Volume 4: Issue 1
July/August 1999
Forgiveness
Table Of Contents
We've been so abused, so beat up by those who hate us. Why is it up to us to make the first move when we're the victims here? They certainly don't deserve our forgiveness. ... However, forgiveness is a necessity for Christians.
I have these high,
high ideals of how one should live a Christian life and I really
mean most of them, but when I look in the mirror of my life, I
see it's this forgiveness thing that is my largest stumbling block.
I don't forgive easily or well.
Bonnie's extension of forgiveness had changed my life, allowed me to learn how to forgive myself, and taught me the power of forgiving others. I think God's forgiveness is like Bonnie's.
To me the greatest challenge
we all face as LGBT Christians is forgiving those whom are acting out of
fear and misunderstanding and creating pain and hurt for us. Who
cannot see the tremendous opportunity for us to let our light and
understanding of what Jesus taught us to live bring light to the lives
of the entire Christian community, the LGBT Communities and the world?
When we look at these hurtful situations, we often ask how can I forgive the way Jesus did? The answer lies in the words, "for they know not what they do." These are not people who have evil intent involved.
The forgiveness I gave to my offenders set me free, I was no longer at the mercy of the devil's torment. I was at peace. I could again plan for my future, and two and a half years later could come home where I belonged. This hatred and feelings of revenge was gone from my heart and I now learned how to forgive.
There is no doubt God desires that we are all healed and whole, yet self-forgiveness and self-love are either neglected or put in the "too
hard" basket.
The biblical word for forgive means "to let go". God forgives us by
letting go of our disobedience and failures. We forgive others by
letting go of our resentment and judgmental rejection of other people
when they have hurt us.
Like so many people today, I can't say I'm a perfect Christian in every other regard excluding forgiveness. I don't pray as often or as faithfully as I should. I am not as active in the church as I should be. I judge the more conservative Christians because I disagree with their beliefs. Much of these failings are, I think, related to my failure to forgive.
Please God can You forgive me for not coming right out of the closet with my flag flying? Can You forgive me for hating myself most of my life? It's just that I haven't had the courage to face the loneliness
that I thought would be the result of coming out and shutting the door
firmly behind me. It terrified me to think that I might not be able
to get back in again. Can You forgive me for having so little faith?
One of the most beautiful stories of forgiveness that many gay and lesbian Christians relate personally to is the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32. The two sons could easily represent today's Christian communities.
Guilt and fear hold us captive until we are able to let go of them. The key to letting go of them is forgiveness. Forgiveness is an expression of love. That includes not only forgiving others, but it includes forgiving ourselves as well.
Homospirituality
"But how can you be a Christian and be into leather?" ... Our leather may seem to be a sign of aberration, a politically incorrect kink that doesn't belong. To us Christian Leatherfolk, it is a God given gift, which we use in living our lives abundantly.
I guess that as I sat before the ministers that day, I gave little thought to the fact that what we were confessing before God and our church could be considered a sin.
Our society wants to support teenagers in their quest to find a mate. Our families and churches do their best to provide Christian standards for dating. However, they often ignore the reality
of gay and lesbian teens. Where can we turn for guidance?
Features:
Dr. Truluck realizes recovery from Bible abuse will take time for gays and lesbians and has designed his website and his new book "Steps to Recovery From Bible Abuse" to address that.
Readers sound off on what they like and dislike about Whosoever.
Readers share their praises.
From The Pulpit:
 Love God
--By: Dr. Paul Sweet
What's most important? It's not just a theoretical question. On what does one base all the decisions that must be made each day in today's world? What's the most important commandment?
We have lost the capacity to
yearn for justice. Injustices don't affect us; droughts in the southeast and southwest might drive up some
prices at the supermarket and once in a while there is a surge in gasoline prices at the pump. But by an
large we aren't affected by the vicissitudes of life that rob life of both meaning and justice all over the
world.
Bible Study and Inspiration:
Because he is frequently the victim of such biased translation, Paul is often unfairly maligned and underappreciated by LGBT Christians.
Giving a homophobic twist to "Sodom" to create the verb "sodomize" took great care and deliberation. The abusive anti-gay slang language that modern scholarship has imported into Bible translations is "the
abomination that makes desolate" for millions of closeted homosexual
Christians who love God and follow Jesus as the way, the truth, and the
life.
Why would some folk lie, ignore the
meaning, or even fake evidence in order to prove the inerrancy of
scripture?
Holy Humor!
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