Sexuality VS Religion

[cor]

I'm 15, male, and I think I might be gay. Problem is, not only am I uncertain, I'm also a Christian. And I don't mean your average "Christian" that commits every sin in the Book and is convinced they'll go to Paradise, but a serious Christian. Hence the conflict. "Man shall not sleep with man as he sleeps with a woman" is the central verse in my conflict, but it also involves much more, including pre-marital sex and a ton of other "normal" things that are blatant sins. I don't want to seem like an oddball 'cause I have beliefs, but I don't want to live a lonely life, either. So, any advice? And no, no one knows. I'm waiting until I'm absolutely sure, or at least till I've left school.

[LimLight]

I'm not very religious, so I am not going to try myself to answer your questions about Christianity.
But there is a really good movie I think you would find helpful. It's called Prayers for Bobby. I think you can watch it on youtube if you search it, and if not it's online.

[ProjectD]

I'm no Christian, but I believe if you love someone, God would have nothing against it. I believe that he loves, and condone's love, and would give us the freedom to show our love.

[Nishini]

I think I might actually be able to help with this one. I come from a very diverse religious background, my father is catholic, my mom is the pagan daughter of a baptist minister, and I have been exposed to some degree to all of them. I did a lot of research into the original wordings of the bible(s) because I had a very similar internal conflict when I was about 13, right before I came out to my mother. That exact bible verse you mentioned above, "A Man shall not lay with a man as he would lay with a woman." King James for that one. This exact sentence has been translated, re-translated, and then back again so many times its original intent was completely lost. The most accurate translation into English from the original Hebrew would read something like this with all ambiguity taken into account. "A man shall not/cannot lay with/in another man as/if he would lay with a woman in that place." To sum it up it is a sin to have sex with a man if you would have sex with a woman in that same bed. In essence it is preaching less against homosexuality and more against extra-marital promiscuity. Further more a lot of people like to quote Sodom and Gomorrah. In Judgements the sins of Sodom are systematically listed off; they include but are not limited to - allowing woman to wear lavish jewels and pearls, giving woman gold, eating pig, inhospitability towards the messengers of god, greed, jealousy, and many others. Nowhere in judgements is homosexuality or "sodomy" mentioned simply "The sins of Sodom." If you really want to know what Jesus would do, and I take this from the golden rule, King James, He would save any man, woman, or child. A centurion begged Jesus to save his servant boy. Jesus did so without even a second thought. What is implied by servant boy is lover. MALE lover. Of a roman Centurion. I really hope this all helps you and if you need more I put a lot of time into this, I would love to share it with you. Don't hesitate to PM me.

[Megan09]

Well, as I am not very religious, I say that you should do whatever makes you happiest in life, and if they means that you are gay, then great!! I can understand, as your being a "serious" Christian, as you put it, that being gay seems like a sin to you. But you know what? God forgives us for our sins. So do what makes you happy!

Hey there,

I am sorry you are struggling but with time I hope that things get a little bit better. I am going to give you a link that might help you in this struggle.

Six Bible Passages

I found this very helpful in m struggle and I hope it does the same for you. Now, if you are still worried about it then there are lesbian and gay people who are together but they do not partake in sexual activities. That is always a route you could go.

If you need anything feel free to pm me.

Jenna

There is lots of information out there that tries to explain the 'clobber passages' as us religious queers call them, either against or not against homosexuality. To me, alot of the explanations that suggest they are not against homosexuality make more rational sense, but then, because I grew up in a anti-gay Christian background (father is a Baptist Minister), I always have this anxiety about that. The safest route always is the least risky, in this case, not having gay sexual relations. Because, well, even if it isnt a sin, its definately not a sin to not have sex in the first place But then you have this problem of never really being able to be with someone, and oh, its worse if you fall in love. And I assume that if you dont feel you can have gay sex, you would feel guilty even just stopping at kissing. If you look around, you can find information of both sides of the argument (also theres interesting stuff out there on the issue of fornication, which they'll never teach you in church ), but I'm not going to give that to you.

Instead, my best advice is prayer, turn to God for comfort, rest and assurance.

Ok,my life is full of sin right now, but thats not a product of my orientation, that's going astray at university, it happens when you are surrounded by atheists, its something I intend to change, but when I first struggled with this issue, I was 17, and a good Christian. It tore me apart, I cried all the time, I freaked out. I was in love with this girl, and I was scared I'll go to hell for it. After about six or so months of this, I got to a very low point. I had fallen apart. All I could do was just rely on God, nd I felt uplifted, and it helped me get back together inside myself. Ok, maybe I was just feeling things, but I feel that was God pointing out he still loved me. To this day, I don't know if its a sin or not, but I rest on the fact that God loves me, and I love God, so even if I've made a terrible mistake, I'm still his. But this is my experience, and of course, it almost certainly isnt enough for you. Hence me telling you to turn to God, and rest on him. Dont just dwell on what you've been told by the church, focus on God, and he should guide you to whatever he deems best for you. Its hard, and coming to a conclusion may take time, but you have time by the sounds of it.

[asldjfas123]

The bottom line of christianity is love. God will love you no matter what. Afterall, he made you who you are. If youre gay, so be it. He wants you to be happy.

[the.end]

you also have to understand what the main audience was at the timeframe of the passage you're quoting. it's from Leviticus, and at the time when the book of Leviticus was written people were straying from the faith. it was in the time of idolatry even in the Hebrews led from Egypt but mostly in Sodom. the people were engaging in mass rape and homosexual orgies as a way of worshiping false idols. the passage could very well have been referring to homosexual orgies in pagan rituals.

and take into account the other nonsense rules in Leviticus.

finally, when Jesus was born he brought a new covenant, dictated by the New Testament. therefore, the old covenant with Abraham was broken and the rules in the old testament becoming void. it's nearly impossible to live by all the rules in the Old Testament.

take it whatever way you want, but God wants you to be happy.

[ComplexSimplicity]

[b]Well, I can only give you my take on the situation. I am a Christian. I call myself a Christian because I am a follower of Christ but I don't identify with any specific Christian religious sector... mainly because I do not fully agree with "the church's" interpretation of the Bible. I'm not gonna get too into it but basically from the way I personally interpret the Bible, i do not see anything seriously wrong with my sexuality. I do not think that because I am bisexual, I am destined for hell. The God I worship, is a fair God and a merciful God and he loves ALL his children, not just the straight ones.[

Oh and as someone stated above, prayer is the best option. Do not rely on the opinions of others. Ultimately, this is between you and God. Man only knows so much. We all have our biases and our unique perspectives on things. I pray daily and ask God for guidance and forgiveness. All we can do is try our best to please Him. He does not expect us to be perfect but we should strive to walk with Him and live by His word as best as we can./B]