ instead.
You have a choice! Everyone is given free will! God does give us a temptation we cannot resist. Sexual attraction might be natural, but becoming gay, lesbian, bisexual or homosexual is a choice that we make as human beings to act upon that temptation. God is always willing to help if we cast our worries onto Him.
Exactly!!!!!
*does not* give us a temptation we cannot resist :)
umm... no. being bisexual or homosexual means you are sexually attracted to the same or both genders. ATTRACTED. homosexual acts are another thing. no one decides who they are attracted to.
God’s design is a marriage relationship of a man and a woman, so if we are Christians, we should be adhering to His design. If you are living as a gay/etc person, that’s not His design, which is instead the way of the World.