Just so I'm clear about this, how God really feels about Gay people, please help me understand?

Question

19 " 'Keep my decrees.
" 'Do not mate different kinds of animals.
" 'Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.
" 'Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.

20 " 'If a man sleeps with a woman who is a slave girl promised to another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed.

So this is from Leviticus Chapter 19 verse 19 and 20, so God is saying that if you wear clothes made from different material its a sin, but so is being gay.

So why aren't Christians trying to ban marriage between people who wear clothes of different material.

Did these Christians who want to ban gay marriage pick and choose from the Bible

Answer 1

all the more reasons why not to believe in such a mythical creature

Answer 2

Here's the question I've always had. This got me kicked out of my religion class at my catholic high school several times.

If God made everyone in his image, why are some people gay?

I've always made the argument that homosexuality is not a choice, it's some kind of gene mutation. I can't imagine anyone CHOOSING to live a life where they are ostracized, spit on, beat up, made fun of, etc. So, with that logic, I go back to the original question.

Also, to be fair, it isn't just Christians that are trying to ban it. It's many religions.

I would say that marriage is between a man and a woman, because that's just how it goes. But that doesn't mean that 2 men or 2 women can't have a committment ceremony/wedding and have the same rights as heterosexual couples. I'm all for gay marriage. I'm not gay myself, but who am I to judge what someone else does with their lives? If they are happy, leave 'em alone. Personal opinion.

I got off target. Sorry. It's not that people pick and choose from the Bible, it's that some people take it more literally than others.

Answer 3

This is tough because this does not reflect all of the Bible. This is one chapter. Not that it is not important, but if you keep looking you will find that when Jesus came to earth that he came to forgive all sin. These laws were given to help keep the Jews His Holy people. After He came to earth and died, He came so that all could be saved. So, without reading it all, it would seem to be confusing. Please take the time, if you really want to know, read some of what He had to say after He came to earth in the new testament. If you REALLY want to know and ask Him to show you, honestly you will know. I know there are people who have a problem with hate, but they are not behaveing in a way that God has ordained. Not everyone who is against gay marriage hates gay people. We as Christians should be trying to do the morally right thing, if that is voting against gay marriage because we believe the Bible is the Truth and an inspired completely by Him, then we are bound by our love for Him to declaire the Truth. Not to hurt people, but maybe to help prevent more pain. I hope and pray that you find the True answers you seek. I KNOW that if you ask God, and mean it, He will show you.
SW

Answer 4

Good question. One thing you've got to be clear about is that this passage is an Old Testament quote, and Christians don't follow the Old Testament anymore. Christ said that he fulfilled the law, and we are no longer bound by it. This is why Christians aren't banning different material in clothes and interbreeding and the like. The Old Testament is now considered more of a history book than a rule book (unless, of course, you are Jewish).

The New Testament, however, also calls those who follow Christ to obstain from homosexuality, and clearly defines it as a sin.

Now, to answer your question: How does God view homosexuals? God loves them, desires for them to be near him, but does not condone their sin. Many Christians are guilty of accusing gays of committing an ultimate sin, which is a shame, because that is not the case.

Homosexuality is just like other sexual sin, such as adultery or pornography. God doesn't approve of it, but he loves the individual unconditionally.

I know of many people who have turned away from homosexuality. I do not believe that you are "born" gay, just as one is not "born" with the sin of pornography. Christians DO need to do a better job of helping homosexuals instead of pointing the finger at them. If the Church was not so eager to judge, and more eager (and able) to love, welcome, and help gays, it would be such a taboo issue, I imagine. Thankfully, this is improving in the Church.

Hope that answers your question.

Answer 5

Umm, verse 20 has nothing to do with your question, it's discussing something else.

Because if you weave two kinds of material, the result is usually very bad, but it's not a sin. Imagine trying to weave silk with cotton back in those days ... what a disaster at the cleaners!

Homosexual acts, however, are an abomination to God, they are destructive to the body and the soul as they are unnatural. Little bit different than just wearing an unfashionable toga.

Answer 6

Gays are the ones who came out the closets and wanting to show the world their vile lifestyles. They forced the issue and Godly bible people who live in this country showed the word of God. Gays have chosen to rebel in a country that was founded on godly principles. We did pick and choose. They chosen to come to the government for equal rights which is un-natural and ungodly according to the laws and Government in this nation. Some Christians are not the only ones against. They are other religions and groups that don't believe in the bible and the God who are against gays! Some Christians don't go around picking and choosing scriptures for their enlightenment to hurt others and others who are not of this faith do!

