Marry Gay Men to Lesbian Women

Could Christian Adventist ministry use this approach presented in the article in question when evangelizing the lesbian-gay population especially the critical college-age demographic group? If fertility was absent though, it would be a less viable solution. Food for thought, nevertheless. God bless.


Please see the following link for full article:  Marry Gays to Lesbians

Strange Charity of 'Sinners' Towards Undocumented Workers

Van Helden is a heterosexual married Brazilian male of approximately 25 summers. He is married to a pretty blond woman of equal age. They have a son and another child on the way. They have been in this country three years and have experienced hardship and hunger. If he were fortunate enough Van Helden could have found work as a grounds maintenance worker, a construction worker, a janitor, or other lackluster and temporary jobs that undocumented folk need to take up and then put down as the feds drop in and out of the jobs in question.

There are no health benefits, paid holidays, paid sick days, pension plans, long-term disability insurance, etc. There is only work and only undercover.

One other thing I failed to mention. Though married and happily heterosexual, Van Helden works as a waiter in a premiere non-heterosexual bar in South Florida. He makes good tips not only because he is an excellent waiter, is 25 and not bad-looking, but because Van Helden, who is partially deaf, is compassionate. He is often seen signing to hearing-impaired diners who feel accepted in Club C due to the presence of a signing waiter.

Okay, so were does the strange charity of 'sinners' factor in? The patrons of Club C assume incorrectly that Van Helden is single and non-heterosexual. Actually, only the Management knows Van Helden is married to a woman and has a little boy. There are no other heterosexual and undocumented workers at Club C. No other waiter at Club C has a wife dining in the edges of his assigned area until her husband is done for the day at 3:00 a.m. Sunday through Saturday with Mondays off.

The Evolution of Adventist Christianity

Adventism keeps adapting and changing as any living entity must. Where will it be twenty years hence? Will Adventists one day be nothing more than Sabbath-keeping Methodists? Now there's nothing wrong with Methodists, especially since Adventist pioneers were Methodists themselves. Nevertheless, there has traditionally been something outstandingly different about Seventh-Day Adventists.

In addition to observing the seventh day, Saturday, as the day of holy rest and devotion, Adventists have traditionally held beliefs that most of Christendom does not possess. Some of these major beliefs are the following:

1. The Investigative Judgement: We are all being judged according to whether we have accepted Jesus Christ as our savior and the life that results after experiencing such belief.


2. The State of the Dead: The soul is not immortal. When we die we enter soul sleep and await the resurrection of the body at the Second Coming of Christ.


3. The Sanctuary in Heaven: Christ entered the most holy place in the Heavenly Sanctuary (temple) and has been acting as intercessor in a heightened sense since 1844.


4. The Seventh Day Sabbath: The fourth commandment requires that Saturday, not Sunday, be kept holy.


5. The Spirit of Prophecy: Spirit-inspired writings did not end with the Book of Revelation. Adventists believe that the writings of Ellen G. White are inspired though are not above the Bible. The possibility of future manifestations of the prophetic gift are certainly possible, as well.

Again, Adventism is changing in different ways. For example: positive views about evolution by science professors in a few centers of higher learning though not at the official level; divorced persons are accepted as church members; in some progressive congregations gays, lesbians and transgender folk are welcomed though not necessarily accepted as members; some worship services feature Christian rock music; some congregations allow members to sport jewelry; some members attend movie theatres or see the same movies at home on their DVD players; some members don't endorse some of the distinctive doctrines mentioned above (investigative judgment, sanctuary in heaven, spirit of prophecy)

In spite of these changes in North America, Europe and Australia, Adventism continues to experience explosive growth in Brazil and the Philippines, just to name a couple, where church growth outpaces comparable groups like the Church of Latter Day Saints and Jehovah Witnesses (The Watchtower Society.) It has been suggested that in countries like Brazil and Philippines the dissemination of church publications, e.g., tracts, bible studies courses, Spirit of Prophecy books, etc., have contributed to the explosive growth in proselytes in countries in the developing world.

Like any vibrant and dynamic entity, there are developments toward or away from orthodoxy. Which strain of Adventism will triumph remains to be seen. Which would make more sense in the long run if it absorbed the other one?

