Counter-Evangelism: Home > Concerns of some specific minorities > To GLBT people



To gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people

by Diane Vera


Copyright © 2003 by Diane Vera. All rights reserved.



These days, there are quite a few otherwise conservative gay Christians who claim that the Bible doesn't really condemn homosexuality after all. Their arguments, valid or not, may serve useful purposes, e.g. for lesbians and gay men with fundamentalist or evangelical Christian parents. But I think it very unlikely that the majority of hardcore Christians will be convinced anytime soon.

Obviously, life would be much simpler for all GLBT people, including Christians, if there weren't quite so many hardcore Christians.

Below are links to resources on the following topics:

  1. Pro-gay Christian interpretations of the Bible
  2. Anti-gay Christian rebuttals of pro-Gay Bible interpretations
  3. Pro-transgender Christian interpretations of the Bible
  4. Anti-GLBT prejudice hurts!
  5. Advice on coming out
  6. The GLBT community
  7. Keeping an eye on our enemies (and our friends)


  1. Pro-gay Christian interpretations of the Bible

    See also the lists of organizations, books, and other resources at the end of Faith In Our Families on the website of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) (recently re-named "Parents, Family, and Friends of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Persons"). Incidentally, if you happen to be in process of coming out to your parents and friends, you may find some of PGLAG's other literature to be quite helpful too,


  2. Anti-gay Christian rebuttals of pro-Gay Bible interpretations

    See also this commentary by a Canadian atheist: The Strange Universe of the Homosexual Christian on Living Without Religion. (Note the difference between Canadian and U.S. perspectives. Here in America, alas, the Church is not about to "wither away" as author David Rand suggests.)


  3. Pro-transgender Christian interpretations of the Bible

    Surprisingly, a quick Internet search (as of January 2003) did not turn up any anti-transgender Christian rebuttals of pro-transgender Christian interpretations of the Bible. I'm not sure what this means. I doubt it means that transgender people have a much easier road to acceptance than gay men and lesbians.


  4. Anti-GLBT prejudice hurts!

    It would seem obvious that anti-GLBT prejudice is harmful to GLBT people. But hardcore Christians -- including conservative Catholics, as well as fundy Protestants -- have an amazing talent for denying the obvious.

    See, for example, the Catholic World News article Gay Suicide Rates Falsely Blamed On Bias By Study Author. This article claims that the high suicide rate among gay teens can't really be caused by "anti-gay harassment," because "the study was done in cities where homosexuality is not only condoned but widely endorsed, and often promoted by civic authorities."

    Not a valid argument. Even in cities with a politically powerful gay community, such as New York (where I live), there is still a lot of anti-gay prejudice among the less-educated and among immigrants. So, anti-gay harassment still does occur a-plenty -- especially among teenagers and children, who, to begin with, have a natural tendency to be nasty to anyone who is different in any way. In addition, some young gays are still rejected by their families.

    Sometime later, I'll dig up and post here some links to studies documenting these unfortunate realities.

    Anyhow, though quite a few Catholics disagree, the Catholic hierarchy persists in condemning homosexuality and the gay rights movement -- even in nice, largely post-Christian places like Australia. See, for example, Another Unembarrassed Ignoramus by Jack Nichols.


  5. Advice on coming out

    If you can come out to your parents and friends, that in itself is one of the most important things you can do to help combat anti-gay prejudice -- and, thereby, to help strengthen the opposition to the Christian religious right wing, Public opinion polls show that people who know someone who is gay or lesbian are more likely to support equal rights for all gay and lesbian people.. Nevertheless, of course, it's your right to decide whether and when to come out. To that end, the first-listed site contains advice on how to stay in the closet as well as on how to begin coming out.


  6. The GLBT community

    Listings of places to make new friends and find support:


  7. Keeping an eye on our enemies (and our friends)

    News and information about the religious right wing and the gay rights movement's efforts to oppose it:

    See also my page of information about the religious right wing, here on this site.



Back to: