Saved By Grace: Why I Changed My Mind About Same Sex Attraction and Same Sex Marriage

I have deleted my series of posts about Homosexuality.

Through contemplation and reflection, I have come to realize that the vitriol I had in those write-ups were mostly grounded not on Tradition and Scripture but on Fundamentalist and Bible Only beliefs. In short, they were mostly from ignorance and "hate". As an Orthodox Christian, I don't believe in Sola Scriptura--the Protestant doctrine of how one should read the Bible: AS IS. Funny, most Sola Scriptura fans, the ones who claim to follow Jesus right to the dot, are the ones who'd go out in the streets and protest Lady Gaga's concert as though that's part of the 'prerequisite' on how you get to Heaven. Well, it seems to me they are the face of, what Os Guinness remarked about "christianity", "poor talkative Christianity".

So here are the reasons why I have a renewed mind:

1. God is Love, not a moral tyrant

One of the most amazing things about Orthodox Christianity is its emphasis on God's unconditional love, shown  in the Scriptures, alive in the Divine Liturgy. We do not have the faulty doctrine of "Original Sin" wherein human beings were born utterly depraved, a piece of feces in a puddle of mud, not worthy of God's immaculateness, that Jesus Christ had to die to appease the anger of God. What we do have is the doctrine of "Ancestral Sin" wherein human beings were created essentially good. But when sin came, our essential goodness was marred and what took place now was Death. Our propensity to sin, as a result of Satan tricking Adam and Eve, and NOT because we were born sinners, is what keeps us from God and what keeps us close to Death. So, to redeem us from the vicious cycle of sinning and dying, God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the Cross NOT to appease the emotions of an angry deity, but to trample Death by His Death and make us triumphant through His resurrection.  

The doctrine of Original Sin--a concept shared both by Roman Catholics and Protestants--for what it's worth, I believe is the reason why we have churches hell-bent on destroying LGBT persons and stopping them from loving each other.

Original Sin adherents are always trying to "appease" God. They are mainly concerned of keeping their churches "pure" otherwise they are all going to hell. They are the vanguards of Christian "fascism"-- piety first before mercy; as St. Maria of Skobtsova remarked: "Piety, piety but where is the love that moves mountains?"   

To believe that we somehow need to appease God in some other ways except through the participation in the Mysteries is legalism at its finest.Legalism shows fear. But Christ told us to never fear; never be afraid! Christ has set us free. He has set us free from fear. 1 John ch.4:18 says: There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.   

2. Jesus Christ established a Kingdom not a Fandom

Blind faith is Christian Fascism.

Ever heard of a "groupie'? It means a group uncritical followers of a pop band or a famous singer. They are the ones who'd challenge you on youtube once you said J-Biebs is overrated. (Which actually I think he is.) 

I am not a professional debater. But debating so-called Christians on the internet who are against Gay marital unions is like talking to a wall with lots of graffiti on it: you may shout all you want, but there's no way graffitti will go. I mean, their ideas (many of those ideas come from Fundamentalist groups) sound like they were indeed brainwashed-- they were just parroting what their pastors and priests said. Whenever I presented a critique of their views on homosexuality I was immediately bombarded by emotionalism; things like: 'I don't care what you say, I follow Christ! You are an intellectual wannabe who thinks like a 6th grade trying to get a G.E.D!' (as though he is the only one who struggles to follow Christ and that he's a genius of some sort) or some copy-pasted quotes from John Piper or Duck Dynasty. But when prodded, none of those weight as actual counter-arguments.

Jesus "fanatics" have a bitter history, a trait they share with militant atheists. These Jesus "freaks" (Bible literal interpreters) were responsible for antisemitism, racial apartheid, misogynism, gender segregation, etc. They are so good at giving religion a bad name. And sometimes, the litmus test on how to figure out if a Christian is a true follower of Christ or a "groupie", is by how they fair well with LGBT persons. I'm not saying that Christians who are anti-gay marriage are "fanatics". Just because they don't agree with Gay Marriage does not mean they hate Homosexuals. They still see gays as human beings who ought to be respected and not judged. However, they see homosexual sex as an "abomination before the Lord". (As a matter of fact, there are Gay people (who are both protestant and Catholic) who are against Gay Marriage!) But it must be noted that what these anti-gay marriage Christians (who do not despise gay people) BELIEVE IN concerning gay marriage ARE THE SAME BELIEFS held by Christian bigots. Case in point are the draconian laws in some countries in Africa wherein same-sex relations are punishable by death. In Uganda, lots of gay-shaming in the media happen. Corrective rapes of lesbians and gays are rampant (and for the most part, pregnancy and AIDS happen); the worst of these corrective rapes result to murder. The point of concern here is not only the horrific loss of precious human lives but the fact that many Evangelicals in America support these demonic and unChristian measures with money from their offering plates.

