Can Christians Be Gay? - Editorial

A long debated question by people, but what does the faith itself have to say?

click for image source

Burn the gays! F the conservatives! Back and forth we go, around and around in a circle. Where does it end? Are world is a complicated and old, old place. We’ve evolved so much in the last 2000 years since Jesus was born (or wasn’t, but that’s a topic for some other time), specifically the last fifty, when the all-powerful juggernaut that is Christianity lost some traction to more modern thought and free-thinking. With some many of these old-school conservatives fighting against the burgeoning group of homosexuals that are popping up all over the world, you have to ask yourself if, whether you’re a Christian like me, or not: do you really think Jesus would care? What would he do? Out of pure curiosity, we’ll be trying to answer this and more questions to see what the Christian faith really says about homosexuality, and if it’s OK to be gay and Christian at the same time. So, where do we start?

Like I said before, the world is very old and very, very complicated. This means that Christianity, one of the largest and oldest organized groups in the world has seen many changes, a lot of confusion, and most of all: tons of evolution thought the years. It’s hard to pinpoint the origin of any of its major doctrines, texts, or rules, but regardless of where they came from: there are here now. To find out what the faith says about the practice of homosexuality, we’ll be analyzing some of these documents and general teachings the church has provided us with to answer the question above.

The Nicene Creed

For much of the Christian churches (specifically the Catholic Church) the Nicene Creed is often spoken at mass and is uses as a profession of the core beliefs of the religion. It’s gone through several renovations and translations, but the main text has stayed relatively constant. To summarize, in order to be a Christian, you need to believe that:

• God exists
• God made the world
• Jesus was alive at one point
• Jesus is the Son of God
• God will return to the world one day.
  

I don’t know about you, but I don’t see any conflicts with being attracted to someone of your same gender, and following these basic rules. So, we’ve already answered part of are title question: even if begin gay makes you the lowest form of life in the world, it’s still possible for you to be a Christian and a gay person, so where do we go next?

The Ten Commandments

The entire world is most likely familiar with these basic rules laid down during the ancient times of Egypt, and the nearly 54% of the worlds people are members of one of the three Abrahamic religions which use these statements as a guide to help move then though life. If you’re unfamiliar with them, you can check out that link to brush up on the basic rules, but in short: being gay doesn’t conflict with any of these basic rules, rules which are seen as the basic moral standards of many people. You can be homosexual; buts still keep holy the Lord’s Day. Being gay won’t force you into taking the Lord’s name in vein, and most of all, being gay isn’t tied to murder, theft, or adultery. So, what else can we look at?
 
The 7 Deadly Sins

These immoral actions are defined by Christians and often depicted in the media as the sources of evil behavior in humanity. To save you time, the sins are:

• Lust – A intense sexual longing (often tied to rape, adultery, and bestiality)
• Gluttony – Overconsumption (usually of food or scarce resources that others can use)
• Greed – Desire for wealth and power (tied to theft and political manipulation)
• Sloth – Laziness (specifically to duties and obligations to God or a community)
• Wrath – Intense anger (tied to murder, hate, and suicide)
• Envy – Wanting something that someone else has (usually families , friends, or spouses)
• Pride – Excessive love of ones accomplishments or social status (usually thinking that you’re above God or others)
  

Most of these sins are committed by people every day (aware of it or not), and one of the parts of being a Christian and following that lifestyle is learning to overcome these temptations, so why would gays be left out of that? If homosexuality is a sin, is sure ain’t any one of the big ones.

The Bible

The Bible is a very long, very big, very old, and very confusing textbook/reference material/work of fiction (depending on who you ask), but regardless of what you think it is, there’s no doubt it’s open to some interpretation. Many Bible passages Christians sight to show God’s love actually demonstrate God’s anger, just like how many Bible passages anti-Christians sight to show God’s wrath actually show off his mercy. If you thought that the other three items on this list were a bit short, it’s because this one is so huge in comparison. I'll reference some of the wide array of materials I read to come up with my following conclusion, as well as fact checking with the actual Bible and reading what it says.

S1 – Wikipedia, S2 – Upworthy, S3 – Bible Study Tools, S4 – The New York Times, S5 – Huffington Post, S6 – Religious Tolerance, Reference – The Bible (online)

Note: Remember, the Bible is super old! Don’t for get to take historical context into account.

