I'm a gay Christian. What does that mean? Am I destined for 'Hell'?

[PartyPooper]

I was born a Methodist. I was raised as a Presbyterian. I met my gay partner over 30 years ago. We've been together ever since. He is Episcopalian. His mother was of the same faith. I can relate to the liberal philosophy of that church. But, I have no formal indoctrination.

And, neither of us attend church regularly. But, we both believe in Jesus and God. And, above all, we believe in and practice the "Golden Rule."

Are we destined for 'hell and damnation' just because we're gay?

What would Jesus say?

O8)

[terrya]

1. Jesus would want you and your partner to be happy.

He would want the two of you to have a rich, full life filled with love. He wouldn't be the least bit judgemental.

And He would tell you to ignore the homophobes who WOULD, by invoking His name, condemn the two of you. And, I daresay, He would be MIGHTY pissed at the homophobes. :-)

[alphafemale]

2. I think Jesus would give you a huge HUG.

So there.

[Beaker]

3. no, you're not destined for Hell-

hell, just like heaven, god, and 'life-after-death' are fairy-tales.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LDS Jock]

17. no s***

what an ass in that thread

[Misunderestimator]

18. Wow.... thanks for the link... unbelievable. n/t

[aquaman]

22. Your welcome.........

I have never been more repulsed by an individual on DU. "Beaker"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=1966293&mesg_id=1966293

[happyslug]

4. Under Catholic Doctrine

Unless the sin you are committing is a violation of the ten Commandments (and homosexuality is NOT mentioned in the ten Commandments) you are NOT damed to Hell.

Remember Christian Doctrine is simple, there was only one perfect person ever born (and we nailed him to a Cross). Perfection Is Not expected, you should try NOT to sin, but sin (other than a violation of the Ten Commandments) does NOT make you damed to hell. A pattern of evil can do so (even if no violation of the The Commandments is made) but the pattern has to show evil not just failings.

[realisticphish]

19. well

As far as I know, keeping in mind that I'm a Lutheran and know jack shit about catholicism, the entire old testament is no longer relevant to Christians. The whole point of Jesus dying was to get rid of the "old God" and create a covenant with humanity. That means, goodbye sacrifices, goodbye no-working-on-the-sabbath, and goodbye ten commandments. Pretty nice set of rules to live by, but NOT doctrine. Once again, forgive me if I'm wrong

[LDS Jock]

24. that is my understanding too, but....

the religious reich forgets sometimes when its necessary to use a verse to condemn someone.

[realisticphish]

27. yeah

I thought the whole POINT of Christianity was that if you accepted Christ as the son of God, etc, then you went to heaven, end of story. Eh, regardless of doctrine, thats how I feel about it, and that's all that matters to me.

[Scooter24]

5. Just go with the flow..

and believe...

:)

[Maat]

6. Wow! Congrats on 30 years!

My husband and I have been together 28 years. Gets to be a habit, doesn't it?

Umm...I would have to say, "Of course you're not, silly!" And I know that God is very proud of how you handle your commitments and promises.

You know, I found a really, really neat church called the Church of Religious Science, which is very inclusive. There is also Unitarian Universalist, the Metropolitan Community Churchs, and the United Church of Christ. My Jewish friends go a Reform Synagogue.

Enjoy spirituality! Try different congregations of the liberal mold! Stay away from bigotry and be positive!

Jesus would be proud of you too!

And, with that, I go to advocate for same-sex marriage by making a donation to the Human Rights Campaign.

[mykpart]

7. Well, Jesus had long hair,

wore sandals and was devoted to His mother. And the Bible says he loved John best. I think He'll welcome you to heaven.

[AmyStrange]

11. I thought he loved Peter the best?

He will be the rock upon which I build my church (or something like that)...

...just nit picking and making a sick attempt at a stupid insensitive gay joke - sorry,

d

[AmyStrange]

8. Jesus never said gays were going to hell...

Think about it. He hung around 12 guys almost full time. Never was married. And his best women friend was a prostitute.

