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 Some Christian denominations have officially welcomed gays and lesbians in recent years.
October 25th, 2011
12:09 PM ET
My Take: Why Christians are embracing their LGBT neighborsEditor’s note: Ross Murray is director of religion, faith and values at GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. By Ross Murray, Special to CNN America is embracing its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens. Don’t believe me? Just look at the progress being made in faith communities. The Christian church was once considered the final holdout for those who oppose equality for LGBT people. Staunch believers could gather in worship with people who thought just like them to hear sermons affirming the anti-LGBT beliefs they held in common. For those of us who identify as LGBT, church was a place of fear and secrets. We had to figure out how to hide ourselves or how to find a more welcoming community. But that is changing. Although there is still a variety of scriptural interpretations, an increasing number of Christians are reading scripture and understanding that God’s design for the world includes LGBT people. It follows, good Christians believe, that if God made them, then I am called to love and support them. Whole Christian denominations have accepted and embraced the reality of LGBT believers within their ranks and in their leadership. Lutherans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, the United Church of Christ and Unitarians have formally accepted LGBT people within their denominations. Even within denominations and faith groups whose policies don’t fully welcome LGBT people, there are growing numbers of people who have learned to love and accept their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender brothers and sisters. The Public Religion Research Institute found this year that as many as 71% of Catholics in America support lesbian and gay people, even up to the point of civil marriage, despite the Roman Catholic hierarchy telling them otherwise. Of course, there still are Christian groups who work actively against equal protections for LGBT people and their families. Indeed, as more Americans get to know and love their LGBT neighbors, the messages and vocal misinformation of anti-gay activists become even more shrill. And yet more and more Christians are now living out the message of 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” How did this happen? More Christians now know someone who is LGBT. They probably even know someone from their church. There are countless faithful Christians who identify as LGBT. These are folks who have found their faith in God to be stronger than the opposition of vocal anti-gay activists. These LGBT Christians have shared their lives and their stories that build up love and break down fear, leading to tangible progress, especially with young people. According to the Public Religion Research Institute, there is at least a 20-point gap between those ages 18 to 29 and those ages 65 and older on every public policy measure in the survey concerning equality for gay and lesbian people, with younger Americans gravitating toward equality. Even Christian-identified young people increasingly support protections for lesbian and gay people, the same survey found. Those who oppose equality can call it what they like, but the reality is that we are living in a society that has learned how to value LGBT people as they would others. That attitude doesn’t rely on fear or lies, but on caring relationships and trust. It lives out the apostle Paul’s wish for the Corinthians that someday we will know fully, even as we are fully known. It is a biblically informed reality that is helping to make the world a better place. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ross Murray. soundoff (2,403 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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The almighty drug to humankind is none other than religion.
Science has been hindered by the relilious dogma for it blinds our thinking
mind.
Actually science has been bolsterd by Christianity since God created the universe and scientists see intelligent design.
christians aren't allowed to think, they have to follow their god blindly, which is why they are such a menace to society.
Actually you must follow with eyes open to understand the world and His plan – it's the non-believers who think they know everything which is quite annoying.
"Actually you must follow with eyes open to understand the world "
Nope your eyes are blinded by your prejudice toward gay people, allow them to have their civil rights then you'll prove you have love in your heart.
Not prejudiced at all and treat gays kindly but not going to tell you that your behavior is acceptable and condoned
"but not going to tell you that your behavior is acceptable"
The experts in psychology disagree with you. Oh, I am not gay moron.
'Science bolstered by Chrisianity' ... on the contrary it hampered man's knowledge for centuries. For instance the Catholic Church condemned those that said the earth revolved around the sun...it took them a few hundred years before they made an official apology for that. These days the creationists and ID folks are spewing their ignorance and brainwashing a bunch of young kids into the same kind of ignorance. Those in more informed societies laugh at these fools...China for one.
"Not prejudiced at all and treat gays kindly but not going to tell you that your behavior is acceptable and condoned."
That's so funny....I'm not prejudiced either and also treat religious people kindly....but I'm not going to tell you that your behavior is acceptable or condoned!
"scientists see intelligent design."
BWAHAHAHA. That's a good one. Thanks for the laugh.
@TC – do you accept and condone wearing mixed textiles? I assume not since you're the one spouting on these boards how people can't pick and choose parts of the bible to follow.
@TC – your behavior is not acceptable or condoned.
