The homosexual and the evangelical Christian

My experience with non-affirming evangelical sexuality discourse

I’d like to set down some of my thoughts on homosexuality and the place where I find myself in light of non-affirming Christian thought and theology.

I was raised to be Christian. I embraced church and Christian identity as a social outlet in addition to seeking true spiritual experiences. It was through me that the church was connected to my family. I managed to convince everyone to attend and participate. At a certain point this was successful and my parents were volunteering to drive a church van to ferry people to services. This didn’t last long for my family for various reasons, but I continued to be a regular church member through high school even after the family had to stay home for my mentally disabled brother. This church connection was ultimately how I ended up at bible college where I remained a closeted homosexual.

I was not raised to be a homosexual. In fact, when it became apparent to my mother and father that I might have such inclination, they sought help from a conversion therapist. His central claim was that I could stop being a homosexual — a claim I reject today but accepted at the time as an appeasement to my parents. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be straight. I’m straight now.” This seemed to settle the issue for the most part as it wasn’t a question they raised again until I came out on social media in 2021, though I’m sure my parents lived with some sense…