God loves LGBT!

The goal of "The Spiritual Firebrand" is too offend our religious sensibilities. If there is a religious bone in your body, I will offend it. At any rate, the point I am trying to make is that God is not like us. We see each other and judge based on our race, our financial status, our sex. God doesn't see that stuff, He looks at the heart. Want proof? Galatians 3:28, "And we no longer see each other in our former state - Jew or non-Jew (race), rich or poor (financial status), male or female (sex) - because we're all one through our union with Jesus Christ with no distinction between us." So, here is a question to test our religious sensibilities. If that verse is true, does it mean that there is no distinction between male or female, whether they're transgender or not? As long as they are united with Christ? Do you think that maybe a life lived through the love of God and one united with Christ is the only distinction that separates believers from unbelievers? Food for thought!

I can hear the religious now..."well, what He means is...", I don't care what you think He meant, that's what He said. Christians love taking God's word out of context to justify their own jaded points of view, to explain why God can't possibly love or accept someone who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, simply because they don't know how to love someone like that and they desperately need their God to not know how love love them in order to justify their own bigotry. Well, here is a newsflash, as a gay believer the God that I know isn't afraid to love me, He isn't intimidated by my sexual orientation and I, as His son, am not afraid to be who I am in His presence. I feel no shame...I was not condemned...I was acceptable to Him just as I am...something that many people told me was impossible. I was even told that I would never be blessed because I am gay. That is the most ludicrous bullsh*t that I have ever heard, to think that my blessing as a child of God would be taken from me because of something that I didn't choose and that I can't change. If you believe that then you believe in a cruel God, and I'm sorry, but that has just not been my experience.

Over the years, I have heard more "can you be gay and Christian?" debates than I care to think about, but what I think they mean and what would be a better question is: can you be gay and religious? So, if you are measuring yourself by the religious standard made by man, then no, you can't be gay and religious...but, if the standard is a union with Christ and a genuine love for people, and all other distinctions disappear like it was stated in Galatians, then yes, I believe you can be gay and Christian. Now, I know, people are going to come at me with all kinds of verses that would seemingly state the contrary. Here is a prime example, countless people have been heard saying that homosexuality was the reason that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Well, according to what the Bible actually says, no, it wasn't. It never states that. In fact, in that story and about twenty other verses in the Bible, including words from Jesus' own mouth, what destroyed those cities was the rejection of the message that God's angels were bringing. Yes, it says that all the men of Sodom came to Lot's house demanding to rape these men, but in times of war it wasn't uncommon for the victors to rape the defeated army as a sign of dominance and intimidation. It still happens in prisons today. Also, it seems very unlikely that ALL the men of Sodom were gay. And lastly, why in the world would Lot offer his two virgin daughters to this mob if all the men were gay? This story is a perfect example of how people will twist Scripture to justify their hatred and satisfy their need to be right. But the fact still remains, those verses do not say what people say they do.

In closing, don't misunderstand me. You can believe whatever you want, it's a free country and you have free will. BUT...do not use a god made in your image and heavenly words taken out of context to justify your bigotry and hatred. If you truly want to be like Jesus then I suggest that you keep in mind that it was only the religious that he came against...never the oppressed. He responded to the common man with nothing but love and compassion and understanding and acceptance...which made him the Champion of the Common Man. Why do you think you are called to be any different than him? Food for thought!