Our friend, Jim, over at Teach The Facts brought this up and I thought it was an ideal theme to start the New Year off with.
Imagine Peace in 2011
It is a New Year, 2011, war is raging, hatred abounds, greed is rewarded with power, love is reviled as filth. Good people need to be vigilant, paradoxically to fight for peace.
I m a g i n e:
By Justin Lee
For years, former leaders and “success stories” of the ex-gay movement have been coming out and saying that ex-gay ministries don’t really work as advertised.
But if that’s so, why are these ministries still as popular as they are, after all these years?
One of the main reasons has to do with faith. A 2007 Barna Group study found that 91% of young non-Christians and 80% of young churchgoers believe that Christianity is anti-gay. And yet, a 2003 study by Christian Community found that approximately 10% of churchgoing high schoolers identify themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Our churches are filled with LGBT young people who believe that their own faith is against them.
Why do they believe this? There are, of course, a handful of Bible passages that (according to some interpretations) cast negative light on same-sex relationships, but that doesn’t justify Christianity’s strong public reputation of being anti-gay. The Bible never says gay people must become straight. It never says gay people are worse sinners than anyone else. And a growing number of Christians believe that it doesn’t even condemn same-sex relationships at all when properly interpreted.
In reality, Christians are divided on Bible interpretation, and yet, the popular image of the church is that it’s not only united in its condemnation of gay people, but that it’s virtually obsessed with the subject. It’s no wonder, then, that gay kids in the church (and their parents) are willing to go to such great lengths to try to change their orientation. Read more…
Recent Comments