Archive for the ‘Being Christian and Gay’ Category

In this concluding post to the series “Being Christian and Gay”, I want to do more than “put myself out there” in some kind of existential witness to faith and sexuality through my personal story, even though it’s through our stories, through the particularities of life, that the practicality of theological truths can most readily be observed. (more…)

In this post, I’m moving beyond sexuality to talk about straddling a fence. Living Between Two Worlds authentically and with integrity is not easy. Attempting to live such a life for a gay person is compounded by a perceived oxymoron—a gay Christian—by both the Christian community and the gay community. (more…)

In this series on “Being Christian and Gay,” we have considered scripture and a Christian sexual ethic. In this post we’ll examine a general understanding of sexuality. There’s more, to being gay than the act of sexual intimacy. I, like you, both consciously and subconsciously are attracted to and seek to attract other people with whom to form deep relationships. This is the way we ward off loneliness. It is also the way we seek an intimate relationship. (more…)

We have considered a context for our conversation—personal experience–and biblical texts that have been used to address sexual orientation; now let’s look at ethics, knowing right from wrong. My ethics are derived from my theological understanding, which is informed by my relationship with Jesus, my reading of Scripture, and my interpretation of the contemporary sociocultural environment. (more…)

thHZLCH2C4Some people point to six key passages that they believe provide indisputable admonitions against homosexuality. We have considered how we relate to, understand, and interpret Scripture. That is to say, How We Read the Bible and I have shared with you My Relationship with Scripture. What about these six passages.?

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thA0JVK7IDThere are existential questions about my existence—who am I? Where did I come from? What does it mean to be me? These kinds of questions my mom raised in my mind when, for some reason, lost to me now, she urged me, as a twelve-year-old boy, to “Just be yourself, David.” I wondered then what that meant and such questions continue to unfold as life inexorably moves forward. The answers are not simple.

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thThis is the second part in a series about being both Christian and gay. Dealing with Scripture is the place we are beginning this conversation. In considering “How We Read the Bible,” I must first give you a statement of my faith: I claim faith in God and in Jesus the Christ, his Son. The totality of Jesus’ life among us—his teachings, his activity, his moral life, his resurrection after having been killed and buried—gives me hope. Yes, I am a gay man. For some people, mashing together my faith statement and my declaration of my sexual orientation creates a conundrum. (more…)

The context for this blog conversation, which I hope you will engage, is the intersection of faith and sexuality, particularly, my faith and sexuality. 

Beginning in the early eighties, I was drawn to every printed word about homosexuality I came across. I filed every newspaper and magazine article I could find. At the time, I had not self-identified as gay, but I was desperately trying to find clarity to my sexuality in the context of my faith. 

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