Evangelism and Gays - Resources

"Below are posts that deal with different approaches regarding ministering to gays, lesbians and transgender individuals. Since no one approach is practical or life-saving to every person who seeks an answer, every link should be explored with an open mind. May God guide you, in his mercy and loving kindness, to the approach that will keep you alive, healthy and seeking after him and the salvation he offers freely to you through Christ Jesus.

The links below are not listed in any particular order. Read them all in order or read them as the Spirit moves you. Don't make up your mind until you have considered all approaches be they traditional, practical or idealistic. What may appeal to you now may not appeal to you as the reality of life requires you to seek another approach. If you can suggest an approach that should be listed here, please be so kind as to mention it and I will consider if it is valid enough to list in these resources. God bless all who are seeking an answer.

Evangelism and the Male Homosexual

Ellen G. White Bookstore Opens in a Chic Gay Ghetto

Gays in a Sexless Heaven

Trembling Before G_d

Pro and Con: How to integrate same sex-attraction and emotional attraction to members of the opposite sex.

Ex gays? Theory or Reality

Dilemma of a Homosexual

Homosexuality and the Bible (Walter Wink)

Reaching Out: One Man Tells of His Lifelong Struggle with Homosexuality

Sex Addicts Anonymous

Evangelism and the Male Homosexual

First of all, you need to see yourself as that homosexual sinner that you are trying to bring to the cross of Jesus Christ. You cannot hope to reach him if you see yourself as superior to him in any way. You may have a lovely Christian home. You may have a wonderful Christian spouse. You may have children who love you dearly. None of this, however, carries any wait with the homosexual sinner you are looking to lead to the power of the cross of Jesus. Unless you identify with the homosexual or gay person, your efforts will fall short of the mark.

Only God can help you see yourself as God sees that person in need of the cross of Jesus Christ. God sees you both in the same light. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. AND all have been freely justified [considered fully forgiven and saved] by the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Book of Romans. The only difference between you and the homosexual or gay person is no difference at all. You may say that you don't do the things he does. You don't go to the places he goes. What difference does that make in the final analysis? Both of you can only depend on the grace [loving kindness] of Jesus Christ. Were it not for that marvelous grace both of you would be eternally lost. So what is there, really, to boast about?

There are some matters to consider, however, when endeavoring to bring homosexuals or gays to Christ. First of all you have to realize that most, if not all of them, will never lose their attraction for their own sex in the same way that you will never lose your attraction for the opposite sex. The only difference is that you are either married or have the potential to get married someday. Few, if any, homosexuals or gays that come to Christ can have that guarantee. What then can a life in Christ offer them that would convince them that a sexless life with Christ is better than a sex-filled life without him?

You may speak of eternal glory, a home with the saints and other worn expressions that Christian evangelists have been using for decades. This will rarely appeal to the man (or woman) who may actually have a rather enjoyable and well-balanced life that includes a partner and a group of supporting friends. Why would such a person want to leave that all behind in order to come to Christ? Why would they want to suffer being ostracized in a congregation of mostly married church people with their children by their side? Why would they want to exchange feelings of self-confidence with feelings of self-doubt and of inferiority when they seek to compare their sexless and now-solitary life with the one that you enjoy with your spouse and children?

Some might say that there are no honest answers to these questions. Others might say that it is a matter of faith. If the newly repentant homosexual or gay person "looks to Jesus as the Son of God and believes in him ..." John 6, he will feel that nothing else matters because of the excellent reality that is that life of one who is hid in Christ.

Unfortunately, this is not always the panacea that many seem to think it is. What then can the Christian life offer the homosexual or gay person that he or she doesn't already have?

For one, it offers them freedom from potentially damaging multiple sexual relationships. In this regard the unconverted heterosexual and his/her homosexual counterpart are in the same situation. Both can suffer from the psychological wear and tear of going to bed night after night with different people in the belief that this will somehow relieve the burning desire to experience sex to its highest degree and to perhaps bask in the intimate afterglow that sometimes follows the heat of passion. Like anything carried to an excess, this constant nightly sex is as addictive as any drug or habit.

When Christ comes into the sinner's heart, be he homosexual or heterosexual, the non-stop need for sex and more sex and more post-coital intimacy when it does arrive briefly, then gradually ceases to assert itself in the person's life.

Some may point out that there are committed homosexual and heterosexual couples that do not live a life of "quiet desperation", Thoreau, and to these folks it is hard to present this argument. The problem presents itself differently in those cases. While it may be true that you can love only one other person and not be married to them, be they gay or heterosexual, since there are no matrimonial constraints, there is always the possibility that someone else may appeal more to the momentarily dissatisfied person and unless conscious of the slippery walk they have undertaken, they could very easily fall into the revolving door of nightly trysts in search of a replacement of the loved one that they were unfaithful to.

