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Other Topics => Completely Off-Topic => Topic started by: ReSpektDaFrenziedEVanesSa on April 15, 2008, 05:06:31 pm
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Hey, guys, I posted a question on Yahoo Answers and it's about to expire so Im just posting my question on here to see if I can get any more helpful responses. All answers are appreciated. Thank you all. Peace.
Fellow Christians, help me out here. I'm a Chrisitian, but I am also homosexual. I know that the Bible says being gay is an abomination, but it also says that eating shrimp and lobster and wearing clothes that are made of more than one material are abominable things too. Also, doesn't the Bible say that Jesus surrounded himself with the outcasts of society? Who better represents the outcasts of this day and age than the LGBT community? Pastors say "God's grace is limitless", and that gives me hope that He would accept me, but others say God condemns the gays, which scares me. People say God loves all His children, so why shouldn't He love me? Am I not a child of God? And is it not also said that God has a plan for all of us? Wouldn't that make this part of God's plans for me? If it is part of His plan, who am I to deny it? This is all really confusing, and I'm not sure what to think, where to turn, or what to do. It blows my mind to think that one wrong decision in this short life could make my entire eternal life hell. Eternity is a long time. I'm afraid. I'm deathly scared for my soul and I just need a little help. Thank you all.
So, from what I'm reading, it looks like I can be gay, but I can't live a gay life. Is that right, because it doesn't make sense that God would want to take love from me. Maybe I'm naive. Thanks for all of you who are truly helping.
Ok, wherever I ask this question, I get the answer: "Gay: acceptable, gay lifestyle: condemned". What do you all mean by gay lifestyle? If you mean just sleeping around with men like we're all man-whores and callboys, you couldn't be farther from the truth, because I can say that as a gay male, I don't think fornication is right. But if by gay lifestyle, you just mean having sex with men, married or not, does that mean I'm supposed to stay celibate all my life? Thanks again to everyone who's helping, all answers are indescribably appreciated.
If it is at all relelvant to anyone out there, my AIM screen name is Respekt218. Feel free to contact me about this issue, even after I've chosen an answer.
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I know the basic Catholic teaching is that being homosexual is completely fine, but homosexual actions, i.e. sex, is wrong because it is not both unitive and procreative. However, every teacher or priest I've ever asked seems to agree that if 2 men or 2 women love each other, they should be able to show it and be intimate.
I'm Catholic, but I think being gay is not a choice but just a part of someone, and God accepts that, and gay people shouldn't have to miss out on anything, including sex.
Hope that helped a little...
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Gays arent the outcasts of society around here!
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Not that I hate on gays or anything, but the Bible says what it does, regardless of what you want to believe.
Fellow Christians, help me out here. I'm a Chrisitian, but I am also homosexual. I know that the Bible says being gay is an abomination, but it also says that eating shrimp and lobster and wearing clothes that are made of more than one material are abominable things too.
I'll actually quote the relevant dietary and clothing laws.
Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales. But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water—you are to detest. And since you are to detest them, you must not eat their meat and you must detest their carcasses. Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be detestable to you.
Leviticus 11:9-12
Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.
Leviticus 19:19(d)
The first is a purity law. It isn't sinful to eat those things, but it will make you ritually unpure and unfit for admission to the temple. Oops, that doesn't exist anymore. Besides, the dream Peter had said this doesn't matter anymore. The second is just a random proclamation that doesn't explain itself. It doesn't carry any moral weight. It isn't sinful to do otherwise. It's just a piece of advice you had better follow because God said so.
Let's look at the laws on gay sex.
Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
Leviticus 18:22
If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what id detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
Leviticus 20:13
Plus, there is more. This is clearly sinful according to the Bible, while the other things you mentioned are not.
Also, doesn't the Bible say that Jesus surrounded himself with the outcasts of society? Who better represents the outcasts of this day and age than the LGBT community?
He hung out with sinners and told them, "Repent and sin no more." If gay sex is really sinful, you're expected to stop it when you follow Christ. My take on it is a bit different, though. Gay sex is seen as sinful because it is disobeying God's first command to humans: Be fruitful and multiply. Perhaps with almost 7 billion people on this planet, this is no longer holds?
Pastors say "God's grace is limitless", and that gives me hope that He would accept me, but others say God condemns the gays, which scares me.
God condemns ALL sinners. All of us are sinners, no matter how righteous we try to be. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23.
People say God loves all His children, so why shouldn't He love me? Am I not a child of God? And is it not also said that God has a plan for all of us? Wouldn't that make this part of God's plans for me? If it is part of His plan, who am I to deny it? This is all really confusing, and I'm not sure what to think, where to turn, or what to do. It blows my mind to think that one wrong decision in this short life could make my entire eternal life hell. Eternity is a long time. I'm afraid. I'm deathly scared for my soul and I just need a little help. Thank you all.
