Dear Susan: How Does God REALLY Feel About Gays?

I love answering this question… ‘How does God really feel about gays?’

It is an issue that many in the church still struggle with. But more and more people are discovering the truth that how the non-affirming church feels is very different than how God feels.

I write Dear Susan posts every Friday. Sometimes they are poignant, sometimes thought-provoking, sometimes tender, sometimes funny… but hopefully always worth the read.  🙂

Here we go…

Dear Susan:

Is this a joke? More importantly, is the bible given any regard in this article? I wonder how God really feels about gays – this majestic “LGBTQ”. Oh here is a text: “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust on toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.” Romans 1:26-27. There, THAT is what God believes about the LGBTQ community.

Dear Friend:

Well, hello there! I appreciate your passion. 🙂 I can tell you’re new to this conversation, because the Romans passage, along with the other “clobber passages” have been completely dismantled by Christian scholars, in books and blogs, for some time now. (Much of that work is on my resources page.)

First, let me share with you the simple truth about Romans 1. This passage is addressing a group of Christians who were giving up their focus on God. It is about idol worship. The key to the homosexual references is the word ‘natural’ – Paul is referring to heterosexual people giving up their natural, god-given orientation and NOT worshiping God by exchanging that for ‘un-natural’ behavior – for them. It would be exactly like asking a gay person to have heterosexual sex – it goes against their very nature, their identity, their orientation. There is much more on this in the books Bible, Gender & Sexuality and God and the Gay Christian.

I have a high view of scripture and take my bible very seriously, so much so that I won’t allow it to be autopsied, pulled out of context and thrown in pieces to reject and condemn people Jesus loves!

In addition, Romans 2 starts with “therefore, [referring to Romans 1], you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself…” Paul warns us that judging others is God’s business, not ours.

You see, you are looking at your bible like it’s a menu and choosing a passage like Romans, COMPLETELY out of context, to justify condemnation to a certain group of people – overlooking so many passages about judgment, about how unequipped we are to judge others, and that we are NOT to be sorting out what’s right and wrong, but following Jesus!

And to answer your question – ‘How does God really feel about gays?’…

God loves them, like God loves you – unconditionally. They are perfect to God, like you are. God guides them, like God guides you. God’s peace is available to them, as it is to you.

The question each of us must answer is: “Do I believe God feels that way about me?”

My dear reader, how would you answer that question?? I hope and pray your answer is yes!

Susan

This is your chance to ask a Jesus-loving parent of a gay child any question you want. Go for it!

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