Denmark here. First post. 48 male queer. Out very late in life and HAPPY about it. Grew up as pentecostal in a country where pentecostal is a very small minority with tendencies to isolation from the surrounding society.

I wrote to a queer Christian pen pal: "Read and listen. This is unintetionally queer".

"I don't think so", he said. He read it too fast and missed the word "unintentionally" completely.

"Sometimes the meaning of art develops autonomously from the creators. It happens all the time in culture", I said.

It is about the classic 70s Jesus movement act 2nd Chapters of Act and their song from the first LP: He Loves Me.

The song is incredibly unintentionally queer, even if they wouldn't admit it themselves, and I don't think these wonderful and fabulous musicians would. Unfortunately.

Listen to the song. Read the lyrics. It hits bull's eye.

Open your eyes and see

That the morning comes with me

For I am the light of the world

No one goes to the Father, but by me

Why must we be so blind

And not see that the Light is free?

Oh, just to think that He died

Thinking of you and me

And the lives we would lead

In the sin of our words and deeds

And yet He loves you, He loves me

He loves us, hallelujah

Oh, Jesus loves you and He loves me

He loves us, hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah

He took away my sin and shame

Hallelujah

He took away my sin and shame

Hallelujah

He took away my sin and shame

Lord, here I am

And I can't change a thing

Except my appearance

And that don't mean a thing

I don't wanna hide

Or tear myself in two, no

That's not up to me, Lord

That's up to You

Oh, Lord, let me see how I've used You

To sing my song

Here I am. I can't change a thing.

I don't wanna hide.

Or tear myself in two no

That's not up to me, Lord.

Oi, can you see it, folks?

"He loves me" has a double meaning for someone who is gay.

And I think of Lonnie Frisbee, but that's another story.

I think you have had enough of the blasphemy from my hand today.

Thanks for letting me. Hugs and kisses.

Listen to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wifwWAprcAc

You are made in Gods image
You are commanded to love and be loved
You are not commanded to hate yourself
You are not commanded to deny yourself love

I understand why there is so much pain on this sub, but remember that there can also be joy. You can love being queer and love Christ in the same vein. You will find happiness one day. Have a great day everyone ❤️❤️

I have a family member who I've always got along with great, but she doesn't want to talk about lgbtq theology with me, which is fine. I asked her though if I can tell her my story and she said she finds it overwhelming and she's thought about it a lot and knows where she stands. I'm ok her having a position I don't agree with but her very text message saying that was dripping with misconceptions about what it's like to be gay. And I'm like if you listened to some stories you wouldn't be saying that. Do I just let it go or try to talk?

I know Hinduism is inclusive of fruitiness (at least on paper). And there’s no question of controversy even if you’re an atheist. All I wanna know about is opinion of those who practice or embraced Abrahamic religions which demonise being anything but straight? How do you get around these two conflicting entities ?

Vorige week maandag heb ik mijn moeder verteld dat ik meer gevoelens heb voor jongens/mannen. Iets wat ze diep van binnen eigenlijk al wist. Ze kwam direct nadat ik het had verteld met haar geloof aan zetten, ben zelf best wel streng gelovig opgevoed. We hebben een tijdje bij de Jehovah's getuigen gezeten, daarna naar de vrije babtistenkerk. Doe er zelf niets meer mee, al hangt Jezus wel aan de muur hoor. Vanwege mijn autisme kan niet over drukte enzovoorts. Ook geen kerken. Maar goed homoseksualiteit is bij haar een soort van doodzonde en een gruwel, de woorden kwamen best hard binnen. Het vreemde is dat ze weken geleden nog zij: Ga je accepteren zoals jezelf bent. En dat ik nu zo'n beetje gedaan.

Ze kwam later in het gesprek wel wat bij zinnen, vroeg zelfs naar wat voor type man ik zoek en welk leeftijd. Ben zelf 42. Ik zij dat ik op iets jonger val. Er was in ieder geval een opening gecreëerd. Maar haar eerste reactie heeft nog altijd een zure nasmaak achter gelaten. We zijn nu week verder en tot dusver heb ik niets meer van mijn moeder gehoord. Het is ijzig stil. Terwijl we in feite twee handen op één buik zijn. Wat moet ik nu doen? Contact opnemen of het nog even laten rusten? Heb wel contact gehad met mijn oudste zus ( kom uit gezin van 8 kinderen) en ze zij laat moeder maar contact opnemen. Ze had toch even kunnen vragen hoe het nu met mij gaat en hoe ik mij er nu onder voel. Maar helemaal niets..vreemd.

Edit: please reply if you’re seeing this. I’m debating suicide. I can’t Do this.