Source one lists out a ton of different passages that relate to the act of homosexuality.  Some are clear in their intentions, while others might be just as easily interpreted as metaphors for things other than homosexuality. For some of the more anti-gay passages, many Bible critics point to the holiness code as a potential answer. Much of the passages seem to be pro-hetero, but not necessarily anti-homo. If you’re interested, this article has some more historical and modern day context. Source two is more liberal and modern in its approach to the subject. It supports the incorporation of Christians and gays into one community, and sights several examples from the Bible and how they may have been misinterpreted. Source three lists off many of the different verses which we’ve already seen, many of which can be interpreted as not necessarily anti-gay, but pro-straight. Source four pins two people, one a straight pastor, and the other a gay evangelical, both who have a vast understanding of theology and have both written books on the subject, in an argument war against each other. They each interpret some of the quotes from the same passages we’ve been hearing over and over again, and say what they think. The gay supporter eloquently explains away many of the seemingly anti-homo messages, just as the gay opposer does the opposite, showing that every point made by the two can be argued for and against, which goes to show the complexity of the matter at hand. Source five is another source in support of Christians being able to be gay. Much like the other sources, it analyzes the varying Bible passages with historical eyes and even gives some insight on religious ideology at the end. Source six talks about the passages again with some more modern day comparisons and logical insight.

I read many other sources in addition to that, but they all ultimately point to homosexuality not being a sin, or at the very least, it not being as bad as most at the far right make it out to be. Since the concept of homosexuality didn’t even exist like it does today, and many of the man-on-man actions that are described in the Bible are mascaraing as other sins, it is in my professional opinion that there is simply too little evidence to say that the Bible is anti-gay.

The Teachings of Jesus and the Church

Now, on to our final source of the evening. We’ve gone over the written word of Christianity, but what does the living, breathing establishment have to say on the matter? We already know that the teachings of Jesus Christ are loving one another and helping your fellow man, which as long as someone shows care for their partner, and helps out in their community if they’re needed, it shouldn’t matter what you do in the privacy of your own home. As it turns out though, the hundreds of different churches are all different in their beliefs.  Here’s a quick list of the largest Christian denominations with their views on homosexuality before we get onto answering the title question (list of church views):

• Catholicism: The single largest denomination of Christianity in the world is more modern in its approach to the issue, and recognizes that homosexuality is an uncontrollable condition in most cases, not a choice, and therefore can’t be considered a sin. They believe that gays must be treated with respect and sensitivity, especially if the love between partners is sincere. As long as the individuals abstain from fornication (that is, casual sex with random people you don’t love/ have a good relationship with), there should be few conflicts with this branch. The church does however, oppose same-sex marriage, so keep that in mind.
  
• The Eastern Orthodoxy: Primarily active in Eastern Europe and Asia, this branch is open to its members having homosexual feelings, however does not welcome those who seek to justify it as I’m doing now. They are open to helping their member’s overcome these feelings, and treat it like other sexual sins. The many different branches have different views on the subject, ranging from more closed off to more open philosophies. Few branches are open to homosexual behavior as long as it’s contained within marriage and doesn’t leave the bedroom, while even fewer possess more open views. Of the three main branches of Christianity (Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox), Orthodox is the least progressive in this area.
• The Baptist Churches: the largest Protestant church in North America carries a more traditional view on the subject. The larger unions are opposed to the practice of homosexuality almost entirely; however most do offer the option to redeem themselves. Some smaller churches in the Baptist family however, are more open to the idea, and some will fully integrate homosexual member into their community.
• Lutheranism: This large church in the US, Europe, and Australia is one of the most open options for gays that we’ve explored so far. Many different braches and churches have grown to allow same sex unions between its members, and encourage the families of these individuals to take an active part in their church community. This isn’t to say that some are more conservative in this regard, and aren’t as open to these types of members, but the larger part of the church follows the former.
• Anglicanism: This federation of smaller churches connected to the Church of England is largely divided on the issue, depending on your geographic location. Your local branch may be indifferent to the issue, or may consider it to be an improper stance to take, however very few are intensely opposed, however not to the level that the Baptist churches are, which even then isn’t too extreme of a viewpoint.
  

Many other branches of Christianity hold similar views on the subject, not necessarily endorsing homosexuality, but not considering it absolutely deplorable either.

So in short, homosexuality doesn’t prevent an individual from following the core teachings of the church, nor does it break any of the Ten Commandments, or fall under one of the major sins. There is little supporting evidence against it in the Bible upon further inspection, and many of the larger churches have become more open to their members practicing this behavior in recent years, provided they are responsible and loving. Most importantly, as long as you love your neighbor and do unto others as you would want them to do unto you, I’m sure Jesus himself wouldn’t really care either.

Thanks for reading everyone! I’m no priest, or religious expert, but hopefully you enjoyed or were informed by the logic I presented. If you liked it, disliked it, or want to say something about it, don’t forget that you can do that! Just leave a comment down below with your comments or suggestions, or perhaps say something on social media if your feeling up to it. Make sure to stick around for more articles, as there is still a one more coming out this week (and quite a few next week), so don’t touch that dial!

Last Post: Silicon Valley Billionaire - Review

Other Content:

Genie World - Society Smash
Anacyclosis in Modern Politics - Society Smash
New Years Resolutions