God loves you like he loves everyone else, regardless of their sin. People sin and that isn't part of God's plan for them. Regardless of whether or not gay sex is a sin,* by putting faith in Jesus, your sins are forgiven. All of them. As long as you accept that gift, you're ok. Don't worry about it. Just pray about it. God's answer to you is the only one that really counts, anyway.
Sorry if this whole post came off as mean or something. The Bible disagrees with a lot of modern thought and is hardly "progressive."
* Just because the Bible says so doesn't mean that it is, it was, after all, written by imperfect men. It might have also been sinful in the past because the population of the world needed to grow, but this is no longer true and it might no longer be sinful.
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God loves you like he loves everyone else, regardless of their sin. People sin and that isn't part of God's plan for them. Regardless of whether or not gay sex is a sin,* by putting faith in Jesus, your sins are forgiven. All of them. As long as you accept that gift, you're ok. Don't worry about it. Just pray about it. God's answer to you is the only one that really counts, anyway.
yep. I'm a "Christian" but i basically don't run with the whole church/Bible thing at all. I believe in Jesus, etc, and I repent, but the only real doctrine i follow is that my God loves everyone, regardless. i thought that was supposed to be the basis of Christianity, anyways, that God was benevolent and loved and forgave all? oh well. even if it's not, that's what I believe.
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I think organized religions under the God of Abraham are all mind-control tools. As of now, I follow no religion, though I was raised Christian. My mother (who completely accepts me, but for some reason did this anyway) brought me to the pastor of our old church and he told me it's okay to be gay, but it's not okay to act on it. As in, having sex.
If I were ever to be christian again, which I doubt, I will believe that the bible was written by men ignorant of the fact homosexuals exist unintentionally, and it's no choice of ours (I'm gay, as everyone on Earth knows now, since you joined the club). They were supposedly inspired by God, meaning it wasn't his words, and that means not everything they wrote was what he allegedly wanted them to say.
I'm sorry, but after being rejected by "people of peace," and being harassed and tormented to the point that I have permenent, severe, medication-resisitant depression by those people who call themselves that... I can't accept that any God would allow that. If he could inspire people back then, he could do it today, and I know that if he's real, then he made me and all gays how they are, and more and more people should be "inspired," with acceptance. But they haven't. There are accepting people, but even those who are accepting on the outside aren't. I can read people like a book, and I know if they are telling the truth when they say that they accept me. I know many of them are saying that to be PC and not cause drama, or to be part of the "non-conformist," movement.
Okay, end of rant.
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Will, thank you for clearing up all that Bible mess, but I'm not sure I understand whether or not you're saying it is or isn't okay to be gay and/or have gay sex.
You all are being so helpful, and you have no idea how much it means to me that you would even care enough to take the time to try to help. Innumerable thanks. I'll keep praying on this, but I'm still not sure. Thank all of you so so much fro helping, all answers are appreciated.
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I'll keep praying on this, but I'm still not sure.
Oh! That reminds me another reason I left the church... Praying doesn't do shit. =/
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As of now, I follow no religion,
Wow, I wish I could be a non-believer, but I'm too much of a scaredy-cat thinking "What if there is a God?" in which case, i'd be completely screwed, but since there's no way to know for sure, I'll just keep believeing. Not trying to bash your beliefs, believe watever you want.
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I claim to be an Enlightened Baptist, if you will. Let me try to put together an answer. Now what I'm about to say may start out sounding like moral relativism (rationalizing what you do because it's "not as bad" as what other people are doing), but I don't condone that at all. I just want to put things into perspective. That said, here's my answer:
People don't go to hell because they're gay. People don't go to hell because they eat "unclean" food. They don't go to hell because they steal or commit adultery. Everyone is going to hell because no one is righteous and nothing anyone can do can ever change that, no matter how "good" they try to be in life, or how many animals they burn on an altar. But there's hope.
When God sent his son Jesus, he was to be the perfect sacrifice for the atonement of everyone's sin, all sin, forever and ever, and whoever will accept that freely given gift of forgiveness shall be saved from hellfire.
And don't let anyone tell you that you can ever "lose" your salvation once saved. God's salvation is a complete process. When your sin is forgiven, it is all forgiven. If it weren't, it would not be forgiven at all because Jesus did not die for only some of a person's sin. Jesus has already paid for all of the sins of all who have accepted him, are accepting him now, and will ever accept him in the future. God already knows who they are.
Think of a person who is divorced and has remarried. This is an unbiblical act. God never said this was okay, and as such, the new marriage amounts to adultery because there is no provision given in the Bible for a divorce, short of death. But if the husband and wife have accepted Jesus, their actions shall be forgiven.