Needless to say, a legitimate marriage does not prevent either spouse from being unfaithful to each other, either. Sex and its temptations, whether in or outside of traditional marriages, is the great equalizer. For those who do not have the marriage contract, however, it is easier to dissolve the bonds that held them together. All cases, whether homosexual or heterosexual, have the potential to hurt those they love by the tragedy of sexual infidelity.

What then can the heterosexual Church member offer the justified homosexual or gay person that they did not have before, outside of the sheep fold of Christ? They need to be both friend and family member (or the next best thing to that ideal) to the now solitary and hurting person who gave up a caring partner and/or community of gay friends, in order to come to the fellowship of Christ. If the heterosexual Church--into which a newly converted homosexual or gay person has come seeking the saving balm of Christian fellowship--cannot offer the support, love and encouragement that he or she had in his or her previous life, then the evangelistic goals of that church are a sham and do not deserve to use the name of Christ when seeking to benefit those who are outside the church community.

Trembling Before G_d

My local library had this dvd on the shelf and I thought I'd give it a go to get insight into something a bit different for a change.

Trembling Before G_d is a documentary about Hasidic and Orthodox Jews who are also gay and lesbian and married for the most part.

Instead of finding more celebration--as most films of this type seem to do--of sexuality and acceptance of what most people will tell you cannot be changed or cannot be changed often, this film was more about the pain that comes from family and fellow worshipers rejecting gays and lesbians. One Orthodox lesbian took the final solution to its extremes, poor woman, and ended her life rather than face the disapproval of her family.

There were some sympathetic rabbis--very few, really--but all of them either recommended therapy, change therapy, or celibacy. They did recommend that the supplicant continue coming to God because the "answers are in Judaism" and not outside of it.

If Adventists ever made such a film, who would see it? Most people don't even know Adventists exist. Others could care less. Perhaps it would be shown in universities, or perhaps on the Internet. Perhaps such a film already exists. Surely SDA Kinship must have attempted to film such a documentary, but finding funds for such a film would be problematic. Some would wish such a film would never be made. I'm sure it would have an audience, at least in film festivals if it were done in a unique way.

After seeing the film the thought came to mind of how those punishments for many sins, including same-sex relations, specified in the Torah, were not applied to the same-sex converts that Paul mentions in one of his letters to the Corinthians. Had they been applied, then most of the former Jewish or gentile adulterers, homosexuals, temple prostitutes, and a host of other sinners would never have gotten the chance to come to Christ and find salvation.

It appears to me that, at least in this regard, the Bible does change the way it presents the solution to a sinner's behavior. The New Testament provides forgiveness and a chance for the sexual sinner to live a new life. The Old Testament, on the other hand, recommends death to root out the evil from among the Israelites. I may be missing something here, or perhaps I've just seen the light, however dim it may be shining in this particular area.

Related sites or blogs:
Trembling Before G_d site
Trembling Before G_d blog

Gays in a Sexless Heaven

Perhaps a solution to gays and lesbians in the church might be some variation on the following idea:

This approach would benefit the mainstream church and its gay-lesbian-transgender members/visitors.

This approach is for spiritual minded folk who seriously love Christ and who want to maintain a love relationship with him.

More important than the actual sex is the companionship that any relationship provides.

Heterosexuals that have been married for years sometimes have sex out of courtesy and not because they are inflamed with passion for each other.

The proposal: in the same way that heterosexuals who are unmarried cannot have sex but can embrace and provide companionship for each other, and with great restraint might even live close to each other or in the same building or suite, gay-lesbians-transgender members/visitors of the Adventist church should be accorded the same privilege.

Yes sex is important in human life, but companionship and moral support for each other is even more important.

Of course, some mainstream members might question whether gay couples could live together or near each other without the temptation to "go all the way" but that can also be said for unmarried heterosexual members. (Some conservative members who divorced, and not because of adultery, might find someone they love, but feel in their conscience that they should never remarry, but must remain celibate all their life. They would be in the same sexless situation that celibate, but committed gay/lesbian/transgender couples would be.)

