How should Christians treat gay and bisexual people?

[Phinehas2]

Dear Ohioprof,

So why do some Christians make a big deal out of other people's sexuality,

They dont.

 

[Ohioprof]

Dear Ohioprof,
They dont.

Some Christians here keep talking about sex. The gay people don't. It's the people who refuse to accept gay people who keep talking about sex.

Why do they obsess on it so?

 

[Phinehas2]

Dear Ohioprof,

How come? Christian= follower of Jesus Christ
Gay = having a same sex orientation.
Gay people are talking about sex the moment they identify themselves as gay.

 

[OllieFranz]

Dear Ohioprof,

How come? Christian= follower of Jesus Christ
Gay = having a same sex orientation.
Gay people are talking about sex the moment they identify themselves as gay.

Sorry, but no. Sex is only a small part of one's sexuality. Sexuality is only a small part of being gay. Orientation is only a small part of one's life experiences.

It is people like you who want to separate gays from the mainstream of humanity who narrow their life experiences to just their orientation, narrow their orientation to their sexuality, narrow their sexuality to sex. It is people like you who obsess about with whom a gay person has sex, what positions they have sex, how often, etc.

As I said, being gay is more than just sexuality. Most gays know that they are different at a very young age, long before their sexual awakening. I suspect that an attraction to the same sex is only the most obvious of the "symptoms" of being gay.

I have Asperger's Syndrome. It is related to Autism. Some experts think it is autism, but a high-function variation. The most obvious symptom is an autism-like diffculty in learning social rules and social graces. Unlike classic Autism, an Aspie can learn other things easily, often doing very well on tests.

Their performance in school, however is often another matter. Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison are often cited as likely Aspies, and were both performed poorly in school. Other Aspies have been known to excel in school.

I mentioned Asperger's because stereotypes and literary characters are patterned after Aspies: the computer nerd, the math wiz, the Dungeons and Dragons gamester, etc. But they are usually patterned only after those two major symptoms. People who only know one or two Aspies personally assume that their other "symptoms" are just personal quirks.

But people who work with Aspies recognize that these "quirks" are not personal. That most Aspies are sensitive to things like tags in their clothing, to loud noises, and strong smells. Most Aspies have difficulty acheiving and maintaining eye contact. Most Aspies rock for comfort.

I brought all of this up because I believe that it is the same with gays. Like Aspies, I believe their brains are "wired" differently (not "wrong," just different) than the majority of the population. That being gay is this different "wiring." That same-sex attraction is merely the most obvious "symptom," but it is not the only one, or even necessarily the most important one. Being gay is as natural as being an aspie or being left-handed. And because that is the way the gay brain is wired, same-sex attraction is a natural part of their mental make-up.

 

[Phinehas2]

Dear Olliefranz,

Sorry, but no. Sex is only a small part of one's sexuality. Sexuality is only a small part of being gay. Orientation is only a small part of one's life experiences.

Sorry but yes. The comparison was made, it was the comparison I was referring to. The definition of Christian is believing in and following Jesus Christ, the definition of gay is sexuality. Here are the definitions from the Freeonline dictionary
Christian (n)
1. One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus.
2. One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus.
Gay (n)
A person whose sexual orientation is to persons of the same sex.
2. A man whose sexual orientation is to men:

So a Christian’s identity is in Jesus Christ and a gay’s identity is in sexual matters.
As I said one is Jesus based and the other is sex based, whatever your analogy if the amount of sex.

It is people like you who want to separate gays from the mainstream of humanity

No its people like you who are so obsessed with sex you not only define yourself by sex but have a worldview that see everything through your sexuality and even changes dictionary definitions and language in your confusion.
This is what Romans 1 says, thinking has become clouded because it has turned away from God’s purposes.

The problem seems to be that gays don’t consider they are being treated fairly unless their worldview/belief system is being accepted.

 

[davedjy]

Gay = having a same sex orientation.

Sex in the part where you quoted would be synonymous with gender and NOT as in sexual activity.

 

[BreadAlone]

You're not a homosexual unless you have sex with people of the same gender. If you want to call yourself a sinner be my guest..but if you don't have homosexual sex then you don't sin and you're not a homosexual..

 

[BreadAlone]

You're not a homosexual unless you have sex with people of the same gender. If you want to call yourself a sinner be my guest..but if you don't have homosexual sex then you don't sin and you're not a homosexual..