Now here's the part where you have to be careful: Receiving this unlimited forgiveness is not a license to continue to live in sin. It is the vindication from sin, and if you are forgiven you no longer have to live in sin. But no one is expected to be perfect, and if a forgiven Christian continues to sin, it shall be forgiven. God knows us and loves us, and no one who has been forgiven shall ever be in danger of hellfire, but that doesn't mean we no longer have to pray and ask forgiveness once forgiven. We should continue to pray and have a relationship with God, because while we won't go to hell after our death, we can certainly live in hell on Earth by separating ourselves from God.
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Now here's the part where you have to be careful: Receiving this unlimited forgiveness is not a license to continue to live in sin. It is the vindication from sin, and if you are forgiven you no longer have to live in sin. But no one is expected to be perfect, and if a forgiven Christian continues to sin, it shall be forgiven. God knows us and loves us, and no one who has been forgiven shall ever be in danger of hellfire, but that doesn't mean we no longer have to pray and ask forgiveness once forgiven. We should continue to pray and have a relationship with God, because while we won't go to hell after our death, we can certainly live in hell on Earth by separating ourselves from God.
Thank you for that, it certainly helps. But it would seem that what you are saying is that it is impossible to go to hell, and that doesn't make sense. How do I accept Jesus, how do I get forgiveness for my sins, and how will I know that I am saved?
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I went to a Bible College a few years ago, and wrote an essay about Gay Christians. I believe I did a good job, but because I reached a different conclusion than is commonly accepted, I wasn't graded highly for my efforts... and I am straight). Nothing in this post is taken from my essay though; I wrote this quickly so sorry if it's not well-written.
When I get the chance I will find it and post some links to a website you may find helpful. It contains a pro-gay article written by a heterosexual Christian minister exploring mistranslations in the Bible that cause people to believe that being a homosexual is an abomination. (I can't vouch for the accuracy of his teachings as I do not understand the original languages of the Bible, but it seems to make sense to me.)
There are 4 main attitudes of Christians towards gays:
1. "God Hates Fags". These "Christians" are hateful towards not just homosexuality but also homosexuals themselves. Their attitude is that homosexuality is a sin, and the sinners are going to hell; good riddance.
(I hope everyone here is as disgusted by that as me)
2. "Hate the sin, not the sinner". It's a sin, but not a "worse" sin than lying, stealing, etc. This attitude is more "tolerant". Most Christians probably fall in this category. (I have no proof, but it's what it seems like to me personally). They feel this way because it's how thay have been taught; it's how their Bibles have been translated, and they believe it because to them it is the Word of God. Many believe that homosexuality is an affliction that can be "cured" through God's love. (Which may be possible for some people because they may be straight but turn to relationships with the same sex due to some kind of traumatic experience with the opposite sex, and so if their pain is healed, then so is the "homosexuality" because they can now have a healthy relationship with the opposite gender again. People in this category usually don't believe that a person can be inherently homosexual, and that homosexuality can be a natural preference that will develop within a person without being a case of cause and effect.)
3. "It's OK to be gay.... just don't have sex". Some Christians believe that it's not a sin to be homosexual, but it is a sin to act on it, ie. have sexual relations even within a marriage-like partership.
4. "It's okay". This is probably not a large percentage, but some Christians believe that homosexuality is not an illness or affliction, but it is something that a person is born with, and if God made a person that way, then it is not a sin to be homosexual, and sex within a loving, comitted union is acceptable. They believe that passages in the Bible concerning homosexuality are either mistranslated, or don't matter because many of the rules in the Bible are seen as irrelavent (such as the aforementioned scriptures concerning seafood and clothing.)
There are probably more viewpoints but I think these are the main attitudes. My point is that not all Christians think or feel the same. You don't have to think or feel the same as Christian X, Y or Z either.
Please stay strong. Much of what Christians are expected to follow, and much of what they judge other people over, is not even in the Bible. Many "laws" are man-made, not set by God/Jesus. Pray for discernment, so that you may grow strong in your faith and be able to work out yourself (but with God's guidance) what is right and wrong for YOU. There will always be people who will look down on you (not only you, but every single person) for whatever reason, and will tell you that you are wrong in some way, but if you have a strong relationship with God, then it is His opinion and your own opinion of yourself that matters.
I hope this helps
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Now here's the part where you have to be careful: Receiving this unlimited forgiveness is not a license to continue to live in sin. It is the vindication from sin, and if you are forgiven you no longer have to live in sin. But no one is expected to be perfect, and if a forgiven Christian continues to sin, it shall be forgiven. God knows us and loves us, and no one who has been forgiven shall ever be in danger of hellfire, but that doesn't mean we no longer have to pray and ask forgiveness once forgiven. We should continue to pray and have a relationship with God, because while we won't go to hell after our death, we can certainly live in hell on Earth by separating ourselves from God.
