Celibate gay relationship
I want you to meet a rather unique couple. Their names are Sarah and Lindsey, but don’t form your opinions too quickly. Yes, Sarah and Lindsey are partners. Yes, they are attracted to the same sex. But no, they are not married nor are they engaging in sexual relations. They are celibate. Now, before you race to declare where you “stand” on this situation—Is it sin?! Is it not a sin!? Why are they partners and not just roommates?!—why don’t you get to know them first? If you’re an evangelical Christian, and you’re heterosexual, and you are wrestling with the verb of homosexuality, the best advice I can give you is to stop and listen. To listen is to love and to learn—few people ever grasp anything while they are talking or racing to form opinions with ear plugs in.
So let’s listen to the story of Sarah and Lindsey.
PS: Thanks Sarah Lindsey for sharing your story with us. Why don’t you begin by telling us a little about yourselves. Who you are, what you do, and how long you’ve been together?
S&L: Thanks, Preston, for interviewing us. It’s a little weird to intr
This entry is part [part not set] of 20 in the series Homosexuality in the Bible
Homosexuality in the Bible
If you are one of the % of Christians who have same sex attraction (SSA), and you assume it’s wrong to act on that attraction and pursue a gay or lesbian relationship, what do you do?
This has been one of the most painful, confusing, and heart-wrenching questions I’ve wrestled with over the past few months. And as a heterosexual who has never had
SSA, it’s easy for me to brush aside the question since I don’t personally struggle with it. In other words, it’s easy for me to be selfish, inconsiderate, prideful, and unloving by failing to bear the burden of those who are wrestling with the theological and personal implications of SSA.
Since my study on homosexuality is focused on people, and not just some &#;issue,” I’ve talked with several gay Christians who contain chosen a life of celibacy, not because they have the gift of singleness but because they believe it’s wrong (or aren’t convinced that it’s right) to act on their desires. Reflect about that. If you’re si
Last November, Jason and his partner Noah moved in together after dating long-distance for nearly a year. Both in their mids, they had built a serious relationship by talking on the phone every day, visiting each other regularly and going on a summer vacation. They posted photos as a pair on social media to the show where people were surprised to learn they lived in diverse U.S. states — Jason* in Kansas and Noah* in Missouri.
Their relationship was also founded on another surprising principle: celibacy. Jason is an Eastern Orthodox Christian, and Noah went to an evangelical church. They both believed the Christian faith called them to abstain from sexual activity outside of marriage between a man and a woman. So they didn’t plan to possess sex with each other or anyone else — ever. But taking sex out of the equation didn’t mean going it alone. “We see ourselves as partners in life,” Jason said last fall, “helping one another, encouraging one another.”
Celibate gay Christians are an emerging group who are openly and unapologetically queer and also follow their churches’ teachin
Google the word ‘intimacy’ and nearly all the images displayed will be romantic or sexual. This perfectly reflects where our society thinks intimacy is to be found – on a date or in a bedroom.
But what if you haven’t been on a date recently and rest alone? I’m a celibate, gay Christian who, due to my biblical convictions, doesn’t date or sleep with other men. Does that mean that I’ll never experience true intimacy: a thick sense of connection, oneness, with another? That’s what many who love me fear: that my life choices are self-harming, will leave me struggling with a permanent intimacy deficit.
But I verb that real harm comes from our cultural misunderstanding that intimacy is only found in idealistic and sexual contexts. The reality is that intimacy can be found in a range of different ways, and we verb to help ourselves by exploring the many contexts in which human beings can fully like connection and oneness, feel finish or whole.
Oneness and wholeness
I can testify to an intimacy with creation, a sense of oneness with it