The mindset has to change. I have known well-meaning Christians who disagree with Same-Sex love. However, there is a gnawing sense in me, the longing to ask them: "How do you condemn the corrective rapes, the slaughter of Gays, the marginalization of gays by fellow Christians who share your disagreements on everything gay-- and they love the Bible too!?"


3. Gays choose to be chaste and celibate too

Wait a minute, a Christian contender rebutts, sex is a gift from God! It ought not to be abused!

Andy Warhol

Well, I agree with that. Any Christian who strives to follow Christ will tell you that sexual sin is indeed tempting and ALL OF US fall short on the Chastity/Purity Department. I am, by God's grace, physically a virgin. True that, I was once kissed. I enjoyed heavy petting and the rush of blood when you're so close to doing the deed. But most of the time the argument of "sex is a gift from God" usually has entailment like this: "You're gay, therefore you engage in anal sex (or Cunnilingus), therefore you spread AIDS!" Such generalization is misleading. You don't get AIDS by just being Gay, or by sharing things with Gays. You get AIDS when you engage in unprotected sex with a man or with a woman, share needles in a drug spree, bloodletting, or you were born of an HIV positive mother who did not take proper medication.

Henri Nouwen

Gay people were demonized during the height of AIDS epidemic not only in America but also in Asia (specifically Philippines). This isn't to say that Gay people weren't infected, in fact, a huge percentage of those victims were Gay men. In the Philippines (as of 2013), 96% of those infected with AIDS are men who have sex with men and 90% of those are single men. This isn't to say that MSM are exclusively Gay in orientation. Some in those 96% were OFWs and were married. The spread of AIDS, undoubtedly, was the result of abusing God's "gift". However, instead of seeing this phenomenon as encompassing ALL genders, the ultra-religious puritans were quick to spare their sexually immoral straight brethren by putting the blame on Gay people. The equation was quite simple: GAYS=SEX MANIACS=AIDS. The imprint left on those small minds was that ALL GAYS were walking HIV virus sticks.

Father Seraphim Rose

Reading bios of Andy Warhol, Henri Nouwen, and Father Seraphim Rose can easily tell us that "Gays=Sex Maniacs=AIDS" is not the usual scene. Andy Warhol, known as leading figure in Visual Arts in America, was a Byzantine Catholic and celibate. Henri Nouwen was a Roman Catholic priest and professor: virgin and celibate. Father Seraphim (Eugene) Rose, an admitted homosexual, chose to become an Orthodox Christian Monk. I do believe there are scores of Gays like them in the whole gay population. And their purpose was simple: to glorify Christ through their celibacy and involvement in making the world a better place. Unwittingly, on their parts, they have destroyed the stigma on Gay people effectively.


4. Just because they can't beget children does not make Gay couples INVALID.

I learned not to trust surveys or polls. I find them misleading. One poll is anti-gay, another one (by the same standards) is pro-gay and both polls show bigotry, nothing else. To reduce the worth of human beings to mere survey variables is to create division among peoples. My advice to persons who would wish to know more about Gays and LGBT persons is to know ONE.
Love, by biblical and traditional standards, has been alien to us ever since our first parents sinned. What is not lost is our ability to find Love, the same ability that enables us to seek God. Yet Love, for it to be pure, must forsake skepticism (fear).
I am amazed at theists who speak of human sexuality in their most Naturalistic tendencies. Our bodies are not mere baby-making machines, our bodies are made by Love for Love. And the extension of that Love is the new-born baby. This is the answer I give to theists/atheists/Anti-theists/Agnostics who say that Gay Love can't be natural because it doesn't produce new life. Gay Love DOES produce new life. Do we dare say that straight couples who cannot bear children DEVOID of any loving gift?

 Photo credit:

http://moonspenders.blogspot.com/2009_01_01_archive.html
http://salliesart.blogspot.com/2011/06/sacred-heart.html
QuoteHD.com
wikipedia.com