Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Quis ut Deus?

Home
Progressive Christian
Spiritual Abuse: Telling LGBTQ+ Kids They’ll “Go to Hell”

Spiritual Abuse: Telling LGBTQ+ Kids They’ll “Go to Hell”

Last updated on: March 13, 2022 at 8:41 pm by Connor Brennan

Spiritual Abuse: Telling LGBTQ+ Kids They’ll “Go to Hell” 2022-03-13T20:41:58-05:00 Connor Brennan

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.

Content Warning: Discussion of Suicide/Suicide Awareness

“You’re gay?! Aren’t you afraid of going to Hell?!”

No, not until you chose to propagate this fearmongering. Again. For the umpteenth time.

How many LGBTQ+ kids have to take their own lives before this crowd of Christians finally acknowledges that they aren’t doing God’s will by spreading these lies?

Eli Fritchley, a 12-year-old kid, took his life back in December after his classmates repeatedly told him that he’d go to Hell for being openly gay.

A 12-year-old kid.

Eli’s peers refused to stop demonizing him, to stop telling him that God would reject him for something as ridiculous as wearing nail polish and a Spongebob shirt.

https://thegailygrind.com/2021/12/06/12-year-old-commits-suicide-after-classmates-told-him-hed-go-to-hell-for-being-gay/

The commentator for The Young Turks in the above YouTube video did an excellent job detailing just how evil this belief is, that you’d repeatedly tell a kid he’s risking going to Hell for something as small as wearing nail polish:

“They say that if we don’t believe what they believe, that we’re going to go to Hell, that we’re ‘terrible people’, we’re ‘evil’, and that we’re going to be punished by God. The Creator Himself hates us so much, He’s going to torture us for eternity.

Now if you’re a grown person, I hope you got past that brainwashing and realize that’s obvious nonsense and mythology.

But if you’re a 12-year-old kid, you don’t know that!

…Oh, being gay is ‘terrible, terrible, terrible’! God hates you! And you’re gonna go to Hell, you’re gonna suffer!

Well, imagine what that does to a young kid!”

The Young Turks, “12-YO Takes His Life After Being Bullied For His Sexuality”

Eli’s parents and five brothers were devastated, and Jesus wept with them.

Why would any self-professing Christian believe that His will is for LGBTQ+ kids to be told they’ll go to Hell for merely existing?

And what’s the use of covering this crap up with “love the sinner, hate the sin” when this phrase is only ever used in response to LGBTQ+ people?

Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen any adherent of “love the sinner, hate the sin” say this regarding serial murderers, adulterers, pedophile priests, y’know, actual sinners?

When these Christians make excuses for genuine wrongdoing while constantly lambasting LBGTQ+ people for wanting to live out in the open, it sends a dangerous message to the rest of the world. Because they claim to be speaking for God, these Christians thusly imply that God turns a blind eye to actual sin while hating LGBTQ+ people for being “abominations”.

So apparently, actual sins such as straight adultery are tolerable, but LGBTQ+ kids wearing nail polish and wanting to love freely is “evil” in God’s eyes?

Congratulations, “Christians”! You’ve chosen to bow down to an idolatrous, made-up version of God who you believe turns a blind eye to suffering, while wanting LGBTQ+ people to suffer in this life and the next.

“Holey” Moley!

I’ll never forget reading a brilliant analogy for what God actually hates in Holes by Louis Sachar. While the movie adaptation did a heartbreakingly excellent job capturing the tragic love between “Kissin'” Kate Barlow and Sam, who was murdered for being a black man in love with a white woman, it left out some crucial descriptions.

Before that horrific night when Sam is murdered, a woman of the town sees Kate and Sam kissing. She snarls, “God will punish you!” It’s also implied (if I remember right) that this woman tells the rest of the town about their love, leading to Sam’s murder.

Well, it’s after Sam, an innocent man is murdered that the town becomes the arid desert that serves as the modern setting for the book’s main storyline. As Louis Sachar brilliantly wrote, who was it exactly that God punished?

God hates mercilessness, and He punished the townspeople in Holes for spilling innocent blood.

“It hasn’t rained here since the day they killed Sam!”

Linda Walker, from the “Holes” film adaptation

Well, Linda, you said it yourself!

What’s to Hate?

And oh boy, whoever’s propagating this religious-based hatred against LGBTQ+ people must be incredibly naive if they think God’s cool with what they’re doing in His name. It’s mercilessness in action, refusing to stop hounding us with fearmongering despite knowing that the pain your actions cause are the fruits of hate, not love.

We understand this isn’t an issue of “religious freedom”, right? Because God cares way more about the shattered lives of His LGBTQ+ kids than these demons thinking they have the “right” to spread lies in His name.

It shouldn’t take the loss of any kid for eyes to be opened. Do better, my fellow Christians. Lives are at stake when you join the deathly chorus of “love the sinner, hate the sin”.

Suicide Awareness Resources:

Call 1-800-273-8255 (National Suicide Prevention Lifeline)
https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/help-yourself/lgbtq/
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/
https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/thelifelgbt/2020/9/suicide-awareness-in-the-lgbtqia-community
https://afsp.org/lgbtq-mental-health-and-suicide-prevention
https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Identity-and-Cultural-Dimensions/LGBTQI

Featured Image by Connor Brennan

Hello, and thank you for supporting my work here on Patheos! If you’d like to support me further, please feel free to “Buy Me A Coffee” here:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorb943C

Previous Post

January 26, 2022

God Calms the Storm: A Message of His Peace in Psalm 107:29

Next Post

February 23, 2022 Biblical Reconciliation: Joseph the Dreamer and His Envious Brothers

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category afterlife dreams LGBTQIA Media Analysis Personal politics Religion spirituality Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 January 2021 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 July 2020 February 2020 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 July 2019 June 2019 April 2019 July 2018 May 2018 February 2018 December 2017 November 2017 August 2017 July 2017 February 2017

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the craftsman who made the Ark of the Covenant?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Miriam Oholiab Hur Bezalel