Monday, May 21, 2012

Self-Hatred Is Not Therapy



My good friend Tanya and I were having a chat yesterday. She's a straight Christian friend to a pan-romantic transsexual dark Pagan - me. Our chat took the direction of discussing Christian gay people who believe they are condemned to Hell because of their inborn sexuality. I thought I would add my two cents using some information I have been collecting over a number of years, pretty much because I have been fighting a war of words with people who seek to condemn gays, lesbians, bi's and transgender people to "Hell" from a "Christian" perspective.

I said inborn sexuality, because science and medicine have been delivering proof that gender and sexuality are determined by biological - and therefore natural factors. If you believe that God created people as they are, then you need to accept that God created people (and animals) with their gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation as they are - including those who are gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex. This is logical, leaving the only options open to these people, to try and refute the science, producing fake "studies" or making enough hysterical noise as to create doubt in the minds of their followers to keep them at their feet.

Gay by Nature: Part 1
Gay by Nature: Part 2
Since it is gradually being accepted by mainstream society, that what science and medicine say about sexual orientation and gender identity being inborn and immutable (unchangeable), those who hate us from a religious point of view continue to claim that being gay is a "choice" and a "sin". If you look at this argument logically, it implies that they are saying "Yes, God made you gay - but it's still wrong to be gay!" Is it? Was God wrong? If you believe in a loving father God who made you, do you really think He would make you with an unbearable inborn pain that you would be expected to deal with all your life? I never believed that. I can't see any merit in doing so.

Further, some "Christians" argue that being gay or trans is "sinful", and that you can be "prayed straight" or that you "should" deny your true self - I'm talking about "ex-gay" ministries. These use shame and guilt in order to convince gay Christians that they will go to "Hell" if they accept their nature.

The articles linked to below will show how this industry - because it is designed to make money - is based upon deceit and denial, and a someone wisely said, "Self-hate is not therapy".

Argument by scientists proving that the Religious Right distorts their research against GLBTI:

Respect my Research.orgAnti-gay activists and their organizations have distorted, cherry picked or misquoted research from esteemed academic scholars across the world. On this site is a one-of-a-kind "Library of Lies", which catalogues these abuses and provides a powerful response from those whose work was twisted.

Masters & Johnson’s Notorious ‘Ex-Gay’ Study Debunked - the research which was used to fuel the destruction of so many lives was recently admitted to have been totally fake - meaning that the entire "ex-gay" concept and industry - has been built on a LIE!

There are many articles on these subjects listed on my links page, however, the most important ones which I think will be of the most help to you as a gay Christian, are below:


A Letter to Louise: A Biblical Affirmation of Homosexuality
The Gay Debate: The Bible and Homosexuality - The guy in the video has spent years researching his topic. He had abstained from all relationships because he was Christian and was taught being gay was a sin - then he studied the bible in the correct context and proves that being gay is not a sin. If one could actually get anti-gay Christians to watch this, they may actually learn a thing or two about their bible.

Let me close by saying that you should not be put off your honesty and your faith by others who abuse you - or the same religion you adhere to. There are many today calling themselves "Christians" who are not Christ-like or Christ-followers at all, but there are still many who are. The difference comes in where people condemn and judge others, when they point fingers away from themselves and at other people and vent hatred in the name of the loving God and the savior you believe in - and even demand death for those whom they dislike - and blame it on God.

Are people who can post websites such as this one, "God Commands You Kill Gays!" really "Christians"? Or are they Leviticans, or rather, ChristianISTS? Is their hatred in keeping with Christ or Christ's behavior or in line with what he admonished his followers to do after his departure? 

People who do so, are not like Christ, and if they do not speak like Christ, nor act like him - how can they possible be Christ-like, or Christian?

A minister friend of mine used to say "If people speak of God without also speaking of love, then it isn't God they speak of, but the Devil."

I hope that this will help you find self-acceptance, self-love, and peace.
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All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2019.
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2 comments:

  1. Great post! Thank you, very insightful, and what a good arguement!

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  2. Whats very important to note is that the bible has been grossly misused. We are cutting our film GAY USA the Movie and have interviewed extraordinary Biblical scholars, I recommend the new book by Mel White "Holy Terror" Not sure if you can get it in SA. Try amazon. I am writing a review on it as I speak. Leviticus does not speak of same sex relationships nor same sex love. The fundamentalists have taken it OUT of context in which it was written. Sodom and Gemmorah has been completely misused. But let me throw this in too - As Jew I do not believe Jesus is the Messiah. If Jesus was the Messiah, surely the world would be as the First Testament (The Hebrew Bible) said it would be - that there would be all love and harmony and no sinners - after the Messiah it would be a perfect world. So if indeed the Christians use a strict non contextual interpretation of Leviticus they cannot refuse to use the same interpretation for the coming of the Messiah. So if they believe Jesus is the Messiah then why can they not accept the perfection of homosexuality in the perfect post messiah world? How could it be a sin? The world is as G-d wanted it. Just sayin! Melanie Nathan

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