 

[OllieFranz]

You're not a homosexual unless you have sex with people of the same gender. If you want to call yourself a sinner be my guest..but if you don't have homosexual sex then you don't sin and you're not a homosexual..
(emphasis mine)

So are you saying that all other sins except gay sex have been done away with? That only gays can sin?

Somehow I don't think this is quite what you intended to say.

 

[Ohioprof]

Dear Ohioprof,

How come? Christian= follower of Jesus Christ
Gay = having a same sex orientation.
Gay people are talking about sex the moment they identify themselves as gay.

No, that's wrong. A same-sex orientation means that we love and seek to marry someone of the same sex, meaning in my case another woman. Sex in this usage means the sex of the person, not having sex. Some prefer to use the term gender to refer to a woman as distinct from a man. But the correct term here would be sex rather than gender, since sex refers to the biological sex of a person, while gender incorporates the social attributes that accompany being of one sex or the other.

When people talk about same-sex orientation, we are talking about being oriented toward, and thus loving, someone of the same sex that we are, e.g. a woman being oriented toward a woman.

When I tell you that I am gay, I am saying nothing at all about having sex. I am telling you that my orientation is toward loving other women and marrying another woman.

 

[Ohioprof]

You're not a homosexual unless you have sex with people of the same gender. If you want to call yourself a sinner be my guest..but if you don't have homosexual sex then you don't sin and you're not a homosexual..

That's not true. I am gay. I don't have sex with anyone. Being gay is not a sin, nor is marrying a same-sex spouse. I am not calling myself a sinner for being gay.

I am gay whether I have sex with anyone or not. If I never have sex for the rest of my life, I am still gay.

You should listen to gay people when we talk about our lives. We know more about our lives than you do. You really should listen.

 

[Ohioprof]

Sex in the part where you quoted would be synonymous with gender and NOT as in sexual activity.

Yes, although I make a distinction between biological sex and gender, which incorporates social ideas associated with a person's sex. But many people use "sex" and "gender" interchangeably.

 

[Phinehas2]

Christians should love serve and witness the truth of Jesus Christ to gay and lesbian people.
Some of the best placed Christians to do this are Christians who are ex-gay and Christians who have homosexual temptations themselves, they can well show God's love and transforming power to gays and lesbians

 

[BreadAlone]

That's not true. I am gay. I don't have sex with anyone. Being gay is not a sin, nor is marrying a same-sex spouse. I am not calling myself a sinner for being gay.

I am gay whether I have sex with anyone or not. If I never have sex for the rest of my life, I am still gay.

You should listen to gay people when we talk about our lives. We know more about our lives than you do. You really should listen.

That's like saying you're a purple green monster..you can call yourself whatever you want..but it doesn't make you that. And a marriage isn't legal unless it's consumated anyways..

 

[BreadAlone]

So are you saying that all other sins except gay sex have been done away with? That only gays can sin?

Somehow I don't think this is quite what you intended to say.

I think you know what I meant..

You don't sin the sin of homosexuality. Just like if you're tempted to have heterosexual sex, but if you don't commit it, you're not commiting the sin of premarital sex.

 

[OllieFranz]

I think you know what I meant..

Yeah, I think I do. Hence the "razz" smiley

 

[Brieuse]

I think you know what I meant..

You don't sin the sin of homosexuality. Just like if you're tempted to have heterosexual sex, but if you don't commit it, you're not commiting the sin of premarital sex.

We're getting way off topic here.

 

[Ohioprof]

That's like saying you're a purple green monster..you can call yourself whatever you want..but it doesn't make you that. And a marriage isn't legal unless it's consumated anyways..

Yes, I am gay. I have always been gay. Being gay is an orientation, not an action. Someone who is gay does not cease to be gay just because the person doesn't have sex.

 

[BreadAlone]

We're getting way off topic here.

You're right.

How should we treat homosexuals? With love as we treat all sinners. We must lovingly plant the seed of the Gospel..and what comes from there is the work of the Holy Spirit. If they refuse to heed the call of the gospel well that's there loss..we shouldn't "throw our pearls to pigs" as it were..

 

[Ohioprof]

Christians should love serve and witness the truth of Jesus Christ to gay and lesbian people.
Some of the best placed Christians to do this are Christians who are ex-gay and Christians who have homosexual temptations themselves, they can well show God's love and transforming power to gays and lesbians

I have never been ministered to by an "ex-gay." I have never met an "ex-gay." If some people claim to be "ex-gay," that is up to them. But there do not seem to be very many of them.

I have been ministered to by many gay people who do not call themselves "ex-gay." The minister of my church is a lesbian who is married to her spouse.