Thank you for that, it certainly helps. But it would seem that what you are saying is that it is impossible to go to hell, and that doesn't make sense. How do I accept Jesus, how do I get forgiveness for my sins, and how will I know that I am saved?
I think he means that Christians can't go to hell but non-Christians do go to hell. I understand what he said but sometimes its helpful to hear it said in another way. (Or I may make no sense to you, lol. I'm explaining this belief, and trying to keep my own personal opinions out of it.). The reason Christians don't go to hell even if they keep on sinning (they all do, it's pretty much impossible not to seeing as they are human) is because at the point of their salvation- the point at which they become "Born Again" (Jesus talks of this in the Bible; other terminology I've heard commonly used is "letting Jesus into your heart", or "getting saved", neither of which is mentioned in the Bible... another one is "becoming a new creation in Christ", which is sourced from the Bible) then your sins are forgiven completely, which means you get the proverbial "ticket to Heaven", and even when you sin again, your ticket is not forfeited. If you truly love God though, you're not going to want to keep on sinning just because you've got your ticket. You're going to want to please Him by trying your best to follow Jesus' example, which means turning away from sin. No-one's perfect though, so when you slip up you will be sorry for displeasing God and you will pray for forgiveness. If however, you don't love God, then how can you be "saved" in the first place? God knows your thoughts and your heart, so if you pray and don't mean it, then its not valid and you're not "saved". For example, it's generally accepted that if you are a Christian, and you go and get hit by a bus and die after you've just committed a sin and haven't prayed for forgiveness yet, then you'll still go to Heaven.
You will know that you are "saved" if you sincerely believe the Gospel (if anyone needs clarification on what this means I am happy to explain it to you, just ask) and love and accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour. This involves developing a relationship with Him through prayer.
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I'm no pro in religious matters as I'm not a believer! However, if you have any gay issues... I might be helpful. I've been working with LGBT youth for 4 years.
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I'm proud to call myself a Christian, but I try not to proselytize, nor do I judge people too harshly. I'm older than most of you here, and when I was your age, I did struggle with God as a being/concept.
Don't knock yourself out, trying to find answers that are unavailable to us mortals. Look inside your own heart. Treat people as well as you can, and try not to hurt them, help them if you can. This, to me, is the essence of Christianity.
People are not black or white; they are shades of grey at best. They do good things and bad things. To me, it's no one's business what you do behind closed doors as long as you're not hurting someone. And I reject the term "sexual preference"; what does it for you does it for you. This is coming from a straight guy.
Be a good person, try not to hate, always do the right thing. If that doesn't get you into heaven.....uh, you and I are both in big trouble!
Dan/NS
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Now here's the part where you have to be careful: Receiving this unlimited forgiveness is not a license to continue to live in sin. It is the vindication from sin, and if you are forgiven you no longer have to live in sin. But no one is expected to be perfect, and if a forgiven Christian continues to sin, it shall be forgiven. God knows us and loves us, and no one who has been forgiven shall ever be in danger of hellfire, but that doesn't mean we no longer have to pray and ask forgiveness once forgiven. We should continue to pray and have a relationship with God, because while we won't go to hell after our death, we can certainly live in hell on Earth by separating ourselves from God.
Thank you for that, it certainly helps. But it would seem that what you are saying is that it is impossible to go to hell, and that doesn't make sense. How do I accept Jesus, how do I get forgiveness for my sins, and how will I know that I am saved?
I think he means that Christians can't go to hell but non-Christians do go to hell. I understand what he said but sometimes its helpful to hear it said in another way. (Or I may make no sense to you, lol. I'm explaining this belief, and trying to keep my own personal opinions out of it.). The reason Christians don't go to hell even if they keep on sinning (they all do, it's pretty much impossible not to seeing as they are human) is because at the point of their salvation- the point at which they become "Born Again" (Jesus talks of this in the Bible; other terminology I've heard commonly used is "letting Jesus into your heart", or "getting saved", neither of which is mentioned in the Bible... another one is "becoming a new creation in Christ", which is sourced from the Bible) then your sins are forgiven completely, which means you get the proverbial "ticket to Heaven", and even when you sin again, your ticket is not forfeited. If you truly love God though, you're not going to want to keep on sinning just because you've got your ticket. You're going to want to please Him by trying your best to follow Jesus' example, which means turning away from sin. No-one's perfect though, so when you slip up you will be sorry for displeasing God and you will pray for forgiveness. If however, you don't love God, then how can you be "saved" in the first place? God knows your thoughts and your heart, so if you pray and don't mean it, then its not valid and you're not "saved". For example, it's generally accepted that if you are a Christian, and you go and get hit by a bus and die after you've just committed a sin and haven't prayed for forgiveness yet, then you'll still go to Heaven.
