Sexualorientation - Blog Posts
Does the Pentecostal church allow gay marriage ?
Hi there :)
***[I know a simple yes or no would suffice, but this is gonna be another long answer. I have, as usual, bolded important sentences for those who would rather skim.]***
This is going to be difficult for me to tell you, but I’m afraid that the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, with which the Pentecostal Assemblies of Newfoundland are affiliated - and therefore under which my own church exists - do not sanction gay marriage. Here is the “Statement of Fundamental and Essential Truths”. You will find homosexuality is addressed in section 5.9.1, “Marriage and the Family”. Here are a couple key quotes from that section:
"Marriage is a provision of God wherein one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others enter into a lifelong relationship through a marriage ceremony that is recognized by the church and legally sanctioned by the state."
…
"Marriage can only be broken by porneia, which is understood as marital unfaithfulness involving adultery, homosexuality, or incest. While the Scriptures give evidence that the marriage vow and "one-flesh" union are broken by such acts and therefore recognize the breaking of the marriage relationship, the Scriptures do recommend that the most desirable option would be reconciliation."
I imagine this is an affront to you, and I can understand why. I would like to justify the church’s stance, but I won’t. This decision is for two reasons:
Firstly, because if what you want is for the Pentecostal church to allow gay marriage, then nothing I say will soothe your offended sensibilities.
Secondly, because these practices apply only to members of the Pentecostal church: people who have actively chosen to participate in this institution, and whom evidently understand and are satisfied with the beliefs and practices.
However, I will offer some of my own thoughts to supplement the information I’ve just given you.
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Katherine’s thoughts:
1. The Pentecostal church is part of the “private” sector, by which I mean that we are a non-profit organization and we are not affiliated with the government, be it federal, provincial, etc. Therefore, we do not attempt to extend our beliefs to anybody outside of our members. People who choose to become a member of the church (which, in case you’re wondering, is an official process involving an application and an interview) choose to abide by the practices set forth by the church, and that’s why those people chose to become a member in the first place. Therefore, the church will not corporately try to influence legislation involving gay marriage. How the church’s members vote is their individual decision, and in my experience, my church has never even discussed politics, let alone tried to influence my personal political beliefs.
2. I am completely sure that while a person who is married to someone else of the same sex and/or gender may not choose to be a member of our church, NO ONE will discourage them from attending the services or benefiting from the various programs we offer. Being a member is a very official thing, and even though I’ve attended the church since birth, I’m still not a member. Membership involves stuff like voting for pastoral staff and board members and attending annual business meetings and boring stuff like that. So you could totally come on Sundays and chill with us and we won’t say anything to you. You could attend and volunteer and participate at Bethesda for 50 years and never be a member, so there’s that loophole.
3. [THIS ONE IS SUPER IMPORTANT] Christianity is, above all, about a very personal, very intimate relationship with God. If you do not currently have an acquaintance with God, I would strongly encourage you to get to know Him. And if you want to, don’t let anybody or anything, including the church, including your sexual orientation, including the people in your life, dissuade you from doing so. Don’t ever let anybody tell you that there’s anything separating you from God, or that you have to change something about yourself before you get to know Him. He is waiting for you, exactly as you are, right here, right now, and He loves you exactly as you are, and nothing you do could ever make Him love you less….or more.
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”- Romans 8:38-39
We as the church, are attempting to function as the “body” of Christ, that is to say, the mortal manifestation of His divine love here in the natural world. We are not God, and we cannot judge you or tell you what to do. Only He can do that. And if you have some questions about your lifestyle, I suggest you take it up with Him, not me. I don’t know anything.
4. [This one is a little more complex and not quite fully formed so bear with me.] Pentecostals are what one might call “orthodox” Christians, which means that we believe firmly in the Bible as the complete and absolute truth. We cannot deny that the New Testament states that practicing homosexuality is not a lifestyle officially condoned by the Christian church. That’s why it’s part of the official Pentecostal statutes. As Christians, we must trust that God is a divine being infinitely more wise and more powerful than us, and that His word is truth, and that the Bible is the inspired word of God, due to its historical credibility, internal consistency and enduring influence. As such, we must trust that His plan for our lifestyle is a good one. If this is due singularly to the biology of His creation, and the fact that babies generally occur from heterosexual sex, then I guess I can see how that kinda makes sense. But in reality, I can’t actually see how anything makes any sense ever, because I’m a finite human (which is redundant, because there is no such thing as an infinite human, but I really wanted to drive the point home). I just go through life trusting in a higher power than myself (with good reasons to do so, I might add. Please see here). That means that I trust Him despite my personal opinions and despite what’s going on around me. This puts us in a rather difficult situation when it comes to formulating an opinion on homosexuality because I genuinely do think that it’s not a choice.