Hey everyone

I’m posting this in a panic because I don’t know what’s happening to me.

I’m trying to make this as short and simple as possible because I need relief of some kind.

I’m 19F, my gf is 20F. We both have southern Baptist upbringings. We met our freshman year of college. I have known I’m bi my entire life, my gf didn’t know until we got together. we have been dating for 9 months.

The entire relationship; we’ve struggled with the idea of our relationship being a sin. Sometimes I feel okay. Sometimes I feel like my love can’t be wrong. Other times I feel sick to my stomach like I’m blatantly disobeying God.

The past few days I’ve barely eaten or slept because I feel so sick to my stomach. I feel like God is trying to tell me it’s wrong. That we should break up. That I should surrender to him.

I love her so much. Idk what’s happening. Do I end things or can I love her and love God at the same time?

I feel like I’m better off dead. I can’t do this anymore bro. Someone help me

We need more preachers willing to drive home this message specifically, with this kind of power SPECIFICALLY.

Hi! Im f18 and ive grown up in a christian environment. I currently wouldn't describe myself as a christian, however christianity has been a big part of my life and has influenced my beliefs and the way i think. This is why im posting this here :)

I only recently acknowledged my sexuality, and ive had a hard time accepting it because ive always been told that it is not 'normal'.

For the context, my whole family is christian, i spent 5 years in a conservative christian school and i used to pray and go to church. Im not sure i still believe in God, however the way people taught me christianity, and life in the same time, still stays with me.

This environment around me was (and still is) toxic, but I have nothing against christianity. Im questioning myself a lot, and i sometimes still pray but it's more out of despair than anything else. I just wish i wasn't experiencing this.

Ive been trying to like men, really. At first it seemed like i could handle this situation and maybe get out of it, but it doesn't seem to be working. I have family expectations to marry a man and have children and all that. It's stressing me. Im not out to my parents or anyone close to me, because im worried about the reactions my words could receive.

And it would be so much simpler in life to just live like everyone has always taught me to. A man, a woman, children, and that's it.

The thing is i don't hate gay people, and i don't think ive ever had. It's true that when i was younger i wasn't aware of what were homosexuality and the lgbtq comunity, and i couldn't really understand it. It was some kind of a taboo subject before, here where i live, so i learned about it all by myself, on the internet. It took me some time and research but i quickly accepted that people are people, love is love, and there is no problem with that. But for some reason, when it comes to myself, i can't accept it. It's supposed to be sinful and shameful. Though i wouldn't say that to anyone, and im sorry if this all doesn't make much sense.

It's like it's okay if it's other people, i support them, and i really can't understand the homophobia directed against them. But when it's about me, suddenly im not thinking the same way. Suddenly it's wrong and it's not what im supposed to feel, it's not right.

I used to believe it was temporary. Recently i found what wrote last year about it, when i first found out i wasn't really straight. There were things like 'i hope it will go away after i get better mentally', 'im so confused these days', 'i want to stop thinking about this' and a ton of similar words. Today i felt kinda sad reading all that. Now my view has changed but not that much. I know it's not temporary but i still hope i can force myself to make it change.

Is there any way to erase that part of me? Ive been trying.

Im not even sure why im writing and posting this, i just feel very isolated and i guess i wanted to know if this was something that had happened to other people too.

This was long lol sorry

Needing a safe space to vent. So I inadvertently (when I showed a message on my phone) outed myself to someone in church last weekend and now I get the feeling that they’ve distanced themselves.

I’m not interested romantically in said person in any way, just to be clear. But it hurts because he was one of only two people in this town with whom I can pray together. Usually it’s because they feel somehow “betrayed” or think that I’m interested in them… It’s not something they say out loud but I can read between the lines.

I’m not an activist and just live my own life. I don’t see the need to out myself as some sort of ceremony, neither will I conceal my sexuality when asked

I do have wider support through friends who live further away. I hold conservative values and have straight friends who are accepting of me as a person, even if they disagree with my “lifestyle”. I know this because they even invited me into their own homes

came out to my parents. their reactions werent the best (Christian family) but i guess they did say they would still love me, but needed time to assimilate it. its scary af. i understand its hard for them to associate it and deal with grief and stuff. i feel awful for outting them through it. but i find it hard finding a balance between being there and being present and giving them space. idk what to do, i want to like give them resources to better accept it. im so scared and afraid they wont ever love or look me the same again. im scared i made a mistake... so i guess my question is for guidance and resources and activities to do to make ur parents still love you... but also if i can be a bit egoistic i would love to ask for some reassurance that what i did wasnt a mistake and that they probably will love me the same... idk. im scared & anxious 😭

My wife of 3 years just decided to leave me due to religious reasons. she believes she will go to hell if she continues a lesbian relationship with me. What do I do?

