What the Church Will Gain by Affirming LGBTQ Christians

When we exclude queer people from the Church, we miss out on the full picture of God's love.

"Stained-glass Rainbow Flag with Cross" by Andrew Craig Williams

Growing up Christian means getting exposed to a lot of astonishing information before you have the resources to understand just how crazy it all is. I, for one, knew that Jesus was “born of a virgin” before I could have told you how someone got pregnant, let alone what a “virgin” was. 

Someone tells you God created the whole world in seven days and it seems reasonable enough to your young mind. 

You learn, over time, just how miraculous the biblical miracles are, but I think that’s kind of the easy part. The harder thing, for me at least, is internalizing how astonishing the more esoteric miracles of the Bible are. Specifically, it can be difficult for some of us to realize what a miracle it is that God loves us. This is where I’ve been grateful for the witness of gay, lesbian, queer and trans Christians, and where I think straight and cisgendered Christians have a lot to learn.