Have you looked at your bible? Jesus loved everyone – every person. Did He love every sin? No... two different things. As Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, Neither do I condemn you... go and SIN NO MORE. So the two things are entirely compatible – love your neighbor, hate sin
nicely put chrism
@ Mike
I see that you didn't respond to my explination of evolution and how thermodynamics works in the universe back on page 5 but I'm willing to chop that up to you moving on and not going back to look at your old posts. So I'm going to go ahead and post it again to make sure you see and I'd like you (or any creationist) to refute some of the things I've said and just to see how they do.
The universe does not lose energy. It's all still here from the big bang, just more spread out. And it is true that everything is becoming more disorderly. And what do you think is more orderly? A single celled organism that wastes no energy as it moves through it's life and never changes, or humans with many cells that don't always work well together, change throughout our lives, and expel tons of energy even when we're sitting around doing nothing?
Evolution is real. Micro evolution has been shown to be real in labs and do you know what happens when there is a lot of micro evolution over a long period of time? I'll give you a hint, the changing of one species into another more complicated, and less oderly, species
I'll take you up on that offer; I would love a good, respectful, honest debate. Micro evolution does not prove Macro evolution and there are huge holes that can't be filled. Arguing that the law of thermodynamics does not apply on earth (if that's your argument) because the earth is a part of the universe and the universe is not a closed system is flawed. Feel free to post any respectful questions at http://www.centerpointesc.com/ask_kenney and we can start a dialog.
And Judas also was one of the twelve who walked with, learned from, and preached the teachings of Jesus.
Your point being?
please tell us where judas preached... was it after he hung himself or before the stoning to death by the other apost.
With gay marriage having genetic offspring is not possible. Therefore, inc est should be ok. Therefore, in cest should be legalized. Aaahh don't you just love the slippery slope.
Your logic isn't.
please explain how you go from loving the same gender to loving your family... in the biblical way! HA
Genetic offspring is possible with incest... in fact, as long as it isn't done often in a family tree the offspring will most likely have no genetic abnormalities. I just don't see the connection you're trying to make.
Are you being sarcastic, or are you really that dumb?
Without the confines of religion, anything is possible and acceptable. Brother siblings can be married. boy & uncle can be married. boy & dad can be married. Why would you possibly object ? Will you say it's against your personal beliefs ? Isn't that why we bash christians ? Religion is no more. Welcome to the slippery slope.
Was someone arguing that sp erm plus spe rm equals fetus ? Or ov um plus o vum equals child ?
I can see it now: "Viagra! Because impotence is a gateway drug to incest!"
Actually, marriage between first cousins was common in the Middle Ages - it kept the estate all in the family. Thank goodness our definition of marriage has evolved past that. Now people marry for love, not as a business proposition put together by those who knew what was best for the young couple. Further, contraception was seen as the demise of the family unit - and still the family keeps going on even while women have access to the pill. Times change - let consenting adults marry for love. Respect people who do you no harm.
That's right. Let consenting adults marry for love. In fact let five people marry each other for love. Poly gamy should be legalized. It's all love. It's all consenting adults. It's all good. Slippery is fun.
Ga y marriage ? check. Inc est ? check. Poly gamy ? check. Best iality ? wait for it . . .
Slippery is fun
🙂
"check. Best iality ? wait for it . . ."
Wow...yeah wait for it...you're an idiot – animals can't consent. Hey polygamy was in the bible so yeah christians should be ok with it.
This is not the "faith community" as you say. It's a community of false prophets leading many astray. You see, faith is only one side of a two sided coin. The other side is repentance. They are always together. To say that something is good (i.e., LGBT) that the Lord Jehova says is an abomination puts one one the flat-out wrong side of God. They are false prophets and they are accursed. Sorry, but the truth is the ONLY thing that will set you free.
if you were the baby in King Solomon's court, i think i would have totally cut you in half!
"but the truth is the ONLY thing that will set you free."
So the truth that you are taking the bible too literally, not putting it into historical context, not taking into account the facts about the science behind sexual orientation means you lack reading comprehension. You're a moron and don't know the TRUTH!
Hippypoet, you've shown yourself to be a first class idiot. Someone says something you don't like and you say you would silence them by killing them???? That is HIGHLY OFFENSIVE. You are a God damned Nazis.
