Gay Christians

I'm having a difficult time writing today. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, I am still writing about contemporary church leaders and how some act out of Christian character. This is kind of a negative topic and whenever someone writes about negative things, it can be draining. The second reason is that I don't think the idea I am advocating in today's topic is a popular idea. This means I have spend extra time finding support for my argument. This too can be draining.

What I was writing about in the chapter today was how Christian leaders, much like the religious leaders of Jesus' time, sometimes place impossible burdens on people today. Basically, a lot of leaders consider themselves Christian police officers that have to make sure people are free of sin in their lives. The problem with this is that no is free from sin. We read in Romans 3:23 that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." We also read that there is only one unforgivable sin, and that is rejecting the Holy Spirit. Yet for some reason, a lot of Christian leaders (and Christians in general) treat homosexuality like it is the unforgivable sin. Certain Christian leaders (which will not be named) called 9/11 and Katrina punishments from God for the gay population in America. How do we know it wasn't from the sins of those pastors who made those statements? The God I have read about in the bible is a God of mercy and grace and would not commit such a terrible punishment. There are in fact al of gay Christians. And if being gay is a sin, it is not any worse than any sin I have committed or anyone else has committed. If a homosexual loves Jesus and attempts to follow him on a daily basis, who am I to say that he or she is not forgiven.

By placing an impossible burden on gay men and women, the burden of becoming someone they genetically cannot be, Christian leaders are excluding people from the kingdom of God. But God desires that no one should be lost but that all should be saved (I Timothy 2:3-4). Shouldn't we then do our best to include gays and lesbians into our churches and show them the love and compassion that Jesus has shown us? I think we owe it to them and to Jesus.

God bless,
-Brandon