5. For this reason, I have taken this as my official personal stance on homosexuality and Christianity: "Love is my ultimate answer to any question, because God is Love and Love is as close to the divine as you will get in this life. I adhere to two inalienable truths - God loves you and I love you. This love is unconditional, and has nothing to do with whether or not we agree on…anything, really. My purpose and goal in life is to show you that God loves you. I attempt to do this by loving you. And I really really want you to experience this radical, world-changing, earth-shattering, mind-blowing, paradigm-shifting love of God for yourself because it will literally change your life. And I believe that you can experience this love no matter what. No conditions apply. None. I will never tell you how to live your life, and if you have questions about your lifestyle, talk to God, not me."
6. [Last one, finally!] Like I said, Christianity means a relationship with God, not belonging to a church. However, I strongly advocate for finding a group of believers to offer support and solidarity and encouragement in your faith. So I recommend finding a church where you feel safe and comfortable. If that’s not a Pentecostal church, that’s okay. But above all, I want you to know God.
Okay all done!
Thanks for your question :) As always, tip next time,
Peace and love! -Katherine
With regards to your homosexuality conversation as a gay Christian man, I don't agree with this. For a number of reasons. I believe God would want everyone of his children to be happy. I am not having sex until marriage but, when I marry my boyfriend I want to adopt children and live a normal life. I have always had a very strong devotion to The Lord, I love him, and I know he loves me. He made me this way for a reason. I don't believe he would condemn me for sharing my love.
Cool! It’s awesome to get your input on this; thanks so much for stopping by to chat :)
I think that also makes perfect sense. After all, Psalm 37:4 says to delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. And later on in that same chapter, it says “The Lord directs the steps of the Godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.”
Okay so I have a question, and you totally don’t have to answer it! But if you’re down to answer it, what’s the deal with your church? Are they cool with your life plan, cause that would be awesome, and I haven’t as of yet come in contact with a church like that. So I’m just really interested to find out.
Thanks! Peace and love :)-Katherine
Excellent point!! I also like the fact that he said it's not a choice! I think that is a huuuuuge step towards becoming more accepting for the church. I wondered about that too...comparing it to a disease is kind of like saying, "God created you and loves you exactly as you are but if you're homosexual, there's something wrong with you." "The Fall" is definitely a difficult concept to talk about because it's so vast and pervasive. I guess you gotta wonder what we fell from, i.e. what we would be like if none of us had a piece of the fall in us. It's great to get your input on this :)
Also, thanks so much :D it was so fantastic and wonderful, even for the people volunteering behind the scenes. :)
-Katherine
So….this weekend I volunteered with this provincial conference called YC. It’s an annual gathering of about 2000 Christian teenagers from across the island (the island of Newfoundland, population ~500, 000). We flew in bands like Switchfoot, Group 1 Crew, Unhindered and Bluetree, and some awesome…
GUYS. I know that I'm not the most social of tumblr-ers but I really really really wanna have a discussion about this! Will y'all come and chat with me?
So....this weekend I volunteered with this provincial conference called YC. It's an annual gathering of about 2000 Christian teenagers from across the island (the island of Newfoundland, population ~500, 000). We flew in bands like Switchfoot, Group 1 Crew, Unhindered and Bluetree, and some awesome speakers such as Preston Centuolo, Duffy Robbins and Eric Samuel Timm. ANYWAY, at this conference we always have workshops, and one of them was one "Sexuality in the 21st Century".
So the guy who's giving it is a professor at a bible college and he's super super super smart and he was basically talking about homosexuality. I didn't get to go but a couple of my friends went. So what you're getting here is actually tertiary information, but I'll just post the major points.
He believes that being gay is a biological predisposition.
He believes that we all have a piece of "The Fall" in us. The fall includes diseases, addictions, character flaws, etc. So I guess in some cases, that piece of the fall is homosexuality.
He says that you can be a Christian and be gay (okay, that might not be earth-shattering, but I think it's cool).
HOWEVER, it's evident from the new testament that the bible does not condone homosexual behaviour.
THEREFORE, in order to be Christian and homosexual, one must remain celibate, i.e. a "non-practicing homosexual".
I know, that totally sucks and it's unfair. His rebuttal is, "what about the Christian life is fair? In the same breath, you could talk about Christians on the other side of the world being persecuted and murdered for their faith. What about that is fair?"
