“Satan created no man; God created no sin. But I’m a gay Christian. So … ?”

Last updated on: May 18, 2015 at 5:13 pm by John Shore

“Satan created no man; God created no sin. But I’m a gay Christian. So … ?” 2015-05-18T17:13:42-08:00 John Shore

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Hi, friends. The letter below came to me from the Not All Like That (NALT) Christians Project* website. I’m sharing it (with the author’s permission, of course) so that people who made NALT videos would see some of the good they’re putting out in the world. Such letters to NALT are not uncommon. They move us every time, as this one certainly did.

Dear NALT:

I am a 40 year old gay man. More importantly, I am a Christian. As a teenager, I was so scared of me because of what I was being taught about homosexuality. I spent years praying, begging, and pleading with God to “fix” me. I hated who I was, and was so scared someone would find out. I kept it hidden. I dated women and hurt them emotionally. It was a continuous pattern until I turned 27. That’s when I hit rock bottom. I was severely unhappy and I was the only person who knew why.

I made the decision to end my life.

I got up one morning and went to work and came home after work as I did every day. At home, I sat down and made a list of ways I could end my life. I came up with seven ways that I could do relatively easy there at home. After making my list, I cleaned my house, ate dinner, watched some television and eventually got into bed that night with the intention of getting up the next morning and choosing an option on my list and following through with it.

God had other plans. That night, my sister literally broke into my house. I know that sounds bad, but she had been worried about me for a while; all she was doing was checking on me. I awoke when she climbed beside me in my bed.

She scared me, because she was crying. We talked. I came out to her, and she did not curse at me. She did not disown me. She told me that she loved me.

I believe that God sent her to me. I believe that God saved me from myself.

Now, I have tried to share my story and some people have appreciated what I went through and understand it. Others completely disagree with what I believe. They tell me that homosexuality is a sin, so God would not have saved me.

The problem that I have always had with homosexuality being a sin is that I have always been this way. I was taught from an early age that Satan did not create any man, and that God did not create any sin, so I was always confused about where I came from. I know right from wrong, and I help others when I can and I try to show people the same love and respect that I would like in return. But all I seem to see is hateful, negative remarks and comments about homosexuality, so they are about me.

That is why I am sending this lengthy message to you all. I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate what you are doing. There is no way I can put into words what this all means to me. I am sitting here with tears in my eyes feeling so blessed and thankful that you all are out there trying to help educate people about the love of God as well as the struggles that gay and lesbian teens face in our society today. It is good to know that God is working with us and through us each and every day.

God bless you all and thank you, again.

* Launched in September 2013, the purpose of the Not All Like That (NALT) Christians project is to give any and all LGBT-affirming Christians a means of sharing their belief that there is nothing at all anti-biblical or sinful about being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Learn more here.

A heartfelt thank-you to the good people at Christian Feminism Today, a NALT partner organization, nine of whose members last week sent in the NALT videos they recorded at the 2014 EEWC-Christian Feminism Today Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. You can see those videos at the end of the drop-down video playlist you’ll find on the NALT website, or by visiting the NALT YouTube page.

If you’re unfamiliar with the NALT Project, here’s a sample/compilation of the videos submitted to it:

Christian Issues

Christian Spirituality

NALT

NALT Christians

Previous Post

May 15, 2015

Women being "subservient" is everything Jesus opposed

Next Post

May 19, 2015 Eight "Bible-believing" churches vs. one progressive church

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Christian Issues Christian Spirituality Dear John En Espanol Everywhere She's Not Humor Look See Pastor Bob's Corner Personal Portuguese Relationships Russian Short-short story Smith Family Chronicles Uncategorized

Select a Month March 2024 August 2022 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 February 2020 December 2019 June 2019 December 2018 May 2018 May 2017 January 2017 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "To the pure, all things are pure"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

John Paul Peter James

Books by This Author Books by John Shore

See All Titles »