Through prayer and bible study and a loving support community, it is certainly possible to live with the one you love or close to that person, and still enjoy a celibate life. There are heterosexual couples that have greater pleasure in sharing a meal together or taking in a museum exhibit regularly than the actual pursuit of the perfect orgasm and it's aftermath. Some put up with less-than-ideal sex, in order to enjoy the intimacy after all the mechanics of sex have taken its biological course.

I often wonder about homosexual couples in heaven. They, presumably, like other "angelic" beings will live and love each other without resorting to the sexual act.

Some will find problems with this approach, perhaps thinking it impractical. Perhaps others will find it a stepping stone to greater solutions for gay/lesbian/transgender folk, as well as unmarried heterosexual couples in the Adventist-Christian community.

God bless all his children, heterosexual, gay, lesbian, transgender.

Ex gays? Theory or Reality

Good news or wishful thinking?

If these good folk really converted to heterosexuality, then we should hug them and accept them with open arms. If they didn't really change and will one day revert back to homosexuality, then we should hug them and accept them with open arms whenever they come back to us hurting and confused and maybe a little bit angry.

Please see the following link for further information:

http://www.baptistpress.com/BPnews.asp?ID=26429

For an Adventist approach to living as gay Adventists, or gay Christians for that matter, please see the following links:

http://www.sdakinship.org/
http://www.glow.cc/ (For friends and family support also)

Ellen G. White Bookstore Opens in a Chic Gay Ghetto

My local church complains vocally about the Rainbow Flags (Gay Pride flags) that the homeowners across the street from the church building display on Saturday mornings, not just on gay pride week. When a guest speaker inquires why there is no evangelistic effort to address the spiritual and health needs of the mostly gay and lesbians who live in this upscale residential area that surrounds the church building, the answers that are given are some of the following:

"It is very hard, almost impossible, to convert gay men and women to Adventist Christianity."

"Our efforts are better spent on groups of people that we have some hope of reaching."

"Brother, what we have surrounding our church is a peacock feather farm, a birdcage full of exotically colored effeminate men and their muscular counterparts. They wouldn't be interested in what our church offers."

"These are mostly English-speaking gay men and women and our church is a Spanish speaking congregation. Where would they fit in if they can't speak the language?"

"We unfortunately, like Lot in the bible, are surrounded by the same type of environment like Sodom and Gomorrah. It doesn't get any more sinful than this city."

Finally, months later, a few church members of conscience opened up a vegetarian food store stocking meat substitutes, natural foods, organic foods, other health books and Ellen G. White books dealing directly with health. The Ministry of Healing was among the books sold at this one-of-a-kind health store.

Next door was an upscale wine store that only stocked wine under $50.00 called Naked Grape. Next door to that was a tea-only cafe where anyone from the community, gay or straight, could sip herbal tea, chai tea, etc., and chat until the next event materialized out of thin air. Several pricey clothing stores filled out the rest of the street. Across the street were expensive Thai restaurants, as well as a piano bar and a fine-dining restaurant. Real estate businesses selling million dollar homes popped in and out of business as the real estate market ebbed and flowed.

When they were approached by some church members who found this odd little food store by chance as they walked their dogs on a cool Sabbath weekend, they wondered why anyone would go to so much trouble and try to witness to men and women that the majority of Adventist society had long ago abandoned?

"If we can save even one soul with the message of Christ our Righteousness through the health message, any loss we've experienced will not have been in vain."

Very few people visited the store as it didn't fit in with the rest of the neighborhood. Some wished they'd stop selling the religious-health books and start selling New Age or Buddhist titles to go with the vegetarian lifestyle that the store was promoting. Others disagreed and said it was a great place to meet other men and women who were exclusively vegetarian. Others even thought of boycotting the store until they removed the religious-health material and only sold health books.

One day the police was called because someone had spray-painted the words "Gay haters" across the glass window. Though it rattled their nerves they cleaned up the window and replaced the odd sentiment with "Love Your neighbor as You Love Yourself."

That ensured for a time, at least, that the community and the strange store could continue to co-exist for another summer or two.

The Ellen G. White Health Boutique did not open its doors in vain. Many souls were eventually won.

He [Christ] passed by no human being as worthless, but sought to apply the healing remedy to every soul. In whatever company He found Himself He presented a lesson appropriate to the time and the circumstances. Every neglect or insult shown by men to their fellow men only made Him more conscious of their need of His divine-human sympathy. The Ministry of Healing, p. 25,26

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