He also personally knows a Christian couple who are gay and a lesbian and they were best friends and they got married so that they would be less tempted to have sex with someone of the same gender (I guess cause they don't want to have sex with anyone else cause they don't want to cheat on their spouse) and also because even though they're not really physically attracted to each other, if necessary, they can still get that physical release.
I dunno. I'm just so incredibly fascinated with this topic! Like, I know what I believe about homosexual people outside of the church. That's basically a no-brainer. You love everybody, no matter what. Done. But I've never really thought about homosexual people inside the church. So I really wanna know what y'all think! PLEEEEEEEEEASE come talk to me!!!
Whats your opinion of bisexual people?
Hey :) Thanks for your question! How shall I put this? Bisexual people fall under the umbrella of “all people” and I have only one single opinion on all people: All people are beautiful and wonderful and lovely. All people are worthy of love and respect. All people are treasured fiercely and intimately by their creator. All people are loved by God and by me.
Regardless of age, gender, colour, creed, religious views, sexual orientation. Regardless of their past. Regardless of whatever they might think is wrong with them.
That is the only opinion I will ever offer on people, in general. And really, it is NONE of my beeswax who other people love/are attracted to/sleep with.
I have talked a bit more in depth about the conflict between homosexuality and the church here, here and here. In every single one of those questions, I and the question-asker both specifically used the word “homosexuality”. Now that I think about it, I suppose you could generally apply the opinions expressed in those posts to anyone of the LGBTQ community. In conclusion, it doesn’t matter who you are. It doesn’t matter what you believe or how you live. My job is to love you. Period. And that’s what I’m gonna do. :)
Thanks for the question! Peace and love! -Katherine
Ayo!
today i met a christian guy who tries to follow the rules of the bible really well and i asked him if he is against gays because of Leviticus 20:13 and he told me no, he doesn’t because of Matthew 7
and he added that he would never judge anybody on their believes or way of living because only god can judge the people
this guy man
This is more of an issue directed towards the Catholic church than towards you, but i feel like your insight might be able to clear it up for me, at least somewhat. So. Why is it that homosexuality is such a prevalent issue now, and why is it still so strongly enforced that it is wrong and a sin when there were SO many other things in the bible like eating pork or talking to a woman who was menstruating which were equally as wrong. Times have changed, why is the church denying human rights?
I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to answer you! I have been…how shall I put it? Emotionally unstable as of late, teehee ;) And as a general rule, I try not to do anything of much importance during times of emotional instability. :P If I can help it. And your questions are very important to me.
I’m also flattered that you value my insight so highly, and will do my best to give you some clarity.
First off, I beg of you to appreciate how difficult this issue is for Orthodox Christians. That is, Christians who believe the whole bible. I am one of those. And when I try to sort out the homosexuality issue in my head, I end up with a sort of temporary split-personality disorder.
Katherine 1 says that obviously, you can’t blame someone for something they can’t help.
Katherine 2 wonders why the bible would say it’s wrong if it can’t be helped.
Katherine 3 says to shut up both of you, because there’s no condemnation for sin anyway through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Katherine 3 always wins and that’s usually the end of the discussion. But you see, some people ONLY have a Katherine 2. Now even with that as our starting point, we’ve still got flawed logic because there’s all this other crap, like you mentioned, such as eating pork and talking to women who are menstruating.
On a sidenote, avoiding women who are menstruating is not only an Old Testament law, it’s also just good sense!
Anyway…the point is that those things are Old Testament laws. They’re the kind of stuff you would find in Leviticus, where it also says stuff like “don’t sit on a beaver while wearing red horizontal stripes on the third Tuesday of the month if it’s raining…because aliens don’t wear hats.” That is, obviously, hyperbole meant to illustrate the sheer ludicrousness of some of the laws in the OT. They had all these random laws because that was back before Jesus died so they legitimately had to be perfect. And if they messed up, they had to sacrifice animals to pay for their sins. This whole cosmic consequences thing is no joke. Our actions have earthly and spiritual repercussions, and we owe a blood debt. Thankfully, Jesus paid that debt. But before that, they had to kill firstborn lambs and crap like that. So that’s where the pork and period stuff comes from. All that stuff became obsolete after Jesus died. The old laws don’t hold us captive anymore because the blood of Christ covers all our sins.
UNFORTUNATELY, homosexuality is also mentioned in the New Testament, by Paul, who lived years after Jesus’ death. He also says it’s wrong. So now we’re back to square one.