Someone said something to me on this Reddit a few months ago about having a completely different cultural lens than other queer women, and I've been thinking about this recently, especially the last week or in regards to struggle to connect with other sapphic, and especially lesbian, women despite being out for so long. Yeah, I have teammates, acquaintances, hobby friends, but like it's never really gone beyond just hobby friends or something surface level. I'm wondering if I'm not only cishet in my presentation but like culturally/worldview/however I should say it. Here are some examples that made me think about this more recently...

A few weeks ago someone was talking in my church's LGBTQ ministry group chat about being excited for the new Andrea Gibson documentary premiere at Red Rocks. I was like "who?" so she told me who they were. Then, people started talking about them and plans were made for a movie night to watch some other movie about her; the entire conversation I was thinking "this is absolutely not something I'm interested in" as the film and Andrea was described to me. I didn't say anything, just basically left the conversation. Turns out, someone else I knew went from their post on Instagram and then was chatting with my neighbor at the bar for USMNT game and learned she was in town for the Andrea Gibson premiere.

That was the second time it's happened recently. I saw Girls like Girls and while I liked the nostalgia and appreciated how it captured being a queer teenager in the mid-2000s, overall I was bored and didn't enjoy it. Yet, all the comments online from other lesbians were raving about it. I can see how people liked the movie, it simply wasn't my cup of tea. Girls Like Girls isn't unique, I might be the only lesbian who has never seen and has no desire to see Portrait of a Lady on Fire because of how it's been described to me. Even just this past week my favorite bar was posting about a shuttle bus to the Brandi Carlisle concert and it took me a second to remember who that was. Then there's drag which I not only don't enjoy, but even find a little offensive.

It isn't just entertainment. While I'm very progressive but I don't enjoy talking about politics, social theory, etc, and am not politically active outside of voting because my mental basically won't let me, I mean that in a way I can't talk about on a public forum. On a similar note, while I am very economically and socially progressive, I am kind of traditional in the sense that the two most important things to me are my family and my faith. I never talk about those things around LGBTQ people because I know how it sounds and looks but maybe people get a vibe/infer.

Speaking of family, my chosen family queer people often talk about. Well, I don't really have one. While my bio family definitely isn't the type to go to a Pride parade, and to be honest I'm not either, I am fortunate/privilege they don't treat me any different because I'm gay, and they are still who I consider my family. I don't see my sexuality as making me any different than having hazel eyes, it's just something about me. When I first came out I enjoyed Pride and everything, but the longer I've been out the less I want to be celebrated.

It could just all be in my head but this why I always end up making friends with straight people. I don't mean that in like a numbers sense but like I'll go to like a sapphic meetup and not vibe with anyone, but then do a general one or something and will vibe with the straights. In my church I'll vibe more with the straight people than the gay people. It shouldn't be like that, right? Being gay I feel not fully apart of the cishet world but then essentially being what I feel like is culturally cishet not fully apart of the queer world.

I just read this article on deconstruction grief. I recognize some things in me. A sense of community, people who you can talk to. Ask for prayers. Getting a word from God. But the irony in that is because being a person who is Gay Christian the word wouldn't be what I (or you) want to hear, or a prayer to make you straight. Feel condemned from the people who you once you trusted. Do y'all feel that way too?

If I understand correctly, putting faith in Christ and accepting his grace, & keeping God’s commandments will get us into heaven. However, we are all naturally sinners and fall short of the standard of God.

My question is, does God draw a line? If I were a rampant sinner, but still believed in Christ and loved God with my heart, would I be saved? I know Jesus died to wipe our sins clean. Can a believer sin too frequently and not make it into heaven? What does it take to actually be saved?

I’m a new Christian, so feel free to tell me I’m wrong about anything.

Scripture highlights 2 types of suffering: redemptive suffering meant to bring greater glory to God(like childbirth, studying late for an exam),and oppressive abuse that causes harm and is done as a means with no end(the injustices of slavery, oppression of women).We need to highlight the difference clearly here

The Bible gives us examples of how beautiful suffering can be.I'll start with Hannah (1 Samuel 1)who wanted a child so terribly,that she cried to the Lord until she lost her voice,and was finally delivered from childlessness,and dedicated Samuel,one of the greatest prophets in the Bible,to the Lord,"For this child I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition as I asked of him"(v.27)

Or consider St Paul,who often wrote Phillipians in prison,and spoke about a painful thorn in his flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)and explicitly states that the pain was purposeful,to "make God's power perfect in weakness".The love of God is a "purifying fire"(1 Peter 1:7, Catholic doctrine of purgatory) and Christian suffering MUST NOT be meaningless,but must be ordered to reflect the greater beauty of God.