Answer 7

God, Our Heavenly Father, loves ALL his children, including gays.

He has given us commandments to help us be strong spiritually and physically. The more we obey his will, the more we will get to know him. I know that this may sound weird, but I know from personal experience that this is true, not because I am gay (that is not my situation in life), but because we all struggle to obey different commandments, according to our weaknesses and limitations in knowledge. He loves us in spite of our sins, because we are his children and he sees the beauty in us, our God given talents and spiritual gifts.

He has a plan for your life, but you have to find out what that is for yourself. As his child, you have the right to ask Him what he wants from you. Even if you are not sure how to pray, you can kneel down in the privacy of your room or whatever place you feel comfortable, and talk to him as if he were there in front of you. Do this even if people mock you. It is important.

If you are respectful and sincere in your spiritual quest for answers about His will in your life, I promise you that you will receive an answer. I know, because a long time ago I had many questions and no answers and felt completely lost. It took several weeks of daily prayer. By that I mean, intense, deeply felt prayer from my heart, not quick inquiries. You could say I begged, like you would to your earthly parents for something you really, really want (teenage years!).

I read the Scriptures, I fasted once a week, I asked many questions. I listened, learned to listen to the whispers or impressions, if you may, of the Holy Ghost.

I cannot explain how I knew I had received my answer because there are no words for such a personal experience AND, since he knows each of us has different personalities, not everyone has the same type of experience. However, you WILL know it when you receive an answer from Him, because you will feel as if a light had been turned inside your soul...you will have Peace.

Just be humble and talk to him. Tell him exactly how you feel. He knows your heart. It is ok to be angry, or confused, lonely, whatever it is you are feeling. HE LOVES YOU VERY MUCH.

I pray that you find a way to feel how much he cares about you.

May you have joy in your life.

Answer 8

You ask question after question about this.

I don't think you are going to like my answer, but I'll try anyway.
There are tons of laws in the Hebrew Scriptures regarding people's behavior, but the one about homosexual activity is described as being an "abomination" to God.

Some sins hurt the sinner.
Some sins hurt other people.
Some sins hurt an entire society. There's the category we're in with homosexuality.

Please hear this....God does not hate homosexuals, neither do Christians. God hates sin, some more than others, because of what it does to US.

I pray that God will bring you peace about this.

Answer 9

God probably cares more about how you treat others than whether you are gay. Christians who spend a lot of time worrying about gay marriage are also the ones who do not have time to take care of the sick and needy, don't visit inmates, etc like God requested.
The whole issue is a political straw horse and those that push the issue are all about power and money.

Answer 10

I agree with what Becki C said.

We are not living in the days of the Old Testament. God met people where they were back then. But then when God determined that the time was right, Jesus (God in the flesh) came into the world to tell us the rest of what He expects of us.

It's like how when a parent has a child, they don't expect them to behave like an adult. But when the child is old enough, you have to begin to raise your expectations of that child so that they may mature.

The Old Testament had progressive revelation. It was not the full revelation of God but a shadow of it. Then when Jesus came, He fulfilled that revelation and made it complete. In the New Testament God revealed to us much more about Himself (the concept of the Holy Trinity, one God in 3 divine persons) and what He expects from us.

Don't take the Old Testament out of the context of the New, and don't take the New Testament out of the context of the Old.

Also, don't try to interpret sacred scripture outside of the context of the sacred tradition of the Church which the bible came from.

Bottom line:
Jesus (God in the flesh) taught us that we are to love the sinner but hate the sin. And both the New and Old Testaments clearly state that the act of homosexual sex is a mortal sin and an abomination in the eyes of God.

Answer 11

The Apostle Paul, writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, declares that homosexuality "shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (I Corinthians 6:9; 10). Now Paul does not single out the homosexual as a special offender. He includes fornicators, idolators, adulterers, thieves, covetous persons, drunkards, revilers and extortioners. And then he adds the comment that some of the Christians at Corinth had been delivered from these very practices: "And such were some of you: But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the spirit of our God" (I Corinthians 6:11). All of the sins mentioned in this passage are condemned by God, but just as there was hope in Christ for the Corinthians, so is there hope for all of us.