The way I see it, there are at least three reasons why the church sees itself as capable of condemning homosexuality:
They can distance themselves from it. All other sins, cheating, sexual deviance, drugs, lying, pride, have all infiltrated our pews and made themselves at home. We can’t judge any of those sins because we commit them. So we preach forgiveness, redemption and freedom for all those sins, but not for homosexuality. You know, sometimes I think that the church just wants a way to make themselves feel better, like they’re not as bad as everybody else. I dunno, I might be making that up. Bottom line is that we forget that all sin is equal.
The church is very fond of behavior modification. Obviously, the bottom line is a relationship with Jesus. That is the number one most basic, most primary need of every human being. But on top of that, the church likes to fix people and work out strategies to get them to stop doing the “sin” instead of focussing on what really matters: the incredible saving grace of the gospel. And homosexuality…cannot be modified. Gay people don’t want our “help”. They don’t want to change, and can’t even if they wanted to. In a way, I think that infuriates us.
The government and structures of society, until recently, have supported our intolerance. It only started not so long ago that amendments were being made to legislature to allow gay people to marry. Being supported by the law can make anyone feel secure in a position of hate. I read Huck Finn last year, and the poor confused boy thought he was going to hell for freeing a slave, because that was what he had been taught. Church and government have often been hand in hand, and racism seemed to have been condoned by Christians at one point too. Which is just as atrocious as our current predicament. You would think we would learn that people are people, loved by God no matter what!
Finally, it’s such a prevalent issue NOW because it’s relevant now. When racism was abundant and black people were confined to separate bathrooms, busses and hospitals, I wouldn’t be a tad bit surprised if there weren’t churchgoers protesting the eradication of colour segregation. All one has to do is read The Help by Kathryn Stockett to get a good picture of that. But that’s history and now it seems foolish that black people and white people were ever separated at all.
That being said, the bible doesn’t say that being black is wrong. And yeah, times have changed, but whether you think it should or not, the bible doesn’t change. I’m not going to compromise my beliefs to be relevant, but I sure as heck am not gonna judge or condemn someone for being gay. Neither will I deny them basic human rights. I believe that gay people should have the right to marry each other. Who are we straight people to say what they can and cannot do? That’s just foolish. We are all people, equal, and worthy of love and respect. And, I might add, all needing Jesus.
Look, I don’t mean to bash on the institution of organized religion. The church is meant to be a body of believers, Christ’s bride. I love the church. I love the family, the community, and, despite my sarcastic comments, the genuine love and acceptance. We’re not all bad. Some of us get confused. Katherine 1 and 2 may never settle their differences, and I just have to live with my split personality. And from confusion can stem misguidedness, good intentions, and mistakes. We are still learning, and trying our very best to make sense of conflicting information from the world and the bible.
This post was just an analysis of the attitude of the modern church. And it’s just my opinion. I could have made all this stuff up. I’m not saying that all Christians think and act like the ones I described in my 3 reasons for condemnation. And I’m not saying that kind of behaviour is right. I’m just saying.
But I do believe that we’ll get better. We will get more tolerant. There’s a bright future for the church and homosexuality, I’m sure of it. God’s love is a powerful, all-consuming force. And his love for all His children is fierce. He’s reminding us of that right now. Keep your hopes up. :)
Peace and love! -Katherine
w. prodigalmagazine com/ jesus-called-me-the-n-word/ please read it. Its great! However it makes me realize something with the words: "how do you love someone whose actions or behaviors you find really unacceptable?". Yes the C.S Lewis quote... My dilemma is, its like spreading a fake love, i know its better to love then it is to hate. But deep down he still thinks its unacceptable, He realizes their pain and apologizes, but he doesn't accept them, so why selfless love why not respect!?
“There is someone that I love even though I don’t approve of what he does. There is someone I accept though some of his thoughts and actions revolt me. There is someone I forgive though he hurts the people I love the most. That person is……me.” - C.S.Lewis(If you can’t say amen, say ouch.)
Wow. Awesome, awesome quote. And great article! Okay so let’s examine your quarrel with this article. So if I understand you correctly, you feel like the fact that he still finds homosexuality “unacceptable”, means that he doesn’t genuinely love them. And your proposition is that if he did love them, he wouldn’t still have a problem with homosexuality. Alright, I will give you my interpretation and my opinion and hope that it’s…somewhat useful.
The problem I see with the Homosexuality vs. Religion catastrophe is rooted in the fact that it’s supposedly a unique situation. As I see it, there are two reasons for this.
