"Gay people eww"So says the youth I need help

[AJLove]

Today at y church we had a youth meeting adwe talked about topics such as drugs,alcohol,sex and homosexuality(which I brought) When I ask te ministers to talk about it they were calm andsai ok but the other teens wre saying thgs like. Howthey know some girls we gay cause they didnt fnd the rght guy and a girl kns how to treat them right and that 85% of lesbians are gay cause they were raped. And that it' nasty and a sin and you have no excuse to be gay. I ddnt state what I believedin just wanted to see wht all th other youth in my church thought and that didnt like.However the ministers did say that homosexulity is become more acepting and it' shows you what the wl is coming too. Dont get me wrost he two minsters are very cool and respectful ut some of the youth were not. Theyalso sid they'll get morin detail about it soon with scripture involved. All the kds agree that people chose to be gay. Even though sometimes question what a sin ad what not I know I neve had a choice in his. The ministers also said that even if people are born gay we all ae born into sin and that doesnt mean you have to be that way. I know for a fact that some people do choose be in agay relationship but are not themselves gay.People doht or various reasons. Also I noticed how some pastors say that gay people think that if no on agrees with them then your homophobic. honestly sometimes even if dont mean to I dothink that. But I'm starting o break from it. Last thing my little brother is gtting baptized tommorow.Does it matter what church I get baptized at even if I dont agree with somef the churches values?

[Matt Algren]

Baptism isn't between you and the church. It's between you and God.

I'll let someone else hit the other stuff, but I want to make sure you understand that you aren't going to convince everybody, no matter how right you and I both know you are. They're in an environment that encourages outmoded, hurtful, and flat-out wrong readings of the Bible and definitions of sin. You might be able to get through to a couple people, but that doesn't always happen. And at this stage of your life, it isn't necessarily your job to get through to them.

AJ, you need to know that you're loved and accepted by God even if none of your friends or the ministers at your church believe you. Their belief that something is a sin doesn't make it a sin. You know, and I know, that homosexuality isn't a sin.

Never let them take that away from you.

[Gennee]

Matt's right, AJ. Baptism is a public expression of something that happened inwardly. God accepts and loves yout the way you are.


Gennee



:love::love::love:

[Pablo Rafael]

AJ,

The old idea that being gay is a choice is totally without any scientific backing. Biological and physcological research in the last 25 years has solidly determined that there is a biological source for sexual orientation. Research on the brain shows that the brains of gay individuals do not respond like those of straight people. Gay men have brain activity that more resembles the activity of straight females. Likewise lesbian brain activity resemebles the activity of straight male brains.

Physcological research has shown that sexual orientation is most likely set at birth. The American Psyciatric Association has long since abandoned the old prejudice that being gay is a disorder. (They did that in 1973).

People who say being gay is a choice have no information to back up that assertion. There are people (like the notorious Paul Cameron) who say they are experts and have proof that being gay is a choice and a disorder, but no serious scientist gives any credit to their assertions.

Plus I say that even if being gay were a choice, that still wouldn't make it wrong. I have chosen to have quilt-making as a hobby. Some people think it is an odd hobby for a guy, but that doesn't make it wrong. If being gay were a choice, it would still be OK. Being different isn't wrong. It is just different; plus I think it is kind of cool to be different.

BTW I am like you, I never chose to be gay. And I have been gay as far back as I can remember.

Tu Amigo, Pablo

[Montanna]

That situation doesn't sound like it is very good for you. While they may be working out their ignorance, they unknowingly hurt you by reducing the discussion to tall tales and ignorant beliefs. Apparently the adults are also ill informed. It is unwise to immerse yourself in ignorance. It begins to cause you to doubt yourself and leaves your mind with the impression that this is all there is. Which of course is not true. If you want to educate, you should first have a good support system and never enter these places alone. Have back up. Know that God loves you, has a plan for you, and will lead you where you need to go. Don't let other humans define your relationship with God. It is between you and God. You are in my prayers. Montanna

[Jordan0517]

Yea, this situation is hard because as much as we all want to help people come to terms with gay people and homosexuality in general, a lot of people aren't going to agree. I know it is hard for me to accept that people may not agree with it and say that we do choose to sin or whatever but we, as GLBT people, have to love our enemies and the people who don't quite understand us. We have to realize that people are taught things and they go by that. So in a sense, we can't get too upset about it or anything. As long as we know that God loves us and that there is something very moving about the GLBT community that is so loving that you can't even describe it.