God made me gay
The following blog is written by Dr. Greg Coles. Greg is part of The Center's collaboration team and has a Ph.D. in English from Penn State. He's also the author of the recently released: Single, Gay, Christian.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a good conservative Christian boy who realizes he’s gay will verb years in agonized and fervent prayer asking God to make him straight.
At least, that’s what I did.
Beginning at the age of twelve, I measured my spiritual life according to my progress towards heterosexuality. I tried to notice girls. I tried not to notice guys. I invented “crushes” and told people about lovey-dovey desires I didn’t actually have for my female friends. I even tried to lust after a picture of a scantily clad woman once, just to see if I could do it. (In retrospect, not my leading idea. Cut me a break. I was twelve.) But by the grace of God, I never did manage any lust over that picture. I might as well possess been staring at an office supplies poster.
I tried and prayed and tried and prayed, and I failed on all counts. If loving Jesus was suppos Some Christians respond to this argument with what seems to be the only alternative: by saying that those who identify as gay choose to be gay. This response is usually met with so much derision—“With all the homophobia in the world, who would choose to be gay??”. . . “Did you choose to be straight??&#;—that it’s seldom helpful. In one sense, of course, it’s true. If by gay you mean “a person who engages in homosexual behavior,” then God doesn’t make someone gay any more than he makes someone an adulterer, a fornicator, or a man who has relations with just his wife. God doesn’t make people engage in any sexual behaviors. We freely select all our moral actions—that’s why we can be held accountable for them. But when most people exclaim, “God made me gay,” they’re talking about attractions (which they consider part of a God-given identity) rather than behaviors. Although, this implies that they’re also talking about whether it’s okay to act upon those desires, since it seems self-evident to most people that we can act according to how we’re made. Scott Rae: Welcome to the podcast, Think Biblically, conversations on faith and culture. I'm your host, Scott Rae, Dean of faculty and professor of Christian ethics at Talbot noun of theology, Biola University. Sean McDowell: I'm your cohost, Sean McDowell, professor of Christian apologetics at Talbot school of Theology, Biola University. Scott Rae: We're here today with a fascinating guest for us. Her name is Kim Zember. She's the founder and head of, of a ministry called Overcome Ministries. She's got a fascinating story to tell about her own personal journey. So rather than arrange it up for you, I think I'll just let you kind of tell us a tiny bit of your story and how you got to be where you are today, particularly with your Overcome Ministries. Kim Zember: Awesome. Yeah, so I grew up Catholic, baptized as a baby and really grew up knowing the Lord. Knowing the Lord, I found out even still today, is much different than knowing him personally and in choosing to walk with him, but always knew about Jesus and that he's the savior an Were Homosexuals Made in God’s Image Too? Brother Bob Pellien: As Christians, we believe that we were all made in God&#;s image, but some ask us, “Does that also include homosexuals? Were they also made in God&#;s image?” Hello, everyone. Welcome to That’s In The Bible where the basis of the teachings here in the Church Of Christ is first and foremost, the Bible, the Holy Scriptures. And we want to clarify, as we regularly do, that the Bible does not answer just any and all questions, but regarding proper worship, right relationship with God, and most importantly, salvation. Those answers are most definitely here in the Holy Bible. [On-screen logo graphic] That’s in the Bible! Brother Bob: I’m Bob Pellien, and welcome to the program, That’s In The Bible. [On-screen text graphics] Brother Bob Pellien Minister of the Gospel Brother Bob: On a recent episode, we addressed some questions about homosexuality, and gender identity, as well as same sex marriage. Today, we&#;ll be answering a viewer&#;s verb about&#;God Made Me Gay&#;
Overcoming Same Sex Sexual Desires
Were Homosexuals Made in God’s Image Too?