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Holy Homosexuals : The Truth About Being Gay or Lesbian and Christian
Yes, you can be gay or lesbian and Christian! You can be the happy, healthy, and holy person God created you to be. "I am not such an idealist that I believe we can live with pride without paying a price. I, too, have lost jobs and friends and even my church. I have had my tires slashed, the paint scratched off my car, my office ransacked, my churches bombed. Hardly a week goes by without some death-threat or hate-filled letter. There is one thing I have learned the hard way, however; the price tag for living with pride as an openly gay or lesbian person isn't nearly as high as the price of living with shame."
--from Holy Homosexuals, the 2nd edition What does it mean for lesbian and gay people that Jesus was tempted "like we are in every way?" Fundamentalists have created God in their image. What if God has qualities other than being "right wing, upper middle class, white, and male?" In the Revised Edition, Rev. Piazza challenges us to look at God from a different angle.
--from Holy Homosexuals, the 2nd edition What does it mean for lesbian and gay people that Jesus was tempted "like we are in every way?" Fundamentalists have created God in their image. What if God has qualities other than being "right wing, upper middle class, white, and male?" In the Revised Edition, Rev. Piazza challenges us to look at God from a different angle.
207 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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May 16, 2024
A GAY PASTOR PROVIDES ‘PASTORAL’ ADVICE TO LGBT CHRISTIANS
Michael S. Piazza is pastor of Broadway United Church of Christ in NYC; he was previously
senior pastor of the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, Texas.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1994 book, “In 1979 I was just beginning to honestly deal with the fact that, though I was an ordained United Methodist minister, I was also a homosexual man. Almost by accident, I picked up a book by Tim LaHaye entitled ‘The Unhappy Gays.’ The book described the pathetic and wretched condition under which he believed homosexuals lived their lives… When I read this book… I had never had a sexual relationship with another man. At that time I had not yet identified myself as gay and did not understand fully that that meant… Now, many years later, I know that Tim LaHaye was seriously mistaken, and much of what he wrote was ludicrously misinformed and twisted… his book and others like it kept me ensnared in a lifestyle that was dishonest and filled with painful conflicts. It did not change who I was, but it did keep me living a lie. I prayed, faster… and tried everything I could think of to persuade God to change my orientation. None of it worked, and each time I was left feeling more depressed and hopeless. By that time I had been … a minister of the gospel for eight years… If LaHaye and his ilk were fight and I could not be gay and Christian, and if I could not persuade God to make me NOT gay, then my only option was to not be a Christian…
“Fortunately for me, God had other ideas. I found the Metropolitan Community Church… the existence of the Metropolitan Community Church brought incredible hope when I was near the end of my hope… My purpose in writing this book is the hope that it may be a resource for those who are still struggling to reconcile their faith and sexual orientation… It is also my hope that those of us who have discovered that being lesbian or gay is a gift from God might benefit from a fuller understanding of that reality. There are still thousands of people to whom we need to bring the good news that they do not need to relinquish either their sexuality or their faith. In good evangelical fashion, we must witness to them of the reality that you CAN be gay or lesbian and Christian.”
He notes, “Over the years many people have claimed that God has transformed their sexual orientation. They said God removed or healed their sexuality, but of the hundreds of people I know personally who went through such changes, every one of them eventually came to realize that all the ‘transformations’ removed was their integrity. Out of the more than three thousand people who attend our church, several hundred of them are ‘ex-gays.’ Their stories are even more tragic due to the fact that under their religious delusion of being ‘delivered,’ they often married and… had children. Often their spouses and children also became victims of the religious right that forced innocent women and men to live a lie while trying to save their souls.” (Pg. 9)
Later, he adds, “I have never talked to an ‘ex-gay’ who, when they were honest, would not admit that all they were doing was repressing their natural affections. That is fine for them if they wish to live that way, but do not pretend that these persons have had their sexual orientations changed…I have never met a genuine ex-gay, though I know dozens of miserable pretenders.” (Pg. 13-14)
He comments on 1 Cor 6:9-10 and 1 Tim 1:9-10: “Paul is not excluding from the realm of God people who are lesbian or gay as we understand them today… Biblical writers, including Paul, had no understanding of this psycho-sexual orientation with which a person is born. At most, he was condemning sexual practices of which he disapproved. We should also note that many of Paul’s teachings we contextualize or recognize as incorrect today. For example, the Apostle Paul: *believed Jesus would return in his lifetime and therefore no one should marry; *encouraged slaves to simply obey their masters; *taught that women should be submissive and obedient to men; *taught that women should not teach men; *taught that women should have long hair and men short. Many of Paul’s teachings on these subjects are much more extensive than the few disputed verses referring to certain homosexual actions.” (Pg. 45)
