Top Ten Q&As About God, Jesus, the Bible & LGBT People [View all]

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Rev. Susan Russell Become a fan
Episcopal priest and activist from Pasadena, Calif.

Posted: 06/03/2014 6:03 pm EDT Updated: 06/03/2014 6:59 pm EDT


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It's June again. Gay Pride Month. Time for parades and for festivals, for rainbow flags and dance tents. And this year we're not only celebrating Pride; we're also celebrating the first anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decisions on DOMA and Prop 8 that paved the way for marriage equality in 19 states (plus the District of Columbia) with Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, Michigan, Idaho, Arkansas, and Texas all waiting appellate court decisions after lower courts ruled for equality.

And we are not just celebrating; we are recommitting to continuing the struggle until liberty and justice for all really means "all." Everywhere.

So here's the 2014 version of my annual Pride Month FAQs about God, Jesus, the Bible and Gay People -- offered in hopes that together we truly can be the change we want to see in the world, and in rebuttal to the rabid rhetoric of the anti-gay religious right. They do not speak for me. And they do not speak for my church.

1. Is being gay a sin?
No. Sins are acts that separate us from God and keep us from loving our neighbors as ourselves. Being gay is not a sin. Bullying is a sin. Being hateful to other people is a sin. Putting yourself in the place of God to judge others is a sin. Being gay is not.

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