If anyone understood where gays were coming from, it was Jesus,

d

[elcondor]

9. This straight Jew says: "No you are not!"

And I think that Jesus would agree with me. ;-)

Congratulations to you and your partner on thirty years! :D

[alphafemale]

10. Yup. If Jesus was here today, The Right would probably hate him.

Opposed to the filthy rich, openly-religios, as he was, Jesus may have been a _______. Oh my. We can't go there, can we?

[Sweetpea]

12. Yes you are going to hell

And I will be right there with u because I support gay rights. Maybe we can play cards on Saturday.

[AmyStrange]

16. me and my mom will be bartending...

so you'll know you'll both have a seat at the bar anytime you want to just hang out,

d

[laura888]

14. God is love n/t

[truthspeaker]

29. allegedly

[LDS Jock]

15. No one can answer that

just as no one can give the final word on what is religious truth. It is up to each of us to do the best we can with what we have been given. There are passages in scripture used to beat down homosexuality. They are next to passages condemning other sins as well, such as adultery, working on the sabbath, eating pork, wearing clothing made of two kinds of fabric and so on. Why is it only homosexuality is singled out as the greatest sin of all, to be unforgiveable, and so evil to require legislation to deny rights?

I am a Christian and I'm gay as well so I understand well what you're talking about. You asked for feedback and I can only tell you what I have decided to do with my own life, which is to live the best life I can, trying my best to serve God to the best of my understanding, and to give others the freedom and respect to work out their own salvation. It sounds to me as if you have a similar approach. I cannot imagine God full of hate as some of the Christians we have on earth and send someone to hell for living life and serving him as best they can.

Nothing good comes from the judgemental approach so many right wing Christians love to proclaim. It only turns people away from the gospel message. Don't let them get in the way of your own religious beliefs. Study and/or attend church or whatever will help to increase your understanding of your faith and leave the judgement up to God, instead of worrying about what others think.

[Scottie72]

20. The good news is

that decision is not up to anyone. I believe that according to the Christian faith that deicision will be made by Jesus in the final judgement. Therefore do not worry about what other people think and say about you.

[LynneSin]

21. That verse in Leviticus is about Baal Fertility Rituals

You know, the one about me lying down with men.

Anyhow, if you and your partner of 30 years have been practicing Baal Fertility Rituals then there could be a chance you'll be going to hell. But then again Jesus walk amongst us and pretty much nullified most of those laws in the old testament so it's pretty much a mute point.

More about those verses that fundie christians misinterpret to use against gays:

http://www.web-ministry.com/sin/homosexuality/comment_threads.php?postID=1240

http://www.libchrist.com/other/homosexual/leviticus.html

[TrogL]

26. Even more about "clobber passages"

http://members.shaw.ca/trogl/bibquote.html

[TXvote]

23. She loves you

or you would not be here, you would get recycled.

Jesus would be proud of your life practice in following the Golden Rule and remind you that your choice of partners is not breaking a commandment. He might even joke that manshoudl not lie down with man was a reference to doing it standing up.

You are loved. Be happy.

[Angelus]

25. According to my Freeper friend...

You're damned to Hell. According to me, however, I don't think you are at all. I've yet to find proof that homosexuality is wrong in the Bible.

[AntiCoup2K4]

28. This straight Christian says that Jesus ain't going to have a problem with

...you or your partner if you are practicing His teachings.

As for the right wingers who condemn you, let them worry about Britney Spears marriages, or Rush Limbaugh's. Newt Gingrich, Henry Hyde, or whomever. Seems to me that right wing Republican heterosexuals are destroying the institution of marriage far more than gay couples that have been together for decades.

As for Methodist/Presbytarian/Episcopalian, God and Jesus don't give a shit about that stuff. Neither do I (raised in a Baptist church that worshipped Reagan more than Christ). If JC was going to choose one church over another, it might be the ones with the better music.