Wow Bob! Try reading that bible that you love so much!
when did i say i would kill someone... i brought up a great biblical story that if you were a true believer shuold know...yet, oh you don't.... i feel sad for you. and your post shows a great amount of pride, enjoy hell. 🙂
Oh, man, here we go with the nazis already.
to all christians!!!
do you still condem those who say jehovah... by stoning them to death? or do you only follow those laws and things that you choose? do you ever lie, steal, cheat, gamble, think of other woman doing naughty things to you? what did joshua say about knowing the words of the prophets? what did joshua say about Solomon? did joshua say to know anything but what he had to say?
So when you're wrong you think you can simply get out of it by claiming that everyone who disagrees with you is a hippocrite? That's an extremely weak argument akin to saying, "na, na, na-naaaa naaaa." Not everyone who disagrees with you is a hippocrite, especially the Lord Jehova. You had Better be careful. The Lord Jehova is not only all wise but also all powerful; infinitely more powerful than you. And it is He who has promised to judge the living and the dead. If you don't repent, He will in fact, send you to Hell forever.
wow you totally answered none of my questions just changed the topic....yay for you, when did i say anyone was a hippocrit as you spelt it?
Why should I answer your questions? Are you the teacher and I the student? For me to answer your questions would mean that I would have to think that they actually merritted debate. You merit nothing. You're an angry Nazis who would murder your opponents to silence them... and you're also a fool.
k so u agree you have no answers... good! it is as i thought. thank you.
hippypoet, I find it ironic that when you and Colin take over this blog, Reality is no where in site.
I'd look into that condition of multiple personalities and handles to boot.
Amen.
i go by one handle ... hippypoet...have since high school. it was a gift. one can not claim the t!tle of hippy, it must be earned then awarded.
Colin you are VERY intelligent and ask questions and have answers for most things people would never think of. I will have to study on your comment. I'm at a loss for words. You def. have me on the farming thing because my husband is a farmer and plants all kinds of crops in their fields. lol
You should write a book or something with all that intelligence =)
chrism
You talk about Jesus like you knew him.
LAMO Sheep
Let me explain religion for you.
"Jesus wants a Porsche and he wants me to drive it!"
You make zero sense.
Yes, but that would be "know Him" as in present tense. I thank God for the good shepherd. What do you follow?
@ Pep, you couldn't understand I was calling religious followers sheep, too hard for you? Or was it the implication that religion is full of disreputable people who only want your money. Does it make sense now?
@ chrism, "what do I follow?"
I am not a follower of anything. Why should I be. I don't need to believe in a higher power or a religion to be a good neighbor, a good father, a good husband, a good son/grandson.
I don't have all the answers, but neither does a super-being overlord who lives where???? It used to be the sky before we LEARNED more about our planet. Now I don't know where gods allegedly reside. The 6th dimension maybe.
Caliban, that is fine. Perhaps some day you will find when you thought you were simply following your heart, you were following something divine within your heart. God bless.
chrism, I can tell you don't ponder the hard questions about human existence, but I guess that is what religions need, people easily controlled.
You referred to my heart. The only thing in my heart is blood. Just because we have these big brains don't for a minute think we are anything special. Many creatures have a heart, and like ours it is nothing more than a pump.
I have friends who are gay. They know how I feel about it. Thay respect that, and I also respect they're opinion. Jesus taught love and respect. To everyone...too bad leftists jack asses can't feel the same way...have fun in 2012 when you leftists lose hahaha epic
Did you forget that 'love and respect' part... two seconds after you type it?
You just said you respect those of other opinions and then leave a disrespectful statement about those that have a different opinion than yourself. Choose the side of your mouth you would like to talk out of and stick with it. Thank you and Gd Bless.
I bet they tolerate you only because they are nicer than you.
CNN's Belief blog should more accurately be called CNN's unbelief blog. Every article's subliminal message is to abandon orthodoxy, and any form of objective truth. Everything's cool man. Be relative, its all good. 2+2 =5 if it makes you feel good, and if you were born believing it to be so.
So not only are you an extremist Christian you are an extremist Tea Party/GOP CNN hater. Or possibly you are on the take (getting paid) from Faux news, who has threatened to expose you for your cell phone and text messages they hacked regarding your brotherly love for your friend William.
What makes you think that you have the "objective truth"?
Well said
Christians use religion to justify hate and persecution of minority groups. They are nothing like Christ. If they were, everyone would be Christian.
Unfortunately, Christians have been been making Christ look bad for centuries.
Can anyone prove to me that the Bible is the infallible word of God with no alterations? Organized religion has really created a tool to control the masses. I believe the Bible was inspired by God, ruined by man.
biblical scholars all agree that the Gospel and Torah were originally divine revelations, but since changed by men.
