Will you go to hell for being gay

This is part one of an ongoing series on problematic trends in the church regarding LGBT issues. Many who describe themselves this way — but by no means all — say they are embracing chastity or celibacy and pursuing a relationship with Christ. That is, they believe the historic, biblical Christian sexual ethic, that God created humans male and female, and sexual expression is reserved for the marriage relationship of a husband and wife. A number of Christian writers and ministries have adopted this nomenclature, with some of them training churches and other ministries to follow their lead.

Betty Harper is so "sick and tired" of trying to find a church where she feels truly welcomed as a gay woman that she is planning to start her own. The year-old charity worker from Llanddulas, Conwy county, is engaged to her partner of two years. Both are Christians who want to find somewhere accepting to practise their faith but have so far not found what they are looking for locally. Betty has travelled a long road to accepting her sexuality.

Yes, you, the young male wearing the loud shirt, scarf, and skinny jeans. Yes, you, the student tutor with a 3. As long as I wish to profess my love for another man I will not be accepted for who I am by many denominations of Christianity. People now seem to have a horrible double standard about the reclaiming of salvation for those of us that decided to tell everyone how we really feel.

Today almost everyone knows of someone who identifies as gay or deals with a measure of same gender attractions. Even if a Christian finds himself in a season of life where he does not personally know of a same gender attracted SGA person in his sphere of influence, this question is of utmost importance in light of the change of our culture and the growing willingness of Christians dealing with SGA to openly talk about their issues. So how does one help a gay-identified friend or SGA friend? The first response I typically give to this question is actually another question.