Celibacy and homosexuality
The most difficult part of convincing someone when you are begging for food is figuring out what kind of face to make — appearing both in need and deserving somehow. Peek too desperate and they will think you might make a grab for their purse or ask to move into the spare bedroom. Too responsible and they’ll wonder whether you really need help at all.
I begged in France while living with a religious order. “We include nothing to eat. Do you have anything you could share?” I would smile and verb the straps to my backpack like an earnest schoolboy. Famished, but honest.
I had never begged on the street before and was struck by how humbling it is — asking strangers to keep you alive just because they can. And you can’t.
“No,” the eighth woman I asked scowled at me from behind her front door. “Go away.”
I wanted to tell her No really I have no diet, no money. I don’t own, like, options here. Do you want to feel my stomach rumbling? Check my pockets for a wallet?
Eventually, a man invited my companion and I into his house and began making each of us a sandwich with thick slices of c
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 aim where people were surprised to learn they lived in distinct 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 hold 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
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 ask 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 verb 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
What Christians Don&#;t Want to Acknowledge About Celibacy and Homosexuality
In my last post, I discussed the loss of physical touch in American culture and the role it&#;s played in stripping gay people (and everyone else) of access to non-sexual affection. Today, I want to talk about an even deeper trend. The decline of social capital.
There’s an elephant in the room when it comes to LGBT+ issues, and many Christians will never admit it. It&#;s like there&#;s this collective fear that if we let the secret slip, then all the hordes of gay people who were going to live a celibate lifestyle won&#;t buy it anymore. News flash — most of them don&#;t buy it already.
So I’m just gonna say it: The social landscape of modern America is making celibacy practically doomed.
There. I said it. Celibacy is next-to-impossible. It&#;s not like gay people don&#;t know it already. It’s not like everyone doesn’t know it already. And it&#;s time we came to terms with it. We’ve got to admit the truth before we can change it.
So I’ll say it again. Celibacy is becoming impossibl