You will know that you are "saved" if you sincerely believe the Gospel (if anyone needs clarification on what this means I am happy to explain it to you, just ask) and love and accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour. This involves developing a relationship with Him through prayer.
Wow, that really sounds too good to be true, but I'll definitely give it a try. I'm afraid I don't completely understand what you mean by sincerely believe the Gospel, because it sounds like you mean that I only have to really, truly believe it, which, for me, seems too easy to be the only thing I have to do to be saved, but maybe I'm just not confident. I don't know. But anyway lol, if you could explain what you mean, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you sooooooooooooooo much for your help, MeganJane, your two replies have been immeasurably comforting.
Peace.
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My dad's a catholic and he often goes to reconciliation. So my question is does one have to to go to reconciliation to have their sins forgiven?
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My dad's a catholic and he often goes to reconciliation. So my question is does one have to to go to reconciliation to have their sins forgiven?
It's not a matter of having God forgive you of your sins. He forgives them in his own way. But by repenting we ask the church to forgive us for our sins.
It's kinda like how a mom gets mad if her little kid pushes thier best friend down and even when they apologize to thier mother the mom still makes them say sorry to thier friend.
......Or at least that was the impression I was always under.
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The Bible makes no requirement of going to a church or a priest to ask for forgiveness. Pray at home in the privacy of your bedroom and you are just as forgiven. The Bible makes it clear that all believers in Christ have a direct line to God.
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Now here's the part where you have to be careful: Receiving this unlimited forgiveness is not a license to continue to live in sin. It is the vindication from sin, and if you are forgiven you no longer have to live in sin. But no one is expected to be perfect, and if a forgiven Christian continues to sin, it shall be forgiven. God knows us and loves us, and no one who has been forgiven shall ever be in danger of hellfire, but that doesn't mean we no longer have to pray and ask forgiveness once forgiven. We should continue to pray and have a relationship with God, because while we won't go to hell after our death, we can certainly live in hell on Earth by separating ourselves from God.
Thank you for that, it certainly helps. But it would seem that what you are saying is that it is impossible to go to hell, and that doesn't make sense. How do I accept Jesus, how do I get forgiveness for my sins, and how will I know that I am saved?
I think he means that Christians can't go to hell but non-Christians do go to hell. I understand what he said but sometimes its helpful to hear it said in another way. (Or I may make no sense to you, lol. I'm explaining this belief, and trying to keep my own personal opinions out of it.). The reason Christians don't go to hell even if they keep on sinning (they all do, it's pretty much impossible not to seeing as they are human) is because at the point of their salvation- the point at which they become "Born Again" (Jesus talks of this in the Bible; other terminology I've heard commonly used is "letting Jesus into your heart", or "getting saved", neither of which is mentioned in the Bible... another one is "becoming a new creation in Christ", which is sourced from the Bible) then your sins are forgiven completely, which means you get the proverbial "ticket to Heaven", and even when you sin again, your ticket is not forfeited. If you truly love God though, you're not going to want to keep on sinning just because you've got your ticket. You're going to want to please Him by trying your best to follow Jesus' example, which means turning away from sin. No-one's perfect though, so when you slip up you will be sorry for displeasing God and you will pray for forgiveness. If however, you don't love God, then how can you be "saved" in the first place? God knows your thoughts and your heart, so if you pray and don't mean it, then its not valid and you're not "saved". For example, it's generally accepted that if you are a Christian, and you go and get hit by a bus and die after you've just committed a sin and haven't prayed for forgiveness yet, then you'll still go to Heaven.
You will know that you are "saved" if you sincerely believe the Gospel (if anyone needs clarification on what this means I am happy to explain it to you, just ask) and love and accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour. This involves developing a relationship with Him through prayer.
Wow, that really sounds too good to be true, but I'll definitely give it a try. I'm afraid I don't completely understand what you mean by sincerely believe the Gospel, because it sounds like you mean that I only have to really, truly believe it, which, for me, seems too easy to be the only thing I have to do to be saved, but maybe I'm just not confident. I don't know. But anyway lol, if you could explain what you mean, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you sooooooooooooooo much for your help, MeganJane, your two replies have been immeasurably comforting.
Peace.
Hi, I'm so gald that I could be of help.