He asserts, “The most powerful argument we have that gay and lesbian people can be Christians is that we ARE. Evangelical Christianity is centered on the experience of the individual with God. We, who have had the experience of being children of God, bear in our souls the irrefutable proof that we can be lesbian or gay and Christian.” (Pg. 70) Later, he adds, “Referring to us as homoSEXuals renders the balance of who we are meaningless. There is so much more than just sexual attraction that makes us lesbian or gay.” (Pg. 73)
He acknowledges, “The Rev. Paul Tucker, a colleague on the staff at the Cathedral of Hope, identifies five symptoms of this inner poisoning in the lives of lesbians and gays. *SELF-LOATHING: Often the abuse that is heaped upon us by society is replicated in the way we treat ourselves and one another…. It would be fair to ask if the high rate of smokers in our community is a manifestation of this self-punishment… *ADDICTIONS: This is a way to medicate inner pain. Alcohol abuse is most common, but … other compulsive behaviors are prevalent. *FRAGILE RELATIONSHIPS: … Internalized homophobia greatly limits our capacity to love another person… *COMPARTMENTALIZATION: … Integration of one’s values and gifts is almost impossible when a significant portion of one’s life is locked away in some isolated closet. *THE ‘BLACK HOLE’ EFFECT: … When a person has internalized as much poison as we classically do, we become drained of energy, hope, and joy. Depression, despondency and doubt can become a way of life.” (Pg. 88-89)
He admits, “We have internalized tons of shame and so many negative self-images that it is almost impossible for lesbian and gay Christians to let the light and life of Jesus shine through them. (I do not know what the heterosexual’s excuse is.)” (Pg. 104)
He suggests, “The lesbian and gay community has a wonderful opportunity to break new ground in redefining the concept of family. Only recently has the word come to mean a husband and wife and 2.4 children. For most of the history of the human race, we have lived together in extended families that had no restrictions to immediately blood relations.” (Pg. 150) Later, he adds, “Our community desperately needs visible role models of relationships that are healthy and durable… Unfortunately, man long-term lesbian or gay couples … are virtually invisible. They got together in an era when they believed that had no other option but to hide who they were. They learned to blend in and now are comfortable with the life they made.” (Pg. 157)
He argues, “if AIDS is a sign of God’s displeasure at homosexuality in America, then God must not want Africans to be heterosexual, because it is that community that is dying of the disease there. Accordingly, lesbians must be God’s chosen people because they are among the least likely to contract AIDS.” (Pg. 177)
This book will be of great interest to LGBT Christians, and their sympathizers.
Michael S. Piazza is pastor of Broadway United Church of Christ in NYC; he was previously
senior pastor of the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, Texas.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1994 book, “In 1979 I was just beginning to honestly deal with the fact that, though I was an ordained United Methodist minister, I was also a homosexual man. Almost by accident, I picked up a book by Tim LaHaye entitled ‘The Unhappy Gays.’ The book described the pathetic and wretched condition under which he believed homosexuals lived their lives… When I read this book… I had never had a sexual relationship with another man. At that time I had not yet identified myself as gay and did not understand fully that that meant… Now, many years later, I know that Tim LaHaye was seriously mistaken, and much of what he wrote was ludicrously misinformed and twisted… his book and others like it kept me ensnared in a lifestyle that was dishonest and filled with painful conflicts. It did not change who I was, but it did keep me living a lie. I prayed, faster… and tried everything I could think of to persuade God to change my orientation. None of it worked, and each time I was left feeling more depressed and hopeless. By that time I had been … a minister of the gospel for eight years… If LaHaye and his ilk were fight and I could not be gay and Christian, and if I could not persuade God to make me NOT gay, then my only option was to not be a Christian…
“Fortunately for me, God had other ideas. I found the Metropolitan Community Church… the existence of the Metropolitan Community Church brought incredible hope when I was near the end of my hope… My purpose in writing this book is the hope that it may be a resource for those who are still struggling to reconcile their faith and sexual orientation… It is also my hope that those of us who have discovered that being lesbian or gay is a gift from God might benefit from a fuller understanding of that reality. There are still thousands of people to whom we need to bring the good news that they do not need to relinquish either their sexuality or their faith. In good evangelical fashion, we must witness to them of the reality that you CAN be gay or lesbian and Christian.”
