Can Gay People Change?

A Christian friend who is gay friendly recently asked me what I thought about an article she read about some gay men/women who claim to have been "changed" through their faith in God. She asked me my thoughts on this, and this was my response...

As you know, my father (and grandfather) were both ministers. I was even a Sunday school teacher when I was in college (did I ever tell you that?) When my parents discovered I was gay, they sent me to one of those Christian reparative therapy places that believe through prayer and reading the Bible, you can change being gay. I fervently believe that this type of counseling to “change you” does not work at all. I grew up believing that what I was evil and I would burn in hell for it. The self hatred I felt has affected my self esteem to this very day.

I grow tired of people quoting scripture to basically tell gay men and women that what they are is evil and sinful. These same people, who are so self righteous, don't even acknowledge that the Old Testament verses they are quoting from, also tell people not to eat shell fish, or lie with a woman during her time of the month... I could go on and on... But when I really read the scriptures (which I have done in the past in depth) I can find no where Christ himself actually addresses the issue of homosexuality. His message is constantly clear -- love one another.

I'm not saying I am 100% right. I just think people -- particularly Christians need to stop throwing stones and take care of their own lives and issues. As the son of a minister, I saw so much hypocrisy and backstabbing in the name of God. It's so sad. It's really why I don't go to church now.

Homosexuality has been around as long as man... it's just apart of the human race (and science has determined it’s apart of the animal kingdom as well). It's always been that way, and always will be. I don't understand why people of faith (any faith really) take it upon themselves to rid the world of gay people -- when we're just going to continue being born. Hitler rounded gays up with the Jews and gassed us (did you know that the pink triangle comes from Nazi Germany? It's the symbol they put on the jackets of the gay men and women to identify them as gay before they were sent to the gas chambers. It's part of why it's such a strong symbol for gay people today).

So, I came to a point in my life where I got tired of hating myself because others said I wasn't good enough. It’s taken a lot of counseling and prayer to realize -- I am good enough! I am a good, kind, loving person who wants to help others be better. I want to be there for my family and help them when they're hurting. Someday we'll all stand before our maker and tell Him why we did what we did. And I can say with a good, clear conscious, that I believe in my heart He made me the way I am and it doesn't make me less of a human being or less able to worship Him. I'm happy with who I am as a person. No one has to stand before God for myself but me. And I believe He knows my heart better than me.