Hello From South America!

[Arthur]

I am praying to God lead me in this path on earth..and I would like to find new Christian friends.
I am 31 years old, and Christian for the grace of God.

I would love to find answer to some of my questions.

Blessings

Arthur.

[BenL]

Welcome, Arthur, to the Soulforce forums. There are many Christians here who also identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender ... and many shades and combinations of those and other things. Besides Christians, there are agnostics, atheists, Jews, Buddhists, pagans and lots of others. That's the key to the rich diversity here. We respect each other's spiritual journeys, learn from one another, and work together to reduce discrimination by organized religion against LGBT people.

That said, I identify myself as Christian, but not in the typical fundamentalist way. I am a member of the Episcopal church, which is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion ... at least for now. Many conservatives in Anglicanism would like to see the U.S. church dumped form the Communion. Some brotherly love, huh?

I believe it is possible to be Christian and progressive, both theologically and politically. If you want to learn more about me, go to my Glee page mentionioned in my profile. I'd love to talk with you via private message. Friendship can cross many boundaries.

[turquoise]

welcome to soulforce - i am a lutheran pastor and struggling with my sexuality also - reading other's stories has been real helpful to me in realizing i am not alone! can you share your story? turquoise

[Arthur]

Originally Posted by turquoise

welcome to soulforce - i am a lutheran pastor and struggling with my sexuality also - reading other's stories has been real helpful to me in realizing i am not alone! can you share your story? turquoise

What do you mean, by struggling??
I have many doubts, My whole life i have heard that having sex with another man is a sin... and now here I hear the opposite!! I am really confused, I am praying to God so he can show me the truth!!

[Gennee]

Hi Arthur and welcome. Stick around, you will meet some very interesting people.

Gennee

[Pablo Rafael]

Originally Posted by Arthur

What do you mean, by struggling??
I have many doubts, My whole life i have heard that having sex with another man is a sin... and now here I hear the opposite!! I am really confused, I am praying to God so he can show me the truth!!

Arthur,

I also had heard all my life that being gay, especially being intimate with another man was a sin. The anti gay teaching supposedly comes from the Bible, but looking at the New Testament one discovers that nowhere does it say that being gay is a sin. People who are anti-gay almost always base that belief on the Bible, but the Bible doesn't support that belief. Nor does the Bible support slavery, oppression of women or all the other evils people have tried to claim that it does.

Even when I thought that it was a sin to be gay, deep in my heart I knew that the attraction I felt towards men wasn't wrong. Now that I have a boyfriend, I know that the affection I feel for him is wonderful and a gift from God.

I prayed that God would make me straight. That went on for years (and God was totally uncooperative.) When I stopped fighting God and said, "Show me how you want me to be." it was as if God said, "Finally, it is about time you listened to me. Now be the person I created you to be." For me being gay and Christian is a wonderful thing.

There are some great books to read listed in the "resources" tab above. I would highly recommend reading them.

Tu Amigo, Pablo

[Arthur]

Hello Pablo,

Thanks for your answer, we have struggled the same, and thanks for sharing me this.
So you are a Christian, does Jesus lives in your life?

I have heard that there are many people that have actually changed..it´s not that they are not attracted tu guys anymore, but they are married to a woman and have kids, and they are ok with it.

Blessings
Arthur

[Pablo Rafael]

Originally Posted by Arthur

I have heard that there are many people that have actually changed..it´s not that they are not attracted to guys anymore, but they are married to a woman and have kids, and they are ok with it.

I know that there are some gays who have settled into heterosexual family life and it works for them. However, I have never met anyone in that situation. I have found it a much more common that gay men who have married women have a terrible time with it, and oftentimes the marriage ends in disaster.

The same seems true of ex-gay therapy. I know there are people that say it has worked for them, but that seems to be very uncommon.

In the end I think it is best to just to live a life of honesty. God created me gay, and I think it is wisest and healthiest to realize that God knows what he is doing, and I should just be who he created me to be.

[Arthur]

Pablo,
do you think gays are born or they become?
In my case, I believe that the reason i am homosexual is because i had an absent father, and i had a sex abuse as a child for someone older than me. I was 7 and he was 10. more or less.

which was your case?

Arthur

[Pablo Rafael]

I think that more and more scientific evidence is confirming the conclusion that sexual orientation is genetic in origin. I know it used to be believed that being gay was a "disorder" and therefore was an illness that had a cause. I think that idea has pretty much been disproven although there are many people, usually those of fundamentalist Christian biases, that still hold to that concept.

Scans of brain activity have shown that the brains of straight females and gay males operate in much the same way. The brains of straight males and lesbians operate much the same. That is certainly a genetic issue.

Also those who have sufered some sort of abuse or childhood trauma have no more chance of being gay than they have of being straight. Also well adjusted children in loving two parent households have about the same chance of being gay as the general population.

There are others here who know much more about this subject than I do.

As I look back on my childhood, I realize that I was always gay. In my case, I had an abusive father. He was occasionally physically abusive, but it was more often emotional abuse, never sexual though. I had a loving mother who was not overprotective. It was because of her that I got through childhood and into adulthood despite my father's influence. Did my dad's relationship with me cause me to be gay? I really doubt it, but who knows for sure?

Whatever the cause, I see no reason to try to be other than what I am.

[Arthur]

Pablo,
I get your point... Yeah, I have always been good with fashion, designs, colors, combining, etc....
you know what? I met someone, unfortunately in the first day we had sex... I think i wil meet him again today.... He is a nice guy, very masculin as I like ! jeje..
Blessings
Omar

[Jennifer5]

Welcome Arthur

[Arthur]

Originally Posted by Pablo Rafael

I think that more and more scientific evidence is confirming the conclusion that sexual orientation is genetic in origin. I know it used to be believed that being gay was a "disorder" and therefore was an illness that had a cause. I think that idea has pretty much been disproven although there are many people, usually those of fundamentalist Christian biases, that still hold to that concept.

Scans of brain activity have shown that the brains of straight females and gay males operate in much the same way. The brains of straight males and lesbians operate much the same. That is certainly a genetic issue.

Also those who have sufered some sort of abuse or childhood trauma have no more chance of being gay than they have of being straight. Also well adjusted children in loving two parent households have about the same chance of being gay as the general population.

There are others here who know much more about this subject than I do.

As I look back on my childhood, I realize that I was always gay. In my case, I had an abusive father. He was occasionally physically abusive, but it was more often emotional abuse, never sexual though. I had a loving mother who was not overprotective. It was because of her that I got through childhood and into adulthood despite my father's influence. Did my dad's relationship with me cause me to be gay? I really doubt it, but who knows for sure?

Whatever the cause, I see no reason to try to be other than what I am.

hey PAblo, how are you doing??

you and your boyfriend are ok?

[drallan]

Hi Arthur!

Welcome! Have a Blessed week ahead!

Take care,

Allan x