God + LGBTQ

Politics, Christians, + LGBTQ

What ignited my sudden desire toward LGBTQ understanding?

Honestly, the real question should be, “Why did it take so long?”

This crazy election season has caused some interesting conversations, especially in the Christian community. There have been lines drawn in the sand in order to rally around a particular issue instead of a particular candidate and as we force ourselves to make black and white decisions about issues that are not so black and white, it has been interesting to see what bubbles to the surface. I set out to explore what the Bible says about homosexuality for two reasons. The first is that I have friends that have explained their politics to me by saying they had to take a stance against the LGBTQ community. The second is that I while love the Bible, and I love God, I cannot reckon with a narrative that is so abusive toward the heart, soul, and identity of an entire group of people.

What ignited my desire toward LGBTQ compassion?

As I was beginning to explore this topic, I was also training to become a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) volunteer to serve children in the foster care system. I went through hours of training that would guide me toward becoming someone that would be able to advocate for our most vulnerable youth with compassion, empathy, and love. My eyes were opened to the number of LGBTQ youth that are kicked out of their homes because of their sexual identity, the ways that many of these youth have a higher chance of bouncing around to multiple foster homes, and the depression, anxiety, and suicide rates among this population. It broke my heart. I also looked at this amazing training series and realized that in some areas, non-profit organizations are caring for the world better than Christians. In fact, sometimes the very work they do is a direct response to the ways in which the communities they serve have been hurt by the church.

I also have so many feelings about the double standards that are presented on the topics of sin, sexual sin, and judgement within the church. Consider for a moment that I am married to someone that is divorced. Neither of us have ever been questioned about our relationship with God. No one has ever been sure to point out that there are all kinds of verses in the Bible that explicitly talk about divorce. Our marriage relationship has never prevented us from serving in ministry, from joining a community group, or from experiencing love and acceptance by other Christians. To be honest, if we were to go to a church that looked at our relationship as wholly tainted by the sin of my husband’s divorce and treated his divorce as a point of brokenness in our relationships with God, then we likely would not return. Technically, according to the way the Bible spells out divorce, we are both adulterers. But no one seems to be bothered by it.

The Bible + LGBTQ

What does the Bible say about homosexuality?

This is a question that I have spent hours exploring. I love the Bible. I do not believe that parts of the Bible are the word of God and other parts are not the word of God. I believe the whole Bible is amazing and as I read it each morning, God shows up in a life-giving, supernatural way. I am not going to spend time here diving into the six verses that specifically mention homosexuality. There are entire books written about these six verses, and sermon series preached about them. I know, because I have read and watched them. If you have specific questions about specific verses, I will guide you toward a Bible student, theologian, author, or pastor that outlines it way better than I could here. But I will say this. There are parts of the Bible that have different interpretations. The part that says we are all sinners and God sent Jesus to die for us because he loves us? Undebated truth. The part that says we should love God and love others? Also truth. However, sometimes a law in the Old Testament was connected to a ceremony or ritual of the time. Other times when you dive into the original Hebrew or Greek of a word, there are questions about the translation and meaning. There are all kinds of things written about circumcision in the Old Testament, and then in the New Testament all the Gentiles start to follow God and the Jews are like “Hey, they should be circumcised!” and the Gentiles are like “Woah, wait a second.. umm” and everyone meets and finds a new interpretation. Read Acts 15. Some folks look at the verses about homosexuality and interpret them to mean that it is clearly outlined and defined as sin. I see it differently. And I’m not alone.

What does it mean to call homosexuality a sin?

Calling homosexuality is a sin is different than specifically naming other sins like pride, envy, greed, or lust. Let’s say I become quite greedy and even though I’m feeling a bit of a nudge to be charitable, I just want to watch my bank account grow and don’t want to help others. Maybe I open my Bible and suddenly everything screams “generosity,” and I start feeling a nudge away from greed. I might pray about it and God would open my eyes to see that financially supporting a great cause is the right thing to do. Once I follow through on what God showed me, I would likely also find how freeing it is to not let money be a stronghold in my life. Homosexuality is different. Once we push the interpretation that homosexuality is a sin, we are now saying that anyone that identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning that also wants to seek God with all their heart must walk away from their lifestyle on a daily basis. If you are married, sorry. If you have undergone surgeries that allow you to more fully embrace your identity, sorry. Here are the options that the church provides for LGBTQ folks when they interpret the Bible to say that their identity is sinful: a lifetime of celibacy or really just forcing yourself into a heterosexual marriage. If those were the options presented to me, I would walk away. Not because I couldn’t handle it, but because it’s so ridiculous.

I will say that I have heard stories of Christians that did pray through and “overcome” their “same-sex attraction.” My thoughts on this are that it is quite possible that the path they are on is the path God has for them. That does not necessarily mean it is the path for everyone. When I was in college, I felt called to take an entire year off of dating. I did not ask this of everyone around me, but I recognized it as something I had worked out with God.

Affirming Stance

The church can do better for the LGBTQ community

The campus pastor from the university I attended was removed from her position and stripped of her recognition by the denomination she was ordained in because she officiated a same-sex wedding. I reached out to her recently to thank her for the impact she had on my life when our paths crossed briefly twenty years ago. I commended her for the sacrifice she took by officiating the wedding, despite what it cost her. Her response?

We will all lose things, so let's make sure we lose the right things. I did lose my job and my standing in my denomination and I lost collegial relationships with so many people who felt my convictions were suspect. But I didn't lose my faith in the love of Jesus and I didn't lose myself. Lots of people keep their jobs, their standing and their networks, but they lose their faith and they lose themselves. I'm glad I lost the things I did and kept the things I kept. And the truth is, the gains in coming out as one's fullest self are priceless.... I'm so grateful for all the LGBTQIA+ people who let me follow them.

Judy Howard Peterson (Instagram @walkingpastor)

I have emailed with folks about theology, Bible verses, God’s design for marriage, and even anatomy. When it comes down to it, requiring a person to denounce their sexuality in order to have access to the kingdom of God is just not Biblical. It’s not loving. It’s not what Jesus would have done. And it’s not what I plan to do either. I believe that anyone in the LGBTQ community is welcome in God’s kingdom, just as you are.