Kristin, you are absolutely right, in my humble opinion. This is why I struggle with going to church because man gets in the way of the word of God. Good post!
You people should not hate religion, it makes you look cheap and petty. No one can like you or feel for your cause while your nose is up and you are hating.
I feel bad for the people who came before you because you dare use the term civil rights for your cause...meanwhile there is mass starvation, imprisonment, poverty, homelessness, war and orphans all over the world and you just keep whining that people don't except you.
You minimize what is happening to the gay community. Have you not heard of the way GLBTQ kids commit suicide? Have you not heard of Mathew Shepard? have you not heard that some state gov'ts don't allow GLBTQ folks to adopt or visit their partner? Have you not heard that life long partners can lose everything because they aren't "related" according the state?
You DO know this, but you choose to ignore those who you don't care about. It is a human condition. But it doesn't absolve you. GLBTQ rights are civil rights, they are human rights.
And we are all free when all of us are free, and we are all limited in freedom when any of us is limited by the state.
Sound the horns! you just made the 'top 10 dumbest posts on CNN' list! congrats!!
If the religion corporation behaved in a way that was respectable, perhaps there wouldn't be a need for people to be anti-religion. But as long as sermons amount to nothing more than hate speech in most churches in regards to gay people, I will continue to be anti-religion.
Besides, even though you used the wrong word your statement actually becomes a bit more accurate because of that wrong word....we fight against inequality precisely because we do NOT want to be "excepted".
Um, last I heard civil rights do not belong to one group.
yea because being perverts out in the open is way more important than getting poor people and orphans into homes with clothing and food. I care about what I care about and you will care about only what you care about. To you be your way and to me be mine.
"You people should not hate religion, it makes you look cheap and petty. No one can like you or feel for your cause while your nose is up and you are hating"
Actually, most of my atheist friends and family members love the fact that I so look down on religiots. I don't hate you, I pity you.
They are angry because they are being 'excepted'. The Const.itution doesn't give life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to only those who believe in a certain religion.
Aliens usually know more about the worlds they are invading...
never once have I heard about one of your rallies pushing for feeding and sheltering the homeless, or fighting for human rights for prisoners, or for ending war...I am not even Christian, but I am telling you that from an outside view, you look like a bunch of Christian hating, angry, mouthy, self serving hypocrites, and although I am not a linguist, I believe that is where the term d!ck sucker came from.
If Jesus walked the earth today, he'd personally beat the crap out of all Christians, then he'd have a glass of wine with the Atheists and cheer them for seeing the truth.
That makes absolutely no sense.
In the original Greek, the terms used in Corinthian's list of vices that are sometimes translated as "hom-ose.xual" are 'malakoi' and 'ar.senkoitai'.
Until the Reformation in the 16th century and in Roman Catholicism until the 20th century, malakoi was thought to mean "mas.turb.ators." Only in the 20th century has it been understood as a reference to hom.ose.xuality.
'Ar.senokoitai' referred to male prosti.tutes for Paul and Christians until the 4th century.
"malakoi was thought to mean "mas.turb.ators."
Oh CRAP!!!
I'm in big trouble.
No, they are getting less Christian.
We can only hope!
Have to start somehwere.
CNN continues on its mission to blast and malign Christians and push its liberal agenda on everyone. Way to go!
CNN is just reporting the story, they're not making it happen.
If it is their mission to malign Christians for their foolish, bronze age beliefs, then hurray!
You don't even know what the Bible really says about anything, otherwise you would not have such a hateful, biased perspective.
Tough to tell if you're kidding or not. Let's check – is your IQ over 100? no? then you're not kdding....
story doesn't seem to "malign" anyone. seems to indicate that we are all learning to live together.
Christians need no help from CNN in that department.
The Bible says it plain and clear, people: 1 Timothy 4:3 – The time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine.....
Who cares what it says? Only those who follow blindly without a thought in their brain..the weak, the foolish, the forgotten.
Given the fact that your fairy tale is a poisonous burden on society, that's a wonderful thing!
Too even call these churches and their followers "Christian" is horrible. Heretical pieces of trash it what they are.
Jesus, as a good Jew, would have considered christians heretics.
Most "Christian" denominations today for sure.
No, pretty much anyone who follows jesus the son and not god the father. That would be all christians. What was that about putting other gods before Him?
Ever heard of the Trinity?