If I believe the bible, which I do, I believe that homosexuality is wrong. This is a problem because of the age-old psychological nature vs. nurture debate, and the fact that homosexuality is currently considered to be a natural, involuntary state which remains constant throughout the lifespan. And how can you judge someone for something they can’t help? That’s why homosexuality, among all the sins in the bible, is treated as a special case by non-religious people.
But why is homosexuality treated as a special case by religious people? I mean, of all the things to protest with picket signs, why pick homosexuality? If I’m not mistaken, adultery is still a bad thing, right? Where are the laws against that? No one’s petitioning to make that illegal. We’re not a fan of taking the Lord’s name in vain but we sure have developed a high tolerance for it! Oh and drug and alcohol abuse. There are a good many Pentecostal church kids in that category. Do we kick them out of houses and out of churches? And don’t even get me started on Christian boys and porn addiction, we’d be here all night! So WHY is there acceptance and forgiveness for all that other stuff at the alter, and not for homosexuality?
I’m actually gonna tell you why. Let me address these two issues separately.
When it all boils down, I have no idea whether I think homosexuality is a choice or not. But guess what. I DON’T CARE! I honestly could not care any less than I do right now whether homosexuality can be helped or not. It makes no difference to how I see you. It makes no difference to how I treat you. It makes no difference to how I love you. Hypothetically, if someone really did consciously and willingly make a choice to be gay, that wouldn’t make a difference either. I mean, all the crap we choose to do doesn’t, why should this?
To answer the big WHY question back there, it’s because church people feel like we need to “fix” everybody’s behavior. You’re cutting? Let’s draw a butterfly on your arm and work through a positive psychology plan for diminishing relapses. (That actually worked for my friend.) You have a porn addiction? Okay, make me your accountability partner and download a secure browser and I’ll get email updates on your browsing activities every week. (I actually do get emails like that.) And I’m not saying that trying to help someone who wants help is bad! I’m saying that the compulsion to modify behavior is bad. We are accepting and loving but we want to fix you. And when church people come up against something they can’t control, like homosexuality, the rules change? I mean, come on. In reality, although I’m glad for butterflies and weekly emails, I don’t have to fix anybody. I can just go one loving them and leave it at that. And those butterflies and emails, they’re not me. They’re Jesus. Jesus is the only one who can do any fixing, so I’m not even sure why I try.
But here’s the thing. All sin is equal in the sight of God. (James 2:10). So why are people making this big stinking deal about homosexuality when some of us have so much pride in our hearts, we can’t even hear God anymore and we probably think we wrote the bible! Some of us have so much hate that our souls are corroding away inside of us. Some of us have so much lust and secrets and shame that we can barely make eye contact. And you’re gonna look at me and say “homosexuality is a sin”? No my son (Newfoundland expression). I’ve got bigger things in my own life to deal with than homosexuality. And chances are, so do you.
Secondly, I feel as though we’re reading this article through different filters and the way we perceive love is very very different. I’m sensing that you see love as an endpoint. Like I’ve got to jump through a hoop, crawl through a tunnel, pole vault, limbo and do the hokey pokey before I can love you. And you see my issue with homosexuality as an obstacle that needs to be overcome before I can love you. Maybe homosexuality is a wall between me and loving you. And I just climb over the wall. But…the wall’s still there. It’s still a big huge reminder that the path to loving you was not easy. Maybe by saying that he still finds their behavior unacceptable, you feel like he’s cheating on his love. And that’s why you called it a fake love.
Well I’m here to tell you that that’s not the way it works at all. Love is a starting point. It’s not like “Okay fiiiine, I guess I love you, even though….” No no no. It’s just “I love you.” Period. End of story. No ifs, ands or buts. In reality, it’s “I love you becauseyou’re a person and you’re a child of God, and God loves you.” And that’s good enough for me. That’s all there is to it. There are no qualifications on God’s love! He didn’t ask to see photo ID or a baptism certificate or your report card before He loved you. He just does! That is the nature of unconditional love. And that’s how I love you. EVERYTHING ELSE in the entire world is secondary to that fact. Your colour, your size, your height, your weight, your gender, your culture, your religious affiliation, your political opinions, your sexual orientation, your socio-economic status, your income, your education, your choices, your actions, your attitudes, your behavior, your family, your upbringing, your personality and your genetics are ALL secondary to the fact that first and foremost, and above all, you are a human being, worthy of love. And I don’t have to change your behavior. My ONLY job is to love you. I think that’s what the author was getting at in that article. It wasn’t really that he had this grand revelation that changed everything, it’s more like God brought Him back to the basics.
