[antisocialbutterfly]

(I hope I didn't get religious here)

I've been raised in a Christian home, in that case I grew a faith towards the Christian God.

I sometimes hate going to church because they're either bashing other religions and/or sexualities and it ticks me off, because I've been struggling with my sexuality and whenever they talk about same-sex relationships in a negative manner, I get offended. And ever since I've discovered my sexuality, I've felt myself slipping from my faith.

Why is lying more forgivable than me falling in love with a woman?

Why is my sexuality seen as a disease that must be 'cured' when in fact, I'm not broken?

What is wrong with falling in love?

I thought Christians were all about love and forgiveness, is it not?

I'm always praying, saying that I'm on this path for a reason, so it shouldn't be something to be ashamed about, but with the people around me, I can't help but hide in fear of rejection.

I am 100% done with the people around me.

Not all Christian denominations have the same perspective/approach regarding homosexuality. I would encourage you, if your faith is important to you, to investigate other denominations that have a more welcoming and loving viewpoint. They are out there.

[Phreak]

The sad reality is, people may preach forgiveness, understanding, and tolerance of others, but in reality behave differently.

[Thunder Bow]

Religion is all about control, and your church is trying to control you. Leaving the church is your only choice.

[antisocialbutterfly]

Originally Posted by Thunder Bow

Religion is all about control, and your church is trying to control you. Leaving the church is your only choice.

My church at the moment isn't like that (at least I hope not) but I can't really leave cause my parents expect me to go, when I get out of home I'm going to find a church that is accepting of the LGBT community, because I know there are many that exist but they are far out my reach at the moment. It's mainly my parents I fear rejection from, because I know they're homophobic.

[ifst5]

I have nothing to add other than the fact that myself and others here accept and welcome you Please feel free to join the LGBT community here if you haven't already. We'd be delighted to have you

[Harley47]

There's absolutely no reason you can't be LGBT and a Christian. Anyone to tell you differently is simply mistaken.

Leviticus 18:22 is the most often cited verse by people clamoring that homosexuality is a sin. But, if you'll flip the Bible open, look up that verse, and read the stuff *around* that part, you'll see similar prohibitions against cutting hair, tattoos, shellfish, having sex while on or a week after one's cycle, and wearing clothing made of two different materials. If someone is calling you sinful for being LGBT, if they've ever eaten shrimp or had a haircut, they're just as "guilty" as you, and a hypocrite to boot.

Leviticus as a book is translated as to mean "For the Levites," which were a sect of the ancient Jewish priesthood. Arguably, it's not applicable to modern Christians in the slightest. We simply pay no heed to it, for the most part. I think you'll be hard pressed to find someone who's going to argue against haircuts and polyester blends. People pay special attention to Leviticus 18:22 because it serves to cloak their own bigotry in a religious garb. That's all it is.

Don't let their convenient selective fundamentalism get you down on the church. They're twisting the Bible to suit their own purposes. It's on the individual(s), not the religion.

Hugs,
Harley

[antisocialbutterfly]

Originally Posted by Harley47

There's absolutely no reason you can't be LGBT and a Christian. Anyone to tell you differently is simply mistaken.

Leviticus 18:22 is the most often cited verse by people clamoring that homosexuality is a sin. But, if you'll flip the Bible open, look up that verse, and read the stuff *around* that part, you'll see similar prohibitions against cutting hair, tattoos, shellfish, having sex while on or a week after one's cycle, and wearing clothing made of two different materials. If someone is calling you sinful for being LGBT, if they've ever eaten shrimp or had a haircut, they're just as "guilty" as you, and a hypocrite to boot.

Leviticus as a book is translated as to mean "For the Levites," which were a sect of the ancient Jewish priesthood. Arguably, it's not applicable to modern Christians in the slightest. We simply pay no heed to it, for the most part. I think you'll be hard pressed to find someone who's going to argue against haircuts and polyester blends. People pay special attention to Leviticus 18:22 because it serves to cloak their own bigotry in a religious garb. That's all it is.

