Here is something to Meditate ON

[rainbowdog]

You know those 6 verses that the Fundamentalists condemn us on. We all do. Here is the thing, if God thought that homosexuality was this horrible sin, why didn't Jesus condemn it. As far as Jesus was concern, He was silent on homosexuality. But Jesus does speak out about divorce and adultry many times. I believe that Jesus embraces us all GBLTs with open arms. It is society that has a problem with homosexuality. So the next time you get condemn by someone because of your sexual orientation. Just tell them calmly that Jesus has no problems you being homosexual why should they.

God Bless
Christy

[BenL]

Christy,

I knew that my breakthrough had come when I was able to thank God for making me gay. Not that others are any less beloved of God, but I thank God for giving me my particular path in life and blessing it. For a long time, I cursed fate for making me gay. Not any more.

BenL

[marutidas]

I have a theory,

God throughs Curve balls.
Your doing good, your following all of the things in the bible, then he throughs you something that doesn't quite fit with the scriptures as they are written. So either become hateful, or embrace love.
Your choice.

Only other people can make you feel horrible about yourself, if you look inside, and confront who you are, you will come out srtonger, if you avoid the truth, then you will fall into despair. its up to you.

[Vanessa White]

God does throw curve balls, I would definitely agree with that. He does two other things that overwhelm me: He creates us in his own image, which makes us beautiful, along with other humans, in and of itself. In addition, I firmly believe that he never puts anything upon us that we cannot handle. We may think we cannot handle it, or that it is "wrong" for us, or that we are flawed in some way. But, as marutidas says, if you do look deeply inside yourself, you will find what God created, and that is what eventually gets each one of us through this thing called life. The sooner we do that, the sooner that we can begin to fully live our life in the way that God intended. Peace! Vanessa

[rainbowdog]

We should not feel ashamed of who we are. Once I accepted being a lesian i was a proud Christian lesbian. I embraced God with my sexual orientation. And even though i live in Alabama which is the most anti-gay state i am not ahamed of being a lesbian.

Peace,
Christy

[Vanessa White]

Alright, Christy!!! You go, girl~~~~~~

[tdogg]

Originally Posted by BenL

Christy,

I knew that my breakthrough had come when I was able to thank God for making me gay. Not that others are any less beloved of God, but I thank God for giving me my particular path in life and blessing it. For a long time, I cursed fate for making me gay. Not any more.

BenL

Me too Ben!

[nmwolfboy]

You go, Christy! It's encouraging to read the experiences and viewpoints of others here at SF.

When i reached adolescence, i arrived very early at a breaking point with relation to my Christian faith. After spending a couple of years praying for God to take away this "thorn in my side" -- that's how i actually looked at it then -- i realized that it wasn't going to go away. In a fit of anger i actually cursed God. I was probably about 16 years old.

Once i calmed down, i eventually realized that God had made me this way, so it must be okay with Him. The church, however, was another story. From the church i only felt judged & shamed. So i walked away. I turned my back on Christianity, but inside i don't think i ever felt again that i was wrong in God's eyes. Yet my faith simply wasn't strong enough for me to stand in the face of organized Christianity's scorn AND figure out how to accept myself the way God made me.

So now (25 years later) i've discovered SF. i've also found a local congregation of Christians, in a mainstream Christian denomination, who don't view me with judgement. To them i'm a child of God. And i don't feel shamed; i feel welcomed.

There are still wounds that need healing. But they are old wounds. They are the predjudices against organized religion that i accumulated over the years, which i clung to like talismans against the rejection of the church. But my heart has now been softened by God, and i once again can see the Spirit moving among His people. i bless the day i was born a gay man.

[frankandcathy]

I want to be very clear on that point.

I just want to say, from a logical standpoint, to use the argument that "because Jesus didn't say anything about it, it's okay" isn't intellectually sound. I've meant to say something about this before but haven't done so.

If we are to apply this "rule" to any issue, we would have to say that incest, rape, serial murder, slavery, and, yes even gay-bashing are "ok" because Jesus didn't say anything specifically about them.

It's obvious that the gospels don't cover it all.

The tricky thing to me is that Jesus said, "I came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not one jot or tittle will disappear from the law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of thse commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kindgom of heaven." He also said, "the whole law can be summed up in this: love the Lord, love your neighbor as yourself." So he seemingly both complicated AND simplified things. Now it is commonly understood that when Jesus was speaking of the "jot and tittle" that he was setting such a high standard that those he was speaking to would understand their complete inability to accomplish the task and would, therefore, lean on His righteousness instead of their own.