Believing is really all you have to do do to be "saved" and begin your journey with God. It's simple, but it is also a difficult concept to grasp. You can think of it like a gift, it's there with your name on it, but you have to choose whether you will accept it or not. It's hard because if a stranger offered you a gift, maybe money to fix your car when you were stuck and broke, then you would be taken aback and reluctant to accept their generosity- even though you need it you might refuse it becuase you don't feel like you deserve such a gift.
The Gospel is the account of Jesus' life here on Earth- the "Good News". There are four accounts included in the Bible- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (named after their authors, who were disciples (followers and friends) of Jesus. In John 3:16-17, John explains it this way:
"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again." ("The Message" translation)
I'll try and put it in a nutshell (I'm not good at this, so I'm pretty sure it's too detailed. What I've tried to do is explain some "backstory" so that the Gospel makes more sense), but please find out more for yourself too, so you can grow.
Jesus Christ is God's Son and always was, residing in Heaven. (The title Christ is given to him because he is the Son of God.) God created the Heavens and the Earth pure, but he gave humans the gift of free will. This means that humans could think for themselves, but also gave into temptation from Satan/The Devil/Lucifer/The Evil One and chose to do things that were against what God wanted- lie, steal, murder, and the list goes on. The first people could see God, but he stopped making himself visible when they turned away from him and did things against him. Not only could they not see God anymore, but they could now die, and becuase they had seperated themselves for God in life, they were also seperated from him in death. Many people don't believe in God because they can't see him, and they have the free will to decide for themselves whether they believe or not. The world (over two thousand years ago) was in a mess, so God sent his Son (who was also God... it's hard to explain) to earth to be visible to people once more. He came to earth as a human. Fully human and fully God at the same time. He was born to Mary as a baby, and at the time she had nowhere to give birth except for in an animal stable. (This shows how God really came down to be with us, by making him a helpless and vulnerable child in a smelly place full of animal shit, rather than putting him in a palace like you would expect.)
As he grew up, he became aware of who he was. (There was a prophecy that God would send a Messiah- someone to save the people, but people had different ideas as to how this would happen and what it meant.) He was still very close with his Father (God). He was about 30 when he started his minstry (that's the age that boys were considered to become men in that culture), before that he was a carpenter. Apart from being the Son of God and sinless, he was an ordinary guy. He wasn't rich or handsome (no flowing blonde locks!), no-one "special" by the world's standards. He was fully human, so he had the ability to do wrong, and he was tempted by Satan, but he did not give in because of his love for his Father, and his love for people- if he had sinned, the whole plan would be ruined- I'll get to that soon. He travelled around and spoke to his friends and crowds of people about God, preaching and performing miracles. He claimed to be the Son of God, which made some people in positions of power really pissed off... It got to the point where Jesus was arrested, and then he was killed slowly and painfully. He was crucified, which means he was nailed thought his wrists and feet to a wooden cross. I won't go into too much detail here (I encourage you to find out about it for yourself), but the cruelty was astonishing. In those times and that culture, they regularly did this to criminals, but becuase they hated Jesus so much, they tortured him even more. They mocked him, and dug a crown made of thorns into his skull. People watched this bloodbath, many of whom thought he deserved it. As you can imagine, his friends, family and believers were devastated. This was their king, their friend, the one who had come to save them, and now he was killed like a piece of meat. How could he save them when he was dead? Their God was dead. Jesus paid for their sins by taking them on himself.... but he was dead.
The way that people were forgiven in the days before this was to offer a sacrifice to God. A perfect lamb had to be slaughtered. It is written that "without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness". So what God had done, is offered his Son, who was like the perfect lamb as a blood sacrifice to pay for the sins of the people to make forgiveness free. This is why, three days after his death, Jesus' tomb was found empty! His body was gone. He appeared again, alive. He had been raised from the dead! People thought they had seen a ghost, but they found he was very much alive. He had beaten death and sin. Not just a physical death, but spiritual. Spiritual death is a seeration from God. He was seperated from his Father because of the sin he had taken on, but as the sin was forgiven thorough the sacrifice, he was resurrected. The time came when Jesus returned to his Father in Heaven. He ascended- literally rose up into the sky and disappeared. He was once again invisible, but believing is a matter of faith, and believing in what you can't see. All you have to do is believe in, and love him- this is accepting him as your Lord and your Saviour. This means accepting him not just as the Saviour of the world, but of YOU, personally. If you believe in and love him, you will want to please him, and get to know him personally- have a relationship with him. Your life will not be easy- but what he offers is not an easy life, but a whole one, one in which your spirit will live on with him.
I really hope this has answered your question. xo
P.S. It's taken me an hour to write this, so it's not proof-read, lol.
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Wow thank you sooooooooooooooooooooooo much. You've definitely helped me, and I literally owe you (among other people) my very life. I will continue to find out more for myself so that I can grow and become closer to Jesus and God. If anyone has anything to add to my original question, please feel free, all answers are appreciated. Thanks again, MJ.