Don't let their convenient selective fundamentalism get you down on the church. They're twisting the Bible to suit their own purposes. It's on the individual(s), not the religion.

Hugs,
Harley

Haha, yeah I knew about that whole thing. Just wish I was confident enough to be like "well you see here, it also says haircuts are (were) sinful etc.."

I'm just scared my parents are just going to figure it out, cause last night I was out at a fast food place and the girl serving was cute and I was looking in her direction whilst my parents were right next to me, hopefully they thought nothing of it because I hate being confronted.

[Harley47]

Don't be afraid to stand up about it. In my experience, most people (not all, most) who use the Bible to back up their homophobia are *blissfully* unaware about the actual context of Leviticus. The look of shock when you bust out the actual context of the book is usually priceless. :P

I don't know enough about your parents to comment on that, but at the end of the day, they're your parents. They should love and support you regardless. Granted, I have heard some very different tales from people coming out, which is incredibly sad IMO, but they should be in your corner regardless. How do you think they'd take it if you were to tell them?

I understand why you feel the need to hide it for now, and I am glad that you know you are not wrong and it is nothing to be ashamed of or feel needs 'curing' lol

I am not Christian, but I believe we all have a spiritual journey and maybe part of yours is to overcome prejudice about sexuality and stay strong and be proud of who you are.

From a christian point of view, I don't believe that if jesus wasn't here today, that he wouldn't support the gay community. You can be gay and a christian hunny, you just can't be gay and a human in some places lol

I hope it all works out for you

[jadeprincess01]

finally a chistain that wont bash me as a sinner for being slighty gay the world needs more of your kind, frankly I was starting to write off all christains as anti-gay assholes.

I can tell you from someone who knows about history, that marriage was a contract originally,a man made invention, to make sure that a union was binding and financially beneficial! nothing sanctimonious about it and all driven by practicality and money - the root of all evil!

God (if there is one) loves you and you were created in his image! and jesus (who regardless of my religion or non religion - I respect) taught us not to judge, segregate or not show love for regardless.

Jesus would love you, even if people don't xxxxxx

[amy94]

I was having trouble trying to understand my sexuality and how to respond to it spiritually, so I asked a priest and this is what he said. Just read it below in the quotes. I loved how he responded, because he was not judging me and this is the kind of response a priest should give when a Christian is struggling. If only all priests/spiritual leaders could understand this. God loves us and will not leave us no matter what we are struggling through and no matter how much we have sinned...even if we don't know whether it's really a sin or not. Because sometimes we really just don't know. only God truly knows. I hope his message helps you as much as it helped me. God bless!

"My first hope is that you might find a nearby priest or spiritual father/mother whom you trust. Someone you can speak to as often as you need. You are that important and special to God. You deserve amazing spiritual support.

Can I help you find such a person, one who is nearby? I am happy to try.

Still, if you need someone to write or talk to, I am here. Of course.

God loves each person, with unbounded and unlimited love, no matter who they are. All of us are broken, and none of us can judge our brother and sister. Jesus walks by our side, no matter what we do, have done, or ever will do. Believing in God's no-matter-what love is the first step we all must take. The Holy Spirit takes over from there. It sounds simple, but the good Lord knows that it is not easy. "

[antisocialbutterfly]

Originally Posted by Sky Blueblack

I understand why you feel the need to hide it for now, and I am glad that you know you are not wrong and it is nothing to be ashamed of or feel needs 'curing' lol

I am not Christian, but I believe we all have a spiritual journey and maybe part of yours is to overcome prejudice about sexuality and stay strong and be proud of who you are.

From a christian point of view, I don't believe that if jesus wasn't here today, that he wouldn't support the gay community. You can be gay and a christian hunny, you just can't be gay and a human in some places lol

I hope it all works out for you

Thank you so much, also love the picture I love Russel Howard!

[antisocialbutterfly]

Regarding, RTerroni (who has been reported by the looks of it).

