Bible study group bridges religion and sexual orientation
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By Tiffanie Reynolds | gargoyle@flagler.edu
Anthony Coy realized he was attracted to other men about the same time he became attracted to God, and it’s been a conflicting battle ever since.
He started attending a United Methodist Church the summer of his eighth grade year, and became baptized a year later. It wasn’t until his sophomore year of high school that he began to hear the messages that being gay is a sin and God doesn’t accept homosexuals. It sent his own identity into crisis.
“That’s who I was, but at the same time I was feeling things that people said were wrong. I started a period of study where I was in the Bible praying, you know, all the time that God would take it away,” said Coy.
It’s this clash of views that has left many people like Coy confused and rejected, even as more Americans are in support of homosexuals and gay marriage. As of 2011, 48 percent of Americans support gay marriage as opposed to only 35 percent in 2001, according to a study by the Pew Research Center. Among religions, Catholics and white mainline Protestants nearly tie with 52 percent and 53 percent in support, as compared to only 35 percent of black Protestants and 19 percent of white Evangelical Protestants, according to the same study.
“For many people, they grew up in a very spiritual environment, and were told that God loves everyone, until they discover that they are attracted to those of the same sex, and they are suddenly told that God doesn’t love them the same way he loves everyone else. I think that is a little ridiculous,” said Rev. Ted Voorhees of St. Cyprians Episcopal Church in St. Augustine.
For Coy, it wasn’t until last year that he met up with a group he found online, The Gay Christian Network. He finally understood he could be both gay and a Christian. The Gay Christian Network is a nonprofit ministry that supports those that identify with the LGBT community and the Christian community. They also help churches promote a more accepting community through original movies and other material, as well as by holding a conference every year.
Wanting to share this acceptance he found with the Gay Christian Network, Coy started an LGBT Bible study group with Club Unity. His vision is to create a space where people who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, transgender, or just questioning their identity can study the Bible and discuss what it means to them. His focus is to have a judgment-free environment, and the only label members put on each other is Christian.
“It was really exciting and something that just fell in our laps,” said Kaleigh Gades, vice president of Club Unity.
Club members shared the enthusiasm, with as many as 10 people attending the first meeting. On top of getting to know each other, the group plans to study the book of Romans and discuss what love means and what it means to be a Christian, as well as study the verses that some Christians use against homosexuals.
Coy said that what really attracts people to the group is the atmosphere of acceptance, which he thinks is lacking on campus.
“At this point in time, I feel like there’s a need maybe on Flagler College’s campus to not be alone, and the need to find other people that have gone through similar experiences,” said Coy.
Gades agrees, saying that it’s hard to find that balance of religious beliefs and acceptance in the church-going community.
“It’s really hard to find out where’s a church that will accept me for me, despite anything else about me. It’s not going to judge me based on this small part of who I am,” said Gades.
She has also had experiences similar to Coy, where her religious beliefs and sexual orientation didn’t mix well with others. Growing up in a church environment, Gades began to feel like an outsider during high school, when she realized her sexual orientation wouldn’t be accepted by her church family.
“I didn’t have anyone who I felt was a safe place to talk to because I knew they were going to tell me, ‘No, this is wrong, you can’t be that,’” said Gades.
Besides helping to start this Bible study group, her and Heather Cribbs, president of Club Unity, have also started to advertise LGBT friendly churches in the St. Augustine and Jacksonville area this year to help members find places to worship, if they are interested.
For more information about the Bible Study group, e-mail Anthony Coy at acoy@flagler.edu.
Mr. Sterling,
This article discusses some of the reasons why the Bible study was started on campus, to share God’s love for all people regardless of people’s perception, but it doesn’t tell about my journey as a Christian. I can understand your initial reaction, but with a deeper look into God’s word, the stories of God’s children, and a heart that is open to understanding God’s will more fully, I feel as though you might reconsider.
I’m sure we can agree that the principle point of disagreement is whether being gay is in fact a sin and contradictory to God’s word.
As a Christian, my primary purpose in life to love God and love others, all for His glory. Living a life that imitates Christ and follows the teachings of the Bible is or should be the goal of all Christians. As I began high school my world view was turned upside down. The single event that caused this was the first time I went to church. I had never experienced what it was like to be loved by God or to encounter the truth. Amazed, overwhelmed, and deeply moved, I met my savior and developed a relationship with Christ over the next seven months. I was baptized and confirmed and from that moment on Christ has been Lord.
My relationship and devotion to Christ is more important than anything and I wouldn’t sacrifice this for the world, for my life, or for my sexuality. Through years of prayer, listening, tears, and study of the Bible, I am confident in saying that God blesses and affirms those that are gay. Sin is something contrary to God or pulls you away from God. Of course relationships can do this (promiscuity being one example), but a relationship between two men or two women that is centered on Christ is not inherently wrong.
Romans 13:8-10 says: “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
I can tell you my whole story if you are open to listening. I can reference the scriptures. I can explain how through my internal struggle and rejection of it as sin, God taught me to follow closer and He revealed His word to me that this is how He created me. You see it wasn’t that I was looking for a church that would accept me for who I was, but instead I was looking for a church that accepted me for who God created me to be. These are two very different things.
You have to listen to God ultimately. You have to pray for his will. This isn’t a surface, or insignificant political issue. It is one that affects many people, so time needs to be spent on understanding before making bold statements.
To understand this issue more fully, I suggest reading Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-Vs.-Christians Debate by Justin Lee. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
-Anthony-
Reading the beginning of this article I was hopeful that a self confessed homosexual decided to give his life to Christ. But in the middle towards the ending I became disappointed. I am disappointed because instead of wanting to change his way of life, this young man seems to have no intention to become converted at all. Instead, he is only interested in finding a church that will accept his gay lifestyle.
Coy and Gades, being homosexuals, may see themselves as normal but they must understand that by choosing to remain in that condition is to kick against the word of God which condemns such acts. Like other gay people, they seem to have this idea that if they become a part of a church, by baptism, they must be able to continue to practice their old lifestyle and still be accepted as a member in good and regular standing. It is unfair to expect any such concession from any church that believe in the teachings of the Bible.
The argument may be advanced that God loves the homosexuals too, but He also loves the rapists, the gunmen, the thieves, the child molester, and the suicide bombers. Yet if these do not repent they will all likewise perish.
My advice for Coy and Gades is to just focus on accepting the teachings of the Bible, including the plain teachings on homosexuality, and don’t just join a church because you are looking for acceptance. What you need right now is more than acceptance; you need salvation. Salvation is about being salvaged from the stranglehold of sin, from the old way, to become a new creature in Christ Jesus. If you continue to believe that you are normal and that there is nothing about your gay lifestyle that needs to be remedied, it will be difficult, if not impossible, for Christ to reach you.
Christ will not do anything to remedy the sickness of your souls unless you give him the permission to do it. And the first step in this direction is to acknowledge that you are sinners that need to be saved and Christ will both forgive you, crucify the “old man” in your life and make you into new creatures.
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