Why do christians dislike gays
Queer Theology: Does God Hate Gay People?
A class questions issues from hetero privilege to gaydar to LGBTQ racism
Class by class, lecture by lecture, question asked by question answered, an education is built. This is one of a series of visits to one class, on one morning, in search of those building blocks at BU.
Are stereotypes about gays—for example, that gay men talk, dress, or gesture differently than straight guys—bigoted blather? Or is there such a thing as reliable gaydar that helps people, including gays, to perceive others’ sexual orientation?
You might not expect openmindedness about stereotyping to appear up in a seminar called Gender non-conforming Theology, which studies questions about God and religion posed by gay, genderqueer, bisexual, and gender-questioning people, many of whom, according to teacher Pamela Lightsey, ask, “Does God hate me?” because of widespread prejudice.
Lightsey herself, she says, is the only openly lesbian African American cleric in the United Methodist Church, and a fervent critic of stereotyping. But the School of Theology associate dean and clinical
Why Many Believe Christians Abhor LGBTQ Individuals
As Democrats in the Senate yesterday sought to pass the Equality Act (which would extract some key current protections for religious organizations), Denny Burk highlighted an vital point in our culture’s current clash between Christians and those pushing the LGBTQ agenda. Burk pointed to the continued fulfillment of a statement from Robert George six years ago.
There is, in my opinion, no chance—no chance—of persuading champions of sexual liberation (and it should be clear by now that this is the cause they serve), that they should respect, or permit the law to respect, the conscience rights of those with whom they disagree. Look at it from their signal of view: Why should we permit “full equality” to be trumped by bigotry? Why should we respect religions and religious institutions that are “incubators of homophobia”? Bigotry, religiously based or not, must be smashed and eradicated. The law should certainly not give it recognition or lend it any standing or dignity.
Christians are often accused of bigotry in this area. The
How Should Christians Respond to Gay Friends or Family Members?
Caleb Kaltenbach (M.A. ’07) is an alumnus of Biola’s Talbot School of Theology, lead pastor of a large church in Simi Valley, Calif., and a married father of two. He’s also an emerging voice in the discussion of how Christians should engage the LGBT community. That’s because Kaltenbach has an insider perspective, having been raised by a dad and mom who divorced and independently came out of the closet as a queer man and a woman-loving woman. Raised in the midst of LGBT parties and pride parades, Kaltenbach became a Christian and a pastor as a new adult. Today, he manages the tension of holding to the traditional biblical teaching on sexuality while loving his gay parents.
Kaltenbach’s unique story is detailed in his new novel Messy Grace: How a Pastor with Gay Parents Learned to Love Others Without Sacrificing Conviction and landed him on the front page of the New York Times in June. Biola Magazine reached out to him to talk about his novel and his perspective on how Christians can excel navigate the complexities of this
What Does the Bible Declare About Homosexuality?
What Does The Bible Say About Homosexuality?
Introduction
For the last two decades, Pew Research Center has reported that one of the most enduring ethical issues across Christian traditions is sexual diversity. For many Christians, one of the most frequently first-asked questions on this topic is, “What does the Bible say about attraction to someone of the same sex?”
Although its unlikely that the biblical authors had any notion of sexual orientation (for example, the term homosexual wasn't even coined until the late 19th century) for many people of faith, the Bible is looked to for timeless guidance on what it means to honor God with our lives; and this most certainly includes our sexuality.
Before we can jump into how it is that Christians can maintain the authority of the Bible and also affirm sexual diversity, it might be helpful if we started with a brief but clear overview of some of the assumptions informing many Christian approaches to understanding the Bible.
What is the Bible?
For Christians to whom the Bible