I respect your opinion, but, I didn't post this thread to start an argument on gay marriage, I never mentioned anything about gay marriage either, only relationships and attraction. My point was why do people in the church discriminate different sexualities, genders when God himself would never do such a thing. I've prayed multiple times to God, asking him if this is who I really am and I know for sure that I was made this way for a reason and I have come to terms with it, I just wish other people would be more accepting regardless on the views about same-sex marriage.

For me, marriage is just a concept, like the concept of time and I think anyone can get married. (People have gotten married to buildings - why is gay marriage still illegal?). And it annoys me that love should even have restrictions regarding the law, I don't care whether you oppose it or not, but to make it illegal by law? Really?

Also, I never mentioned that I want to get married, just because I'm in a relationship with someone doesn't mean I want to get married, marriage is a serious dedication and should be decided by both partners. Plus I'm in Australia where same-sex marriage illegal in pretty much all states, but that's not going to stop me from being in a relationship.

I respect your opinion, but it doesn't help the situation that I am in.

I'm stuck in a homophobic home and I am trying so hard to keep my sexuality to myself because there is a possible risk of me being kicked out or rejected by my own family (and friends) if I ever came out. It's something I've been struggling with for ages, and let me tell you, it is not easy. I have no one to turn to and it hurts because I have to lie to people, which is something I hate, I have to pretend I'm anything but gay, all because I fear rejection.

[antisocialbutterfly]

Originally Posted by soulreaper

finally a chistain that wont bash me as a sinner for being slighty gay the world needs more of your kind, frankly I was starting to write off all christains as anti-gay assholes.

Thank you and your welcome. There's more of us, don't worry, it's just hard to find them in real life especially if you're surrounded by a bunch of homophobes.

Christians who hate gays aren't really Christians in my opinion, God is the only judge, not them. So they have no right to tell someone who is gay that they are going to Hell, because damning someone to Hell is pretty much asking to be sent down there yourself, because it's not what God encourages for people to do. Christians should be all-loving regardless of their views, it's not easy to love everyone, but respect is vital as well.

Plus straight people sin as well, so what makes them so special y'know? We all lust, we all lie, we all do bad things, and some Christians think they can get away with anything just through having a faith in God because he forgives, the point of repenting is to be asking for forgiveness, though he already forgives it's not officially confirmed until someone repents.

It's like if someone was lie to me, but not apologise, but I still forgive, how does that person know they are forgiven? It's not until they say "Sorry" and I confirm it with "it's okay" that they know they're forgiven. Same goes with Christianity.

Anyway, I feel like I rambled a bit there, but you get the point. Most Christians aren't really Christians. Your faith (or none at all) in god(s)/goddess(es)/ doesn't define you. It all comes down to morals and how you treat people really.

[Seacrt]

Originally Posted by antisocialbutterfly

(I hope I didn't get religious here)

I've been raised in a Christian home, in that case I grew a faith towards the Christian God.

I sometimes hate going to church because they're either bashing other religions and/or sexualities and it ticks me off, because I've been struggling with my sexuality and whenever they talk about same-sex relationships in a negative manner, I get offended. And ever since I've discovered my sexuality, I've felt myself slipping from my faith.

Why is lying more forgivable than me falling in love with a woman?

Why is my sexuality seen as a disease that must be 'cured' when in fact, I'm not broken?

What is wrong with falling in love?

I thought Christians were all about love and forgiveness, is it not?

I'm always praying, saying that I'm on this path for a reason, so it shouldn't be something to be ashamed about, but with the people around me, I can't help but hide in fear of rejection.

I am 100% done with the people around me.

I can relate to most of this email the part where I differ I'd i didn't realize till
2012 that there was nothing wrong with me since coming to accept myself for who I am I have blossomed as a person. I came to realize not all Christians believe the same way, there are Christian who do live by the new commandment that Jesus gave "love" and if anyone needs a definition of love I recommend 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 in the amplified bible. I struggled all my life because I believed what religious people said about being gay, I had other difficulties too but I never really thought for myself I always differed to others which as you can imagined caused great struggle and pain. Once I accepted myself being gay and began to gain self esteem I became stronger then I ever thought possible. There are churches and people who will celebrate who you are. And if someone does not accept you for who you are then you maybe better off without them but that's something you have to decide for yourself. I just want to encourage you to know you are loved just as you are. People have a right to think what they want but don't let their beliefs stop you from being true to who you are. People proclaim to speak for God but you know who God made you to be and just because someone says scripture means one thing I can guarantee you someone else can whole heartedly believe that same scripture says just the opposite. That was one thing that confused me greatly. My advice is you seek God for your answers be true to yourself because if you will do that your life can be fulfilling. Once I came to terms for myself with who I am and who I know God to be beyond a shadow of a doubt my life begin to turn around. Trust yourself to know God for who he is "LOVE UNCONDITIONAL"!!
God Bless

[growlithing]

Originally Posted by Harley47

Don't be afraid to stand up about it. In my experience, most people (not all, most) who use the Bible to back up their homophobia are *blissfully* unaware about the actual context of Leviticus. The look of shock when you bust out the actual context of the book is usually priceless. :P

I don't know enough about your parents to comment on that, but at the end of the day, they're your parents. They should love and support you regardless. Granted, I have heard some very different tales from people coming out, which is incredibly sad IMO, but they should be in your corner regardless. How do you think they'd take it if you were to tell them?

No. Leviticus is explicitly clear. Gay people are to be stoned. There is no context possible that makes that okay... unless the book was saying "do NOT stone homosexuals".

However, Leviticus is also explicitly clear that one should not mix fabrics, eating fruit from a tree within four years of planting it, trimming your beard, and working on the Sabbath. You never hear about the other stupid crap in Leviticus. For some particular reason, Christians seem to hold on to the whole gay thing more because somehow they can see that god cared most about being gay out of all the other things in the book, despite the fact that it wasn't in the 10 commandments and Jesus never said anything about it. Christians cherry pick the bible so much that they really can't say they get their morals from that book and they certainly can't say Christianity justifies their homophobia.

You decide for yourself. Is being gay really that bad? Why would an all loving god punish you for the desires and impulses he gave you? If he's all powerful, he decided for you to be gay. So he'd essentially be hating you for his own decision... personally, that doesn't sound too loving to me.

Anyway, come out when you feel comfortable. You don't need to rush it. Don't come out if the potential repercussions of coming out is greater than the pain you feel in the closet. There is this huge emphasis on coming out young or immediately these days. Come out when and if you are ready.

[EDIT] sorry Harvey, I missed your original post and just saw "it's out of context" and jumped on it. We said the same thing. Mine was just more... harsh? Idk. I censored myself a lot. I hate religion. I hate how it affects society. I'm not saying that I hate people who are religious or undermining the comfort people take in it nor am I saying that it should be abolished. I'm saying that I resent it so much for the way it prevents progress in this country (US), divides people, and harms the LGBT community as well as anyone who masturbates or has any sexual thoughts ever.

[Harley47]

lol No harm done at all Growlithing. I think we're on the same page.

[1bleufem]

I went through this in my twenties and it was quite painful. My advice is to keep an open mind and explore all sorts of faiths.. (including the lackthereof!) I was raised in a Catholic/Southern Baptist home so I truly can relate to your pain.

Do keep in mind...your credo in life is yours alone and very personal. You decide what is right for you and that which does not serve you should be discarded.
Good luck!

Christians should be about love and forgiveness. I agree.

Love the sinner, not the sin.

[growlithing]

Originally Posted by antisocialbutterfly

Yeah, I knew about the stoning gays, but it's not like that would be acceptable anymore. Those laws do not apply anymore because of Jesus dying on the cross. I separate religion and belief, I believe in God, I believe you should repent, forgive and love. But religion can be so constricting. I agree it does affect society a lot. I don't believe it is wrong to masturbate, considering it is (scientific fact) healthy and on top of that, masturbation does come with sexual thoughts, so it's not entirely selfish.


Plus I hate it when religion (especially "Christians") shame others for their sex lives. It's literally none of your business on how others have sex with a partner(s) or by themselves. It's not my place to judge.

Even if it were totally selfish, what's wrong with being selfish now and again?

[antisocialbutterfly]

Originally Posted by growlithing

Even if it were totally selfish, what's wrong with being selfish now and again?

Well everyone is going to be selfish here and there, but there are limits. I don't think masturbation or sexual thoughts are selfish, that wasn't my point at all. Humans are flawed so we're not expected to all do things selflessly, but it doesn't mean people aren't selfish.

Plus not everyone fantasizes whilst masturbating, but it doesn't mean they are selfish.

I honestly think there should be better sex educators, because schools teach all kinds of bollocks about sex and puberty. All I learnt in sex ed was puberty (well just about periods and erections, that was all), parts of genitalia and the stages of pregnancy and giving birth. There was NOTHING about safe-sex or anything else.

I think, if you want to live your sex life the way your religion does it - fine - but to shame others for doing it different than you, whether it's self-pleasure or anything else, it's just not okay to judge others - not everyone follows religion the same (or not at all), we all have our points of views, morals and beliefs but we should all respect the ones who differ from us no matter what it is, as long as it's not hurting anybody or effecting anybody - it's totally okay.

This is why I say why hate the LGBT community? They aren't effecting anybody, and if you are butthurt over two men or two women kissing, or a man dressing like a woman or woman dressing like a man or someone who likes both genders or all genders - then you seriously need to think it over - is it PHYSICALLY hurting you? No. Is it any of your business that these people differ from you? No.

It would've been more appropriate to just copy and paste the lyrics of Why Can't We Be Friends into my thread in the first place.

[antisocialbutterfly]

Guys I honestly don't know how we got from LGBT and religion to sex. Anyway. Just an update, I am still unaware of whether I'm bisexual or a lesbian. I kind of said today I was done with crushing on guys (in front of my friend - who didn't really get the hint) because I'm just not 100% attracted to them anymore and they always end up with some girl I've never seen before even though they showed attraction towards me. I'm not wanting relationships now, but I've got my eyes more on girls now. Anyway, still haven't come out to anybody, I don't plan on it soon unless someone's like "i support gay marriage" or something. I don't know. Still unsure if my church is anti-gay, just hope one day I'll get out of home and find a church that OPENLY accepts LGBT people (which thank God (literally) exists -yay!).

[rhcpfan713]

Originally Posted by antisocialbutterfly

(I hope I didn't get religious here)

I've been raised in a Christian home, in that case I grew a faith towards the Christian God.

I sometimes hate going to church because they're either bashing other religions and/or sexualities and it ticks me off, because I've been struggling with my sexuality and whenever they talk about same-sex relationships in a negative manner, I get offended. And ever since I've discovered my sexuality, I've felt myself slipping from my faith.

Why is lying more forgivable than me falling in love with a woman?

Why is my sexuality seen as a disease that must be 'cured' when in fact, I'm not broken?

What is wrong with falling in love?

I thought Christians were all about love and forgiveness, is it not?

I'm always praying, saying that I'm on this path for a reason, so it shouldn't be something to be ashamed about, but with the people around me, I can't help but hide in fear of rejection.

I am 100% done with the people around me.

I am so sorry to hear that you're going through this. I've been struggling with my sexuality for a long time so I definitely know how rough that can be but honestly i couldn't imagine being in your situation. even though i'm not surrounded by Christians I still am so ashamed of the fact that I love women. I hate that about myself. i ****ing hate it i wish i were like every other person in my damn town and just liked guys. I hate how TV shows, advertisements, movies, magazines, children's books, you name it, if there is a couple it is USUALLY a heterosexual one. I work with young children. I hate how it is presumed that a man and a woman will be together. Don't you think that is going to be confusing for that child who realizes he/she is gay later in life? i HATE that people assume i'm straight. i hate hate hate that. it's so awkward if i try to drop hints that i like women. I've heard my friends bash gays, also cutters too, but that's a whole 'nother story. They aren't homophobes, per se.... but i just feel so incredibly alienated when i'm with them. and these are my FRIENDS! well whatever. i'm in a horrible pissy mood. but i can kind of relate. hang in there.