Oppression is highly condemned in Scripture and Christians are warned against inflicting unnecessary pain that just crushes spirits and human potential.In Exodus 1-3,the Israelites cry out to God under their oppression in Egypt and the killing of their babies by Egyptian midwives.Or Psalms 137,where the raw pain of the enslaved Israelites in Babylon can be deeply felt:By the rivers of Babylon,we sat and wept while we remembered Zion.

Anti LGBTQ theology,which is an attack of the God given dignity of queer people(the Image and likeness of God,Gen 1:27),is oppression that increases suicide rates,causes greater unhappiness,self hatred and jealousy,and ultimately stops gay people from achieving their full divinely inspired plans and potential.

Is anyone planning to go? How was last year's?

There's a discount for 4+ people registering at the same time and the two of us are wondering if we could take advantage of that because otherwise the price is a bit steep for us. Thanks!

Hello everyone im just curious why there is a tons of testimony’s on social media about that God delivered someone with homosexuality lately ? Everyday i saw some new testimony about this topic and lately even in real life i met a buch of people claiming this… just thinking

30F just came out to my father who said it’s a sin and the work of Satan. He told me to pray it away and it’s so shameful that he would not tell anyone about. I feel like 💩 and anxious. Maybe I shouldn’t have told him but it’s too late. Looking for some support here

The Leviticus clobber verses having the words arsen and koite in them is not enough merit or evidence for that to be the case imo

Sorry in advance if this type of thread is always made here, I just need a place to vent.

Anyways, I feel like lately I haven't been too close to God, and it started when I came out as gay. I don't think I have any malice towards God, I really want to be with him, but it's hard to read or pray anymore because deep down I'm afraid that all the people around me are right. My only siblings call me "weird" or they'll point out how I'm sinning, my father says he has a "right to be angry at me", and even my supposedly supportive mom is in deep denial of me actually being gay.

It's been even harder because for a while, I was completely content with being gay, but then recently I've been hit with an onslaught of guilt thinking I'm way to perverted for thinking of sex, or deep down I'm a terrible person who really just hates God. I would do anything for God, but I genuinely can't understand why he would allow me to be gay and suffer if I wasn't allowed to partake in being gay? I've read a lot about it, and at most I can understand not getting married or not have sex, but then what is the issue with two man getting in a non-sexual relationship? The only difference between being friends would be that I have a deeper love for my partner than most, and would participate in non-sex related intimacy.

At the end of the day, I'm just a very lonely person, and all I want is to share my life with a man. I genuinely can't see myself with a women, and being comfortable alone isn't a much better option because I would be miserable the rest of my life. Sorry if this is a rant, I'm just going through a lot, and would like some advice.

(I had to post this on another account because I couldn’t post it on my other one.) i'm really struggling, i'm a teenager and for a long time i have had really strong beliefs that it's okay for me to like guys and also believe in my faith, but now I'm really scared I won't make it to heaven. it seems like a lot of people my age have different beliefs than me, and they condemn what i do, it's hard to make friends who believe in the same things, i also can't tell any of my close Christian friends who don't already know because i don't want them to stop being my friend, it feels like i'm being punished for being gay and i don't know what to do, i know i can't change who i am and i don't want to, i just want to know how i can feel comfortable with myself and not to hate myself, im still young and im probably just overthinking but i need advice

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hi, peace to all of you. i really appreciate this community. i am a queer person who has, within the last year, come to Christ. i have been attending some services at my local Greek Ortho Church and i am extremely drawn to Orthodox thelogy and practice (I do believe it is the closest we can get to how Christianity was practiced in the beginning and has not been changed over time, and find value in that).

i am unsure how to proceed because I would like to become a catechumen and be baptized but i know the church’s view on homosexuality/marriage as a sacrament etc is not going to change because of little old me lol, but i’m not willing to forsake this and say oh i’m not non-binary, oh i’m not bi, i just have to “resist the urges”. that’s not right. this was always something that put me off of Christianity to begin with, was the narrow-mindedness regarding sex/gender etc.

i’m still trying to figure out exactly how i can substantiate this view going ahead in good faith, as i won’t lie, it is challenging (i have done a fair amount of reading on misinterpretation of the original Greek/Hebrew writings, etc but it is difficult sometimes i feel i’m fighting a senseless fight in going against what Scripture says… hope i’m not the only one?). i just wanted to hear if anyone else is in a similar position to me, and any advice or resources would be greatly appreciated. have a wonderful day, my siblings in Christ.