Being gay and god
How Should Christians Respond to Male lover Friends or Family Members?
Caleb Kaltenbach (M.A. ’07) is an alumnus of Biola’s Talbot School of Theology, lead pastor of a large church in Simi Valley, Calif., and a married father of two. He’s also an emerging voice in the discussion of how Christians should occupy the LGBT community. That’s because Kaltenbach has an insider perspective, having been raised by a dad and mom who divorced and independently came out of the closet as a queer man and a lesbian. Raised in the midst of LGBT parties and pride parades, Kaltenbach became a Christian and a pastor as a young elder. Today, he manages the tension of holding to the traditional biblical teaching on sexuality while loving his gay parents.
Kaltenbach’s unusual story is detailed in his new book Messy Grace: How a Pastor with Gay Parents Learned to Love Others Without Sacrificing Conviction and landed him on the front page of the New York Times in June. Biola Magazine reached out to him to talk about his book and his perspective on how Christians can beat navigate the complexities of this
The following blog is written by Greg Coles. Greg is part of The Center's collaborative team and is the author of the book Single, Male lover, Christian.
“Is God anti-gay?”
Many people expect the answer to this question to be a simple binary, either yes or no. If you’re a conservative (in the totalizing sense of the word), the reply is absolutely yes: God must be anti-gay, because same-sex sexual behavior is forbidden in the Bible. And if you’re a progressive (in the equally totalizing sense), the react is absolutely no: God can’t possibly be anti-gay, because God loves all people. But the assumption shared by everyone across the board seems to be that we grasp what the question means—that a simple answer, yes or no, ought to suffice as a response.
For me, though, the interrogate of whether God is “anti-gay” has never been a simple one. I’ve heard it asked so many different times, in so many different ways, by so many distinct people (myself included). And each time, it seems to mean something slightly different. When someone asks, “Is God anti-gay?”, they might mean, “What does God
Is being gay a sin?
Answer
In order to answer the doubt “Is being same-sex attracted a sin?” we need to disagree some assumptions upon which the scrutinize is based. Within the past fifty years, the designation gay, as applied to homosexuality, has exploded into mainstream culture, and we are told that “being gay” is as much outside one’s control as “being short” or having blonde hair. So the doubt is worded in a loaded way and impossible to adequately answer in that form. We need to divorce this question up and deal with each piece separately. Rather than seek , “Is being lgbtq+ a sin?” we need to seek , “Is it sinful to have homosexual attractions?” And, “Is it sinful to engage in lesbian activities because of those attractions?”
Concerning the first question, “Is it sinful to have same-sex attractions?” the answer is complicated. First, we should probably distinguish between (actively) sinning and (passively) organism tempted:
Being temptedis not a sin. Jesus was tempted, but He never sinned (Matthew ; Hebrews ). Eve was tempted in the garden, and the forbidden fruit definitely appealed to her,
I was baptized a not many weeks before my 19th birthday because of the Book of Romans and its assurance that once you come to Christ, your mind is renewed and you are fix free from the bondage of sin.
After my baptism, I walked around with my Bible. I told my whole family and strangers about my conversion from atheism. I comprehend I seemed crazy, but I was floored by the concept of God’s promises and his unfathomable, boundless grace. I could not understand how anyone could deny such wonderful news.
I could not comprehend how there was ever a time I did not believe.
My newly acquired faith hit me at a time when I did not know which way was up. I was on the verge of dropping out of community college, I could not find a fit socially, I was fighting constantly with my parents, and I had no concept of the future. I believed Christ was the only way to sort out my post-adolescent messes.
I was zealous about reading the Bible, going to church, and praying. I was relentless. And yet, I had not brought to God my biggest obstacle—my sexuality. It was not until I came out to a friend at the church by