See, I know that God loves me. That’s why I’m capable of loving myself despite the terrible things I do, the struggles I face, the mistakes I make and the people I hurt. God loved us before we were born, so we obviously didn’t earn it, and obviously nothing we do will change it. And as a Christian, I love people the same way.
Finally, respect is one of the primary exigences of love. Please, please don’t ever think that I don’t respect you. No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done. Nowhere in that article does it state that he doesn’t respect gay people. You’re inferring disrespect where none was implied. Furthermore, nowhere is it written anywhere that you and I have to be in 100% agreement to love each other. Just because we might come down on different sides of the homosexuality question makes no difference to how I love you. I disagree with a lot of people on a lot of things, some small, some rather large. But I love them all the same. Just because I disagree with your behavior doesn’t mean I don’t respect you, and it doesn’t mean I don’t genuinely love you.
I hope this helps a little! Thanks for your question :)Peace and love! -Katherine
What's your opinion on homosexuality?
(If you don’t wanna read all those words, just skip to the bottom where it says “Moral of the story”)Jesus said that the most important commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength (okay, cool, makes sense) BUUUTTT….the SECOND most important commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-39; Mark 12:29-31) And there are entire chapters of the bible devoted entirely to the importance of loving people (1 Corinthians 13) So! Here are the facts: Fact Number 1: Jesus loves you. Like, He really, REALLY loves you. Deeply, passionately, intimately, overwhelmingly. He loves you enough to die for you. He loves you so much that He DESPERATELY wants to have a personal relationship with you - to talk to you, to hear your thoughts and to walk with you through this life. Fact Number 2: I love you. I think that every single person in the world deserves to be loved and deserves to be respected simply due to the fact that you are a person and God made you and loves you. Okay, so now we’ve established that Jesus loves you and I love you, for no other reason than the fact that you’re alive, and no matter what. That cannot be altered, edited, ignored, abated, cancelled out, destroyed or denied. Moving on…I cannot confidently give you an opinion on Nature vs Nurture. If science has yet to confirm the varying influences of these conflicting forces, I will not presume to attempt to do so. I have a basic knowledge of the bible (as in, I’ve read it and journaled about it lol) and limited knowledge of the research behind the genetic role in homosexuality. Therefore, I am not qualified to give you my opinion in that area. Interestingly, I recently read a novel for my English course called Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson, which is both her debut novel and an autobiographical novel (while not actually being an autobiography). It’s about a girl who grows up in a Pentecostal household (which happens to be my denomination) in northern England in the 60s and turns out to be a lesbian. Which, I’m sure you can guess, causes all sorts of conflict in her family and in her church community. The religious characters in the novel condemned her, saying that it was a malicious act of will on her part. They said stuff like “You made an immoral proposition that cannot be countenanced.” and “Never trust a sinner.” Those quotes made me pretty angry because they demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of God and sin. About halfway through the novel, in the margin of the page, I penciled the words “Byes don’t know the bible.” (I’m from Newfoundland. We say byes.) Because EVERYONE’S A SINNER! And the very nature or sin has nothing to do with willpower. You can’t magically wish yourself holy. You know? The people in the book seem to think that if one wants to be a ‘good’ person, to be perfect and righteous, you just have to choose to do so. Which is crap! People are not good. We are physically incapable of being good, by nature of the fact that we are born in to sin and we suffer from what is called “the human condition” (which just means being mortal and making mistakes). I’m not sure how that relates to homosexuality, but I hope that gives you some insight into my view of humanity and perfection in general. Finally, like I said in my last answer, I think that EVERYBODY NEEDS JESUS! As aforementioned, Jesus loves you and desperately wants a relationship with you. And I personally believe that you would benefit greatly from a relationship with Him. Everybody. Heterosexual, Homosexual, Transsexual, Bisexual, Asexual! EVERYBODY, no matter who you are, what you look like, where you come from, what you’ve done, where you’ve been, what you’ve been through. He loves you RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW! And He wants to have a relationship with you exactly how you are right here right now. To wrap this up, if Jesus thinks there’s something in your life you need to change…whether it be pride, laziness, gossip, lust, whatever….He’ll tell you. And I will try to focus on what He’s trying to tell ME! And I’ll keep trying to work on my issues and not presume to discern what He wants to tell you. Moral of the story: My job is to love, not judge.
Peace and love!-Katherine