Freire Homosexual Issues In Christianity

The way people ultimately view homosexuality, whether in religion, politics or modern popular culture, is all determined by traditional or changing points of view. This essay will discuss mainly liberal and conservative Christian interpretations of the Bible, including many verses that may support or condemn homosexuality. It will also discuss the political views and laws against same-sex marriage and the social activism in the homosexual community. This is all about view points and it has many conflicting views and arguments.

Unfortunately there is a separation of views within the church as a whole. The two different views are represented by the liberal church and the evangelical church. The liberal church believes that homosexuals should be allowed to have membership, carry leadership positions, and that even the blessing of marriage should be bestowed upon gay couples. While on the other hand, there is the evangelical church, which strongly opposes homosexuals within the church and believes that homosexuals should not be allowed to hold membership, leadership positions, or receive the blessing of same sex marriage.

Homosexuality is one of the most debated issues among Christians today, regardless of the denomination of their church. Some churches view homosexuality as a sin and have no tolerance for it, while other denominations are more accepting and consider it a non-sin. Even though some denominations have taken a stand on homosexuality, there seems to much discord within the governing bodies of the churches regarding this issue. It has moved from a topic rarely discussed and considered very personal and private, to a mainstream topic of conversation.

The topic of homosexuality in religion has many sides. There are those who believe that it is a sin in God’s eyes and according to the Bible, and there are those who believe the God and the Bible are not specific to homosexuals. It is a tough debate based on whether you are a religious person, how you were raised, and where your morals and ethics stand. You cannot truly believe one way without taking into account the other side and have valid proof to back it up.

First and foremost, homosexuals are human just like us. They are people who have a calling in life; God put them on Earth with a mission just like he does with everyone else. The Church welcomes homosexuals to the Church as long as they do not act upon their desires. What does this mean? Well we have passing thoughts about actions that are would not be morally right; whether they be heterosexual desires, or wanting to hurt someone. We, for the most part, do not act on these thoughts and they quickly leave our mind. The same thing goes for homosexuals; they are allowed into the Church as long as they live a life of chastity. “Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection,” (CCC 2357-2359). The Church teaches that homosexuals should be accepted with respect and compassion, which is where many Catholics go wrong. “Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s cross the difficulties that they may encounter from their condition.” The Church does not teach us to go around hating on

3. We are restricted from conducting or attending same sex couple's wedding ceremonies, counseling, general events, and retreats. We cannot lead or participate in a worship service conducted with chaplains who practices or affirms a homosexual lifestyle.

Many Christians supports homosexuality and gay marriages. In fact, I know a few Christians who said to be homosexual. I praise them for standing up for what they believe and this demonstrates despite the fact of Christianity is seen as homophobic, there are Christians that acknowledge homosexuality. Many Christians that are homosexual still believe in the Bible and that God exists. Furthermore, in the article The Relative Importance of Ethnicity and Religion in Predicting Attitudes towards Gays and Lesbians, it expresses that Baptists and Catholics do not fundamentally contrast in their attitudes towards lesbians or gay men. For example, in the book of scriptures it expresses that God created man and woman, He saw that coupling was good and He blessed them and told them to be productive and reproduce. The Bible does make a strong qualification when it comes to marriage; it states that an individual should marry the opposite sex. Not only does the Bible, by default, deny same sex marriages, but tradition and nature prohibits it also. The idea is against every tradition known to human race and is obviously against

Religion and acceptance have a large impact on people in the LGBTQ communities. All anyone has ever wanted was to be accepted for who they are by their friends and family. When this doesn’t happen it can cause stress and thoughts of suicide. If the stress of not being accepted continues there is a possibility that there may be a loss not only with their LGBTQ identity but their spiritual identity as well. Loss of Religious or Spiritual Identities Amoung [sic] the LGBT Population by Andrew William Wood and Abigail Holland Conley ;and The Role of Religion and Stress in Sexual Identity and Mental Health Amoung [sic] Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth by Mathew L. J. Page, Kristin M. Lindahl, and Neena M. Malik are two articles out of the many that

We have all at some point or another heard someone say that God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. This saying is an excellent example of how a large number of Christian fundamentalist feel about the homosexual community. Studies have shown that there are more Christian homophobes than there is homophobia in any other group or religion in the United States (Wolff, J. R., Himes, H. L., Kwon, E., & Bollinger, R. A., 2012). Homophobia is the irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals. In Christianity, homophobia represents misunderstanding and fear of the unknown.

In People to be Loved-Why Homosexuality is not Just an Issue, Preston Sprinkle goes into an in depth discussion about homosexuality and how it is not just about being an issue and sin, homosexuality is about the treatment of the people. The tone of this book is conversational, making the understanding of the issues at hand much easier to comprehend.

In recent years, the issue of homosexuality has been a controversial and frequently discussed topic within the Anglican tradition. The Lambeth conference is an assembly of bishops of the Anglican Communion and is convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The conference allows for a collaborative and consultation function which allows for relevant issues to be discussed within the communion (“Lambeth Conferences”). The argument over homosexuality was discussed predominately as a communion wide issue at the 1998 Lambeth conference, and it was concluded that homosexual practice was “incompatible with scripture” (“Lambeth Conferences”). Whether locally or globally, debates typically arise around the issue of homosexuality, and if should be

The first is the fact that it is stated in the Bible as "an abomination", and it is something the Church cannot change since God 's word is perfect. A popular passage is: "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable." (Leviticus 18:22) There

Churches should focus on love, and accept any - even homosexuals - with open arms. The Bible speaks of “..., That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another,...” (Interlinear, John 7:34) After reading this do we still just pick and choose who we love or hate on as a congregation? To preface this scripture, Jesus said this was a new commandment to be given unto us, and earlier in John he says that hate is along the same lines as murder when it comes to ranking of sin. With this being said, how can we or any congregation that says they believe in the Bible say “No” to anyone who is homosexual walk through the church's doors?

A major reason for the fear and objection towards homosexuality is organized religion. Whether we notice it or not, we as humans follow many everyday concepts from the Bible. Examples would be, to not steal, murder, or commit adultery in marriage. The Bible also states that homosexuality is unethical and should be avoided as other sins. These are all great to follow, if you conform to the rules of the Bible. Religious back up should not be used in order to deem something wrong or unethical. It is essential to understand, to deem homosexuality ethical or not, rational decision-making must occur. One must analyze the pros and cons; if the pros outweigh the cons, homosexuality is ethical, and visa versa. One who explicitly follows an organized religion must follow the rules of a higher power (God). Getting rid of this obstacle will leave room for autonomous decisions on homosexuality, and eventually its place in good ethics.

Opposition to gay marriage has increased since the summer and a narrow majority of Americans also oppose allowing gays and lesbians to enter legal agreements that fall short of marriage. Moreover, despite the overall rise in tolerance toward gays since the 1980s, many Americans remain highly critical of homosexuals ­ and religious belief is a major factor in these attitudes.