Crisis of faith

Christians rally around gay teen struggling with his sexuality, offer love and support

Now here’s a story you don’t hear everyday…

A young Reddit user is suffering a crisis of faith. He’s not sure how to reconcile his religion with his sexuality, and it’s really getting to him.

“When I was around the age of 16, I started feeling attractions to people the same sex as me,” he writes. “I’ve been really conflicted about this.”

The young man continues:

How can God make one of his own people gay? I really do want to believe in God and I have for so long in my life but having this built-in sin, so to speak, has really put a strain on my relationship with God. I am 19 now and am still trying my hardest to believe in God but I feel a shame every time I go to Church because I know I can never get rid of this sin.

The whole thing has left him wondering: “How can I justify myself there being a God when I have feelings for people the same sex as me?”

Thankfully, his fellow Redditors are here to help.

“Our lord himself was tempted to sin, do not be ashamed of facing temptation,” one person writes. “It’s OK. … We don’t even need to feel shame for when we give in to that temptation if we trust in the lord Jesus for forgiveness.”

“As a parent of an LGBT kid, I know first hand how badly the religious environment has treated our gay brothers and sisters; and for that I deeply and genuinely apologize,” another person writes. “I have a sneaky suspicion that my LGBT brothers and sisters are going to be at the heart of some of most powerful transformation the church is going to experience over the next few years.”

“I’m a gay Christian. I’ve been there,” one person says. “But honestly, I couldn’t think of a more Christlike place to be. Jesus has been there, felt insult and rejection from the religious community. So he knows what I’ve been through. He has my back and he supports me. That’s why I trust him.”

But perhaps this is the most helpful piece of advice:

“Being gay isn’t a sin. There’s nothing wrong with you. If your church teaches that it’s sinful to be gay, then you should find a new church that doesn’t.”

Well, what do you know? Not all Christians are fire and brimstone homophobes who want to see gay people burned at the stake.

Related: Man Has Emotional Reunion With The Gay Brother His Christian Parents Disowned Decades Ago

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