What a great question. I lived most of my childhood thinking I WAS wrong and that being gay was a sin. And the more I hated that fundamental part of who I am, the more tormented I was. I did everything possible to "pray the gay away." My love for Christ had to cure my attraction to members of the same sex, right? If I just prayed hard enough and became a leader in our church community, then it really would be nothing more than a phase, right? By the way, this "phase" started for me at seven years old and continues to this day.
The fear I felt as I read Leviticus 18:22 that said, "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination," (ESV, NKJV) made me sick. But I also noticed that Leviticus shared a lot of other laws. The vast list of laws written in Leviticus show the rigidity of the culture and how it was used to fuel the Theocratic influence of the times in which the words were written. The laws were put in place to keep people in their place.
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| Jesus accepted EVERYONE |
Recently, I researched the New Testament, where there are at least three passages that may refer to homosexual activity: Romans 1:26–27, 1 Corinthians 6:9–10, and 1 Timothy 1:9–10. A fourth passage, Jude 1:7, is often interpreted as referring to homosexuality. However, none of the four gospels mentions the subject directly, and there is nothing about homosexuality in the Book of Acts, in Hebrews, in Revelation, or in the letters attributed to James, Peter, and John. So, that leads to me to believe that with Christ's coming, we ALL have a seat at his table.
As I've gone to the Bible for direction and prayed for clarity and enlightenment, over time my relationship with God has grown. In that maturity, I've come to read the Bible for inspiration and use my own God-given discerning spirit to understand that the presumed references to 'homosexuality' itself in the New Testament hinge on the interpretation of three specific Greek words. As stated in Wikipedia, those words are arsenokoitēs (ἀρσενοκοίτης), malakos (μαλακός), and porneia.[1][2] While it is not disputed that the three Greek words concern sexual relations between men (and possibly between women), some academics interpret the relevant passages as a prohibition against pederasty or prostitution rather than homosexuality.
Again, I believe that we have to balance the politics of the time during which the Bible was written against the Holy Spirit's guidance (that part of us that is divine and serves as our moral compass). God and his wrath were used to keep common people in line. That oppressive use of God's word coupled with the loss of intended meaning through translation from Hebrew and Greek and Latin language makes me unwilling to take the Bible literally. Also, the fact that what was written about Christ was done years after his death also forces me to be a bit skeptical about the true meaning we get from scripture. As with any re-telling and the passage of time, much is lost in translation. Like the game "telephone" what was originally stated gets passed along with a lot of human error in the message.
The bottom line is this, I have to trust that God made me the way I am so that I can demonstrate through my faith and the way I love my family that my love for my wife is no less holy than my friend's love for her husband. I am as worthy of a spot at God's table as my heterosexual peers. Now, don't get me wrong. I know I will have made many mistakes when I am called to Heaven, but I'm also sure that the mistakes God and I talk about when I finally reach Heaven will have more to do with the importance of living with integrity and respect and honesty rather than being condemned for having fallen in love with another woman. That's my faith and I'm sticking to it.
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