P.S.: For written in an hour w/ minimal proof-reading, that came out very well. :)
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Wow thank you sooooooooooooooooooooooo much. You've definitely helped me, and I literally owe you (among other people) my very life. I will continue to find out more for myself so that I can grow and become closer to Jesus and God. If anyone has anything to add to my original question, please feel free, all answers are appreciated. Thanks again, MJ.
P.S.: For written in an hour w/ minimal proof-reading, that came out very well. :)
Thanks. It means a lot to me that I can help. I came across a website that you may be interested in visiting. It's www.christiangays.com and though I haven't had a good look at it, it seems like a really friendly and informative resource. You can read about other Christians who are gay and know what you are going thorough. There are lots of articles, Bible study tools and downloadable e-books. It might help you to find a gay-friendly church. I'm actually looking at it now and I'm enjoying it despite being straight, lol :)
I'm sure there would be other similar sites out there too, so have a look around. (Just be careful, there are some weird "Christian" sites out there, including one dedicated to telling people why they shouldn't listen the band P.O.D., one of their reasons being that the singer once had dreadlocks, which means he can't be a Christian :roll: :lol: )
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The Bible makes no requirement of going to a church or a priest to ask for forgiveness. Pray at home in the privacy of your bedroom and you are just as forgiven. The Bible makes it clear that all believers in Christ have a direct line to God.
True. We don't need a mediator between us and God. In Confession, the priest acts as a mediator- like a "middle man" who issues the forgiveness on God's behalf. So it's not a requirement to go to a priest, as you can pray directly to God wherever you are, and he will forgive you (which requires NO "hail mary's!") If one finds it helpful to talk it over with a priest though, that's a good thing too. :)
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I am sure a lot of people have cleared this all up for you, but there are many, many people in the same position as you.
To me, it's no different from a bisexual or a straight person being a Christian.
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The Bible makes no requirement of going to a church or a priest to ask for forgiveness. Pray at home in the privacy of your bedroom and you are just as forgiven. The Bible makes it clear that all believers in Christ have a direct line to God.
Oh I agree God will forgive regaurdless , this is just what I was told once when I was younger. However confession has always given me a cleansing feeling.
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Don't worry whats going to happen to you so much, you're not going to go to hell lol
However, there is some good people who will not go to heaven and theres some bad people who wont go to hell..its all apart of God's plan and his reasons...you just never know...remember satan believes in God too... :?
But you should have a lot of faith in God and try to have a personal relationship with him. Pray everyday and keep him close to your heart. Thats really important...He is always there listening. you will see your lifestyle changing and everything will start to make sense to you and you will start to feel good about yourself. Asking others whether its wrong or not will just cause you a lot of fear and confusion that will drive you nuts. :)
Why are you asking people that anyway?...That should just be between you and God...:mrgreen:
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I am a Catholic and i dont think God will condemn you for something you can't help. Just be a good person and you can go to heaven.
And by the way, not totally sure but I think I might be bi.
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Adding to what Will mentioned about the Bible being slightly outdated... well, I can say with relative certainty two things: first, the Bible was written in a time in homosexuality was considered a (more) dangerous practice due to its connotations of disease. The same goes for various other ridiculous-sounding things in the Bible, such as the instruction not to eat shellfish or mollusks. These things were frowned upon because they were not well known and they were indeed dangerous. It's safe to assume that people of this time were frightened of things of the sort because, say, when they were involved with them, they would come down with diseases they did not recognize or know of. One would imagine that if they had no idea why they got this disease, they would attempt to blame it on the act itself, saying that God thought the act was detestable.
Second, I would like to point out again that the Bible was not written by God himself, and that it has been warped and torn to pieces (in both a figurative and literal sense) since it was introduced. I think it would be foolish to take everything it says as law when it could have been so easily warped by special interests and things of that sort across the ages.
Well, me, I'm an atheist, and gay, and I have only read select portions of the Bible. So I'm biased. But, that's my two cents, so whatever. Hope it helped some.
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Hai guys whats going on in this thread?
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Adding to what Will mentioned about the Bible being slightly outdated... well, I can say with relative certainty two things: first, the Bible was written in a time in homosexuality was considered a (more) dangerous practice due to its connotations of disease. The same goes for various other ridiculous-sounding things in the Bible, such as the instruction not to eat shellfish or mollusks. These things were frowned upon because they were not well known and they were indeed dangerous. It's safe to assume that people of this time were frightened of things of the sort because, say, when they were involved with them, they would come down with diseases they did not recognize or know of. One would imagine that if they had no idea why they got this disease, they would attempt to blame it on the act itself, saying that God thought the act was detestable.