He notes, “Over the years many people have claimed that God has transformed their sexual orientation. They said God removed or healed their sexuality, but of the hundreds of people I know personally who went through such changes, every one of them eventually came to realize that all the ‘transformations’ removed was their integrity. Out of the more than three thousand people who attend our church, several hundred of them are ‘ex-gays.’ Their stories are even more tragic due to the fact that under their religious delusion of being ‘delivered,’ they often married and… had children. Often their spouses and children also became victims of the religious right that forced innocent women and men to live a lie while trying to save their souls.” (Pg. 9)
Later, he adds, “I have never talked to an ‘ex-gay’ who, when they were honest, would not admit that all they were doing was repressing their natural affections. That is fine for them if they wish to live that way, but do not pretend that these persons have had their sexual orientations changed…I have never met a genuine ex-gay, though I know dozens of miserable pretenders.” (Pg. 13-14)
He comments on 1 Cor 6:9-10 and 1 Tim 1:9-10: “Paul is not excluding from the realm of God people who are lesbian or gay as we understand them today… Biblical writers, including Paul, had no understanding of this psycho-sexual orientation with which a person is born. At most, he was condemning sexual practices of which he disapproved. We should also note that many of Paul’s teachings we contextualize or recognize as incorrect today. For example, the Apostle Paul: *believed Jesus would return in his lifetime and therefore no one should marry; *encouraged slaves to simply obey their masters; *taught that women should be submissive and obedient to men; *taught that women should not teach men; *taught that women should have long hair and men short. Many of Paul’s teachings on these subjects are much more extensive than the few disputed verses referring to certain homosexual actions.” (Pg. 45)
He asserts, “The most powerful argument we have that gay and lesbian people can be Christians is that we ARE. Evangelical Christianity is centered on the experience of the individual with God. We, who have had the experience of being children of God, bear in our souls the irrefutable proof that we can be lesbian or gay and Christian.” (Pg. 70) Later, he adds, “Referring to us as homoSEXuals renders the balance of who we are meaningless. There is so much more than just sexual attraction that makes us lesbian or gay.” (Pg. 73)
He acknowledges, “The Rev. Paul Tucker, a colleague on the staff at the Cathedral of Hope, identifies five symptoms of this inner poisoning in the lives of lesbians and gays. *SELF-LOATHING: Often the abuse that is heaped upon us by society is replicated in the way we treat ourselves and one another…. It would be fair to ask if the high rate of smokers in our community is a manifestation of this self-punishment… *ADDICTIONS: This is a way to medicate inner pain. Alcohol abuse is most common, but … other compulsive behaviors are prevalent. *FRAGILE RELATIONSHIPS: … Internalized homophobia greatly limits our capacity to love another person… *COMPARTMENTALIZATION: … Integration of one’s values and gifts is almost impossible when a significant portion of one’s life is locked away in some isolated closet. *THE ‘BLACK HOLE’ EFFECT: … When a person has internalized as much poison as we classically do, we become drained of energy, hope, and joy. Depression, despondency and doubt can become a way of life.” (Pg. 88-89)
He admits, “We have internalized tons of shame and so many negative self-images that it is almost impossible for lesbian and gay Christians to let the light and life of Jesus shine through them. (I do not know what the heterosexual’s excuse is.)” (Pg. 104)
He suggests, “The lesbian and gay community has a wonderful opportunity to break new ground in redefining the concept of family. Only recently has the word come to mean a husband and wife and 2.4 children. For most of the history of the human race, we have lived together in extended families that had no restrictions to immediately blood relations.” (Pg. 150) Later, he adds, “Our community desperately needs visible role models of relationships that are healthy and durable… Unfortunately, man long-term lesbian or gay couples … are virtually invisible. They got together in an era when they believed that had no other option but to hide who they were. They learned to blend in and now are comfortable with the life they made.” (Pg. 157)
He argues, “if AIDS is a sign of God’s displeasure at homosexuality in America, then God must not want Africans to be heterosexual, because it is that community that is dying of the disease there. Accordingly, lesbians must be God’s chosen people because they are among the least likely to contract AIDS.” (Pg. 177)
This book will be of great interest to LGBT Christians, and their sympathizers.
January 30, 2008
Great book!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews