God Loves All of His Children, Even the Gay & Lesbian Ones

Let me just say one thing (maybe two or three or four) -- if there is one thing about me, or if you knew my wife and I on a personal level, the first thought (or second or third) would not be "sexual deviants" or "filthy heathens". You would't call us "perverts", unless I groped you while Mad wasn't looking or Mad winked at you on the sly. Ok, all kidding aside, you would probably just think that we were a normal (maybe not so normal) couple who love one another and who've been together for 22 years. We are two imperfect people refusing to give up on one another. We believe in God and make God number one in our lives. We try and share everything we have with everyone else as much as we possibly can. We have a deep respect for one another. We're there in sickness and in health, as we vowed to one another when we were married by our Christian pastor. She's my life companion, she's my best friend and confidant -- I can tell her absolutely anything. I plan to grow old with her, if fate allows us to. Do we have issues and argue from time to time? Of course we do, but we always forgive and try to understand each side of the argument, no matter who's in the wrong...(mostly her.) We laugh together, we cook together, we visit new places together. Most of all, we pray together.

My "sins" don't have anything to do with loving my partner of 22 years. My sins are much different than that, to which I struggle with from time to time. Sometimes I lash out and say things I later regret. Sometimes I use colorful language in jest. And sometimes I have an extra glass of wine to numb my emotional pain and anxiety. I'm a work in progress. I'm human. My life can sometimes be a little messy -- and yet God knows how much faith I have. I know how much faith I have. I still come to Him with all of my issues. I'm not perfect, which is why God is number one in my life.

There are some Christians who call me a "fake Christian" or that my lifestyle doesn't coincide with biblical scripture. Does anyone's life coincide with biblical scriptures? Quite a few antigay Christians have claimed that I wasn't praying to "the Jesus of the Bible". It's interesting, because most of them happen to use all of their 'religion' in order to give some sort of illusionary "right" to bash the LGBT community. The focus of their entire ministries are based upon letting others know that there's hell to pay. Instead of giving 10% of tithing, (as the Bible suggests), many of these antigay Christian ministries ask for tithing from other people who listen to their shows, simply by panhandling online. By donating your money to these free radio shows and broadcasts, you are giving money to a bunch of antigay bigots who are going against everything Jesus stood for. I one time fell for one of their cries for help and actually donated to a Christian organization who believed homosexuality was a sin, but they didn't quite condemn me...yet. Eventually, I was handed down with a slap in the face by telling me I was "evil" and that my entire life was all about "perversion" and "wickedness". My wife and I were very hurt.

Let's remind those who are antigay Christians what love is all about.

"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love it not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance." --1 Corinthians 13-7

There are many people who have trouble understanding the Bible. There are many people who just simply can't comprehend what it all means. I admit, sometimes the Bible can be very confusing. The Bible itself is so convoluted between the many translations, various origins of certain words and contexts, as well as all of the twisted scriptures used for bigotry misinterpretations. There are many "false prophets" used to instill a set of morality within society. There are many people who fear that this nation alone will become unruly and "unnatural". The Bible tells us to be "fruitful" -- but what does that mean? Will humanity go extinct? To some, it means to procreate. Jesus was very fruitful, yet he didn't have any children. This has nothing to do with procreation. If that were the case, then what about heterosexual people who cannot procreate naturally? Should they divorce since they cannot have a baby? Of course not. That's why the Bible should not be taken literally. And let's face it, divorce is a sin to begin with...right? (Soooo many things we can judge so "righteously".)

There are many others things that should not be taken literally, as it says in this next segment...

It clearly says in Romans, “…and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error.” Isn’t this clear enough? There are no obscure Greek words. How are we to understand this?

ROMANS 1:24-27 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error. (RSV)

To understand what Paul is writing about we must look at the event as a whole and not isolate a single portion of it. Each verse in this story gives us a glimpse into the situation. Verse 24: “Therefore, God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity.” If we are painting a picture, it begins with the image of LUST. Verse 25: “…they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.” Now there is a FALSEHOOD as well as IDOLATRY involved (i.e. worshipping something other than God). Verse 26: “God gave them up to dishonorable passions…”

Now DISHONORABLE PASSIONS are presented. Looking back at this now we see this as a situation of lust, falsehood, idolatry, and dishonorable passions.

Verse 26 and 27 continue: “Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another…”

Looking at the men first will help to clarify the passage: “The men likewise gave up natural relations with women…”

Stop. Did you see that? They gave up natural relations with women, which implies that these men were heterosexuals by nature. The phrase translated as “gave up” is the Greek word aphente (afenteV) meaning to leave behind, forsake, neglect, or divorce. These men, therefore, divorced themselves from their own nature, that of heterosexuality, and were consumed with passion for one another. Women did likewise. As we see, Paul is talking about heterosexual individuals engaging in homosexual sex, which is contrary to their nature. Why would men do that? As any biblical scholar will tell you: “Context is everything.” This is a situation of lust, falsehood, idolatry, and dishonorable passions. In this account there are a number or men and a number of women, both plurals. This would most definitely be an orgy…everyone filled with lust and “dishonorable passions” having sex with whomever however. But why would Paul be talking about orgies?

A little research uncovers the pagan practice of “sacred sexual orgies.” Baal was the Canaanite deity that was worshipped with sexual orgies on Mount Peor in Moab, with which Paul would have been familiar. With this contextual understanding let us read this story again: “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error.” Anyone who isolates the phrase “natural relations” to declare homosexual relations unnatural is interjecting their own prejudice and reading entirely outside of context. Even if we were to isolate that phrase it could only be used to condemn heterosexuals who go against their own heterosexual nature and engage in homosexual activity.----read more here.

In one part of their write up they give examples of the translations.

For instance in NIV: "adulterers" = "perverts" to then = "slave traders". ...Wait, what?

In NEB: "fornicators" = "sodomites" to then = kidnappers. ...Umm.

It's like a vicious game of telephone trying to decipher what all of these words have turned into, especially the meaning itself. The origins of the word "homosexuality" doesn't necessarily mean same gender sex. The passage in the ancient Hebrew is clearly talking about male-male sex acts, specifically anal sex. The issue was penetrating an anus with a penis, this making the penis literally “unclean” to the point of forbidding entry into a vagina. (Sorry to be so graphic...) Sodom and Gomorrah was about rape and humiliation -- not sex between two people who love one another. But Christians will cherry pick this and twist the story around to condemn those who are homosexual.

It surely doesn't take a masters degree to understand or at least to decipher the true value of the meaning in the Bible. I can understand if someone has a learning disability, then that may apply. But we're talking about our fate -- our afterlife -- as well as our life here on earth. God said to live our lives abundantly, happily and with love. But some of us aren't doing that.

As I've always stated, those who have a healthy fear of homosexuals and transgender people having rights of their own are called what? "HOMOPHOBES" and "TRANSPHOBES" -- but they detest that word claiming it's "gay rhetoric" and that they're not afraid of homosexuals and transgenders, but they are in fear of them having their rights. What's the difference?

Studies have been proven that most antigay homophobic Christians have a long history with homosexuality themselves, or at least trying to fight off the feelings the best they can due to religious upbringing. When someone is so incredibly adamant on taking down the LGBT community, there has to be a deeper level of frustration -- a personal frustration of their own.

Why are they so angry at the LGBT community? It's a personal issue.

Extremely antigay people (not even Christians so much) can have an underlining issue of homosexuality themselves. Studies have been conducted where this showed much truth to this. If you think about it, why don't people like antigay Christians and those who protest the rights of LGBT groups focus more on other issues, like rape and sexually abused children? Isn't that a much more important issue to address? But see, they can't help themselves because by nature, they are what they protest.

Watch this video. I know I've posted this up numerous times in the past, but it demonstrates how homophobic people are usually closeted homosexuals.



Please click here if you cannot view the video itself.

Freedom of speech, right?

So I speak freely, outwardly, opposing those who try to take people of the LGBT community down. Not only is it destructive, seeing how many of our gay youths and adults are being bullied, sometimes killed for their sexual orientation and identity, but you are bringing many gays, lesbians and transgenders away from God.

As Christians, you are supposed to bring them closer to God. He has not condemned those of homosexuality. They have.

"And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and cast into the sea." --Mark 9:42

(Sounds much like a scene in The Sopranos.) 

But again, I digress.

My best friend & companion of 22 years.

Getting back to my original point, my wife and I are much like anybody else trying to live their lives the best that they can. Nobody can judge us. I do however, respect other people's opinions on what it says in the Bible -- even if they feel that homosexuality is a sin. But to tear people down indefinitely by calling them "sinners" and casting them into hell -- that's when I have to step up and get vocal about it. "You are NOT God." Nobody can say, "Well, they don't know God," because my relationship with God is amazing. Not only have I studied the Bible for years (anyone can) -- I have had spiritual experiences where I have seen Jesus Himself. You can call it a hallucination, or a spike in oxytocin -- but the fact remains, that ever since that day back in 1996, I have never been the same. I am not ashamed to speak about my sightings of Jesus, as I've written in my book, A Prayer Away From Healing. I truly believe He chose me to spread the message around the world -- perhaps not to travel physically, but to utilize what I have, between my book, my blog and through social media, to assure those who love God, that God loves them MUCH more than they can even fathom.

To anyone who is of the LGBT community, please know God loves you for YOU. He is not the wrathful and hateful God that some people make Him out to be.

"The Lord is merciful and gracious; he is slow to get angry and full of unfailing love." --Psalm 103:8

For more of Deb's articles, please visit: www.debrapasquella.com or join her on Facebook and Twitter. Check out her cooking blog for some of her famous recipes!