Second, I would like to point out again that the Bible was not written by God himself, and that it has been warped and torn to pieces (in both a figurative and literal sense) since it was introduced. I think it would be foolish to take everything it says as law when it could have been so easily warped by special interests and things of that sort across the ages.
Well, me, I'm an atheist, and gay, and I have only read select portions of the Bible. So I'm biased. But, that's my two cents, so whatever. Hope it helped some.
Wow, that's a dangerous point of view. If that's truly how you believe, how do you leave the house?
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Your sarcasm would be appreciated if it made sense.
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It would be appreciated if it was intelligent.
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Hey, guys, I posted a question on Yahoo Answers and it's about to expire so Im just posting my question on here to see if I can get any more helpful responses. All answers are appreciated. Thank you all. Peace.
Fellow Christians, help me out here. I'm a Chrisitian, but I am also homosexual. I know that the Bible says being gay is an abomination, but it also says that eating shrimp and lobster and wearing clothes that are made of more than one material are abominable things too. Also, doesn't the Bible say that Jesus surrounded himself with the outcasts of society? Who better represents the outcasts of this day and age than the LGBT community? Pastors say "God's grace is limitless", and that gives me hope that He would accept me, but others say God condemns the gays, which scares me. People say God loves all His children, so why shouldn't He love me? Am I not a child of God? And is it not also said that God has a plan for all of us? Wouldn't that make this part of God's plans for me? If it is part of His plan, who am I to deny it? This is all really confusing, and I'm not sure what to think, where to turn, or what to do. It blows my mind to think that one wrong decision in this short life could make my entire eternal life hell. Eternity is a long time. I'm afraid. I'm deathly scared for my soul and I just need a little help. Thank you all.
So, from what I'm reading, it looks like I can be gay, but I can't live a gay life. Is that right, because it doesn't make sense that God would want to take love from me. Maybe I'm naive. Thanks for all of you who are truly helping.
Ok, wherever I ask this question, I get the answer: "Gay: acceptable, gay lifestyle: condemned". What do you all mean by gay lifestyle? If you mean just sleeping around with men like we're all man-whores and callboys, you couldn't be farther from the truth, because I can say that as a gay male, I don't think fornication is right. But if by gay lifestyle, you just mean having sex with men, married or not, does that mean I'm supposed to stay celibate all my life? Thanks again to everyone who's helping, all answers are indescribably appreciated.
If it is at all relelvant to anyone out there, my AIM screen name is Respekt218. Feel free to contact me about this issue, even after I've chosen an answer.
just stick to oral :)
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what's wrong with anal?
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Hey, soupy's still here? Still trolling grak for epic lulz?
I don't know, maybe buttsecks is worse than oral to some people.
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ok then, that makes no sense. Butt sex is the best kind, imo.
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I don't know. Oral and futtbucking are fairly even to me. There's just a certain order I would recommend doing them in and a certain order I would recommend not doing them in.
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Such loveliness abound.
Both are pretty damned good, I have to say.
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Well, of course they're all good, it's sex, it's not like we'll ever say, "oh I don't like that kind of sex, it feels too good." lol. But I have to say I love the feeling of anything going up my butt, it just drives me wild. Oral is fun, too, I guess, but it doesn't really compare in my book.
Is there some kind of rule against this kind of conversation? I'm wondering if mybe we could get kicked off for this hehe.
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I was rather shocked by this sudden sexual twist at first. I feel like it is probably not appreciated. But I have no idea.
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lol wut.
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Is this what you mean, Wags?
(http://jmsoul.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/divinelolwut.jpg)
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Well, of course they're all good, it's sex, it's not like we'll ever say, "oh I don't like that kind of sex, it feels too good." lol. But I have to say I love the feeling of anything going up my butt, it just drives me wild. Oral is fun, too, I guess, but it doesn't really compare in my book.
Is there some kind of rule against this kind of conversation? I'm wondering if mybe we could get kicked off for this hehe.
I sure hope you dont get kicked for it
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I don't know. Oral and futtbucking are fairly even to me. There's just a certain order I would recommend doing them in and a certain order I would recommend not doing them in.
Yes, if Clerks II taught me anything, it's that you never go ass-to-mouth. :x
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Is this what you mean, Wags?
(http://jmsoul.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/divinelolwut.jpg)
You can just go ahead and assume from now on that no matter what I say I mean exactly that.
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But I have to say I love the feeling of anything going up my butt, it just drives me wild.
OMG LMAO!! I thought Logikal just made up that quote... Dude... Tmi? Maybe? Yeesss? Yes. lol
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"Gay and Christian"
Yep. Sorry, you're pretty much screwed there pal. lol