I am an ally because LGBTQ+ high school students are five times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers. I am an ally because no one should have to fear being kicked out of their house for who they love. I am ally because sexuality is one part of who someone is, but a part that should not be cause for hate. I am an ally because no one should have to hide who they are from their parents. I am an ally because one shouldn’t have to choose between being who they are and belonging to a church. I am ally because love is love no matter what it looks like, and I am ally because I am a Christian.
While it is a long argued subject, the primary argument made by Christians in terms of sexuality and acceptance is that the Bible condemns homosexuality. There are only six verses in the entire Christian Bible that might possibly reference homosexuality, in fact, the word itself did not exist in the Bible until 1946 when it was added after translating two Greek words with no clear English equivalents. (More on the fascinating historical context here.)
When we take a closer look at those six verses in context, each and every one has meaning very different than many would argue or even understand. For example, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is actually a condemnation of the gang rape between Lot’s virgin daughters and the Sodomites. The Levitical condemnation is about adultery. (To examine these in more detail and the other four in an in-depth and easy to understand analogy, this author explains it really well.) All in all, anything the Bible mentions relating to homosexuality is incredibly vague and while Christians believe it to be the “Word of God,” it was written by man, it was edited by man, and it continues to be translated by man. No matter how careful we are, individual attitudes and nuances can make their way into verses where they don’t belong. (Great information on that here.) At the end of the day, regardless of how you interpret these verses, there are only six of them. They make up about .016% of the Bible. Simply stated, that just isn’t much, and it isn’t nearly enough to justify the way many Christians treat members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Additionally, I define “sin” as a conscious choice to act in a way that separates us from a relationship with God. I do not believe that sexuality is, in any way, a choice. Biologically, there are observable differences in the proportions of certain brain regions in individuals who are sexually attracted to men vs women. (For more information on how this was tested, see the article here.) Another line of research suggests that chemical changes in utero may alter the genetic sequences of individuals in a way that alters physical attraction. (To read a more detailed account of this hypothesis, check out this article.) However, stepping away from the science, I have seen the pain and the fear that some of my own friends face for being gay, and if it were a choice, it isn’t one that they would ever make. So, if sexuality isn’t a choice and sin is a conscious choice, then how can one say that being gay is sinful?
I will never truly understand the opposition faced by members of the LGBTQ+ community because I am not a part of it, but many of the people that I love are. I can’t relate to the pain so many are forced to endure, but that does not mean I am blind to it. I have seen first hand the way a heart breaks inside the chest of a girl who just wants to love girls. I have heard the cries of boys who fear being unlovable because they have been told loving another boy is “wrong.” Holding back tears, I have explained that God didn’t involve my broken friend in her accident to punish her for being gay. The God I believe in doesn’t work like that; He doesn’t hurt his children for the way He made them. He knows that they cannot change.
If we as Christians truly believe that God created the Heavens and the earth, the sea and the sky, and that he is The Creator of all things, then He not only created you and I, but every person on this earth, including those in the LGBTQ+ community. As one of my best friends once said; “nothing that God creates is less than perfect,” and I, for one, pray that she knows that applies to her as well, gay, straight, or anywhere in between.