It's OK to Be Gay: Straight Talk About Homosexuality for Gay People and Those Who Love Them

Product Information

The Bible in no ways contradicts itself. It is self explanatory and we do not need the human corrupt mind to interpret it. Homosexuality is an abomination to God and is SIN in clear terms. Let those clergy who are trying to defend it know that the judgment of God is upon them, because the Bible warns us against adding or subtracting the Word of God. It’s important to know that there is nothing wrong with loving people of the same gender as you. You might want to let your loved ones know if you feel same-sex attraction, or you might not be ready to share this yet. It’s entirely up to you, but no one can invalidate your identity. Helping Your Loved Ones Understand Homosexuality There were eunuchs (castrated men) and mukhannathun (effeminate men) to whom the rules of gender segregation did not apply: they were allowed access to the women’s quarters, presumably because there was thought to be no likelihood of sexual misbehaviour. A pro-gay position might be that the word Paul uses for homosexual here could alternatively be translated as "male prostitute". In any case, Paul's writings are clearly of his time, and there are plenty of other verses which people have no difficulty in ignoring - for instance: "a woman brings shame on her head if she prays or prophesies bare-headed; it is as bad as if her head were shaved." This should be viewed like that. It’s also vital to build a support system around you. You might find this by building relationships with other members of the LBGTQ community, even joining a club or a support group. You might even find role models in media and popular culture.

But one thing they have done is make it difficult to claim that LGBT Muslims don’t exist. They have established a degree of visibility which, though still limited, is important because visibility is the first step towards achieving rights and without it there is no hope of doing so. We are not talking about the writers of Scripture understanding modern science. We are talking about them—including Jesus Himself—understanding human nature. 5. The gospel brings good news to homosexual men and women. On his third visit, Jesus spent considerable time in the temple itself ( 11:27-13:2). He met the full array of temple leadership, including chief priests, teachers of the law and elders. Each of these leadership sectors used their interpretation of Scripture to exclude rather than to include. Jesus himself says nothing explicitly about homosexuality. There are though two statements by him which have been interpreted as having a bearing on the subject.Sexually transmitted infections treatment guidelines, 2021. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment-guidelines/default.htm. Accessed Dec. 9, 2022.

The “men of Sodom” (19:4), as the Bible describes them, didn’t offer the same hospitality to these angels in disguise. Instead they sought to humiliate them ( and Lot (19:9)) by threatening to rape them. We know they were heterosexual because Lot, in attempting to protect himself and his guests, offered his virgin daughters to them (19:8).Over the last few decades, a number of groundbreaking works of scholarship have richly enhanced our understanding of the history of sexuality among Muslims. Those who would exclude homosexuals from God’s kingdom choose to ignore Jesus, turning instead to the Old Testament – most particularly to Genesis 19, the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Their interpretation of the story is that it is about homosexuality. It isn’t. It relates to hospitality. The church is so obsessed with sex, when it should be more concerned about love. Jesus said 'love one another as I have loved you', not judge one another. The decline of turbaned clerical authority among Muslims worldwide does not amount to the rise of authority among the self-styled US Muslim “celebrities” with a sleek PR agent and a Madison Avenue hairdo. The case of the gaily painted school shows how progress in one part of the world can have adverse effects elsewhere and serves as a reminder that there are places where the connection between rainbows and LGBT rights is either new or yet to be discovered.

An illustration of where this can lead came in Britain in 2007 over the Sexual Orientation Regulations – a measure mainly intended to prevent businesses from discriminating against gay people. The Muslim Council of Britain reluctantly found itself on the same side as LGBT rights advocates in supporting the new law, since British Muslims are also at risk of discrimination.

This study was criticized because it used brain tissue obtained at autopsies, and all of the homosexual subjects in the study were believed to have died of AIDS.

Relatives of 26 men who were arrested in a televised raid by police looking for gay people at a Cairo public bathhouse celebrate after the court acquitted them. Photograph: Amr Nabil/AP This is a sensitive issue, but the Bible does not treat homosexual relationships any differently to heterosexual relationships. The Bible clearly states that any sexual relationships outside marriage are sins against God. Thus the only sexual relationships which are endorsed by the Bible are those that take place between a husband and wife in marriage. In the meantime, let me offer some advice for talking with your friend. Here are the three most important points to bear in mind:

Inclusion, not exclusion

Riot police use a water cannon to disperse LGBT rights activists before a Gay Pride parade in central Istanbul, Turkey. Photograph: Reuters To rephrase the famous axiom of John Gray, namely, that men are from Mars and women are from Venus, Mars + Mars or Venus + Venus cannot ever equal Mars + Venus. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, men who had been persecuted for their sexuality in Europe often sought refuge in Morocco and, long before same-sex marriage was dreamed of in the west, male-on-male partnerships were recognised – and marked with a ceremony – in the remote Egyptian oasis of Siwa. No. Sexual preference is biologically determined. Government should protect gay people from discrimination because homosexuality is an unalterable aspect of their identity. All these sinful practices were certainly rejected, but biblical authors like Paul were certainly aware of long-term, male-male relationships.