Anyway, I'm NOT making a statement about whether it's right or wrong...just talking about the argument itself.

Thanks,
~C

[pnggrad79]

Originally Posted by frankandcathy

I want to be very clear on that point.

I just want to say, from a logical standpoint, to use the argument that "because Jesus didn't say anything about it, it's okay" isn't intellectually sound. I've meant to say something about this before but haven't done so.

If we are to apply this "rule" to any issue, we would have to say that incest, rape, serial murder, slavery, and, yes even gay-bashing are "ok" because Jesus didn't say anything specifically about them.

It's obvious that the gospels don't cover it all.

The tricky thing to me is that Jesus said, "I came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not one jot or tittle will disappear from the law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of thse commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kindgom of heaven." He also said, "the whole law can be summed up in this: love the Lord, love your neighbor as yourself." So he seemingly both complicated AND simplified things. Now it is commonly understood that when Jesus was speaking of the "jot and tittle" that he was setting such a high standard that those he was speaking to would understand their complete inability to accomplish the task and would, therefore, lean on His righteousness instead of their own.

Anyway, I'm NOT making a statement about whether it's right or wrong...just talking about the argument itself.

Thanks,
~C

It seems to me that just because the Bible did or didn't say anything specifically on the subject of anything mentioned above doesn't give any fundamentalist the right to fill in the blanks, so to speak. It doesn't give the GLBT community the right to fill in the blanks either. But I have had it with fundamentalists thinking they are the voice and mind of God on this subject. The point of the gospels is that it is a religion of the heart, and not what we can necessarily see, hear, or agree with. We all need to seek discernment on this and go with love not judgment, hatred and animosity. God is not against love, He is love, plain and simple. To say that God hates..., God is against...., goes against his very nature as God. I say to the James Dobsons and his cronies and anyone who espouses his belief system-Get over yourself, be humble before the Lord (because you ain't Him and you are awfully arrogant to go spouting off about what He thinks), and leave the gay people alone-you have done enough damage.

[rainbowdog]

Originally Posted by pnggrad79

It seems to me that just because the Bible did or didn't say anything specifically on the subject of anything mentioned above doesn't give any fundamentalist the right to fill in the blanks, so to speak. It doesn't give the GLBT community the right to fill in the blanks either. But I have had it with fundamentalists thinking they are the voice and mind of God on this subject. The point of the gospels is that it is a religion of the heart, and not what we can necessarily see, hear, or agree with. We all need to seek discernment on this and go with love not judgment, hatred and animosity. God is not against love, He is love, plain and simple. To say that God hates..., God is against...., goes against his very nature as God. I say to the James Dobsons and his cronies and anyone who espouses his belief system-Get over yourself, be humble before the Lord (because you ain't Him and you are awfully arrogant to go spouting off about what He thinks), and leave the gay people alone-you have done enough damage.

Did you sign the petition on Dobson saying that same-sex couples can't raise children. If you get soulforce e-mail you can get it there. To me if Dobson thinks homosexual couples can't raise children in which APA has proven they can then that means that Dobson is nutter than a fruit cake

Peace,
Christy

[tdogg]

For me, it wasn't like I decided since the Bible doesn't include any verses indicating Jesus said anything about homosexuality it must be ok. It was after years and years of trying to keep this part of myself in the back of my mind and FINALLY, deciding to be myself. And, it didn't FEEL wrong. I had and still have NO conviction of sin or 'wrongness' in regards to being a lesbian OR being in a relationship with another woman. Instead, it has felt like the MOST RIGHT thing I've ever done. So, in trying to figure out WHY it felt so wright when so many people who call themselves Christians say it is so wrong. I read, researched, had discussions with gays, straights, Christians and of other spiritual faith beliefs, and prayer and deep inward searching - and guess what, I could find NOTHING that changed the feeling of rightness. Nothing made me feel bad, or sinful, or wrong about being a gay woman with spiritual faith. It wasn't there. Then I started thanking God for it, and guess what, it still felt RIGHT. Totally right. Then I could start thanking God for my partner, and it still felt TOTALLY RIGHT. So, the fact that there are no red letter words in the Bible telling me it was wrong was just additional confirmation that I'm ok. Not that I need it, but it is there just the same (or should I say, it isn't there at all).

I'm sure this experience is not mine alone. It's the conviction in our heart that we are right, that is what confirms we actually are.