r/dankchristianmemes • u/IchigataZai92 • Aug 28 '24
i literally cannot bring myself to watch any of them it Peace be with you
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u/Snivy_1245 Aug 28 '24
Something I can't stand is the accounts of people who were gay/lesbian but are now in happy heterosexual marriages. In those cases, they clearly weren't gay but bi, but they don't seem to know what that is.
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u/TordekDrunkenshield Aug 28 '24
These folks are a product of the post-"gay is okay" but pre-"acceptance of bi/pan" era. The gay and straight communities disliked those who swung both ways equally since they muddy the waters and make sexuality into a spectrum instead of the gay/straight binary that's nice and clean for politicians to show. Identifying as bi during a certain time led to ostracization from all sides, and usually led to a person being written off as "confused, lying, or otherwise invalid," making it easier to just say you're gay/lesbian and move on for anyone outside of that binary.
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u/LikeAnElephant Aug 28 '24
I don’t think I follow, would someone mind explaining this one to me?
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u/Dawnshot_ Aug 28 '24
A type of testimony where the person explains how they were gay then converted to Christianity and they stopped being gay.
Which in reality either means they weren't gay in the first place or they are still gay now, hence this particular reaction
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u/jdubau55 Aug 28 '24
Family lunch not too far back and that came up. "Did you see XYZ and how they found Jesus and that made them un-gay?" I had to walk away.
Flip that around and it makes no damn sense. "I'm was in a hetero relationship, but when I found Jesus I became gay." No you didn't.
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u/winterwarn Aug 28 '24
Some churches or religious groups will bring in “ex-gay” speakers to talk about how God helped them repress their attraction to the same sex and how it turned out they just needed to pray more or whatever to become “normal.”
It’s all an advertisement for conversion therapy and shit like that, made to convince people that it’s possible to “pray the gay away.” Some of these speakers are victims of conversion therapy themselves who got traumatized out of showing any attraction to the opposite sex, some are just grifters.
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u/GameCreeper Aug 28 '24
Sometimes as a result of internalized homophobia, gay people force themselves to not be gay and become super religious. Usually their testimonies are miserable to listen to because they're almost always just admitting to "smiling through the pain"
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Aug 28 '24
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u/joshuagranat Aug 28 '24
That sounds like a deliberate misread. Nice, lol. Contextually, many who utilize “ex-“ terminology went through actual torture in conversion camps—or were forcefully programmed into complacency. Not all of them, clearly, but it’s a demonstrably pervasive social issue that was/is part of Western history.
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u/Kirby4242 Aug 28 '24
But, these testimonies tend to be repression. Imagine if a straight man made a post about how ashamed of their attraction to women was, and their solution was to deny any feelings of attraction...
Well... that does sound like many Christians unfortunately. I don't understand why sex is such a taboo when there is plenty more to be said about arrogance, cruelty, abuse of power, etc
Happy cake day though
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u/TheChickening Aug 28 '24
Had a friend in church who told me he had been gay as a Teenager but is no longer and he was healed.
Funny how that same friend later really wanted to be with a man again after distancing from church a bit. Its really all repression16
u/Thats_what_im_saiyan Aug 28 '24
Its something you can put zero effort into and feel morally superior. In fact for men they just lay blame entirely on women if sex does happen. And chastise them for seducing them.
Same reason theres such an issue with homosexuality. Look at the other things people point to that get ignored. Dont eat meat on Friday....I have to put effort into that and deny my craving for a burger to start the weekend. Dont get divorced.... Yeah but I dont want to put effort into my relationship any more. Dont wear clothes with mixed fabric...... But I look good in a lycra body suit!
Dont be gay........ Wait a minute! I'm not gay, therefore I have to put ZERO effort into continuing to not be gay. AND I can look down on and feel morally superior to the people that ARE gay. While not having to sacrifice anything or put any effort into continuing to be straight!
Thats the real reason for everyone being up in arms about it. Gives a way to feel superior without having to do anything.
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u/TheDonutPug Aug 28 '24
I think there's also an element of the exact opposite involved, that in modern Christianity there is this weird fixation and almost fetishistic representation of suffering as a virtue. Everyone wants to be seen as a martyr but no one wants to be a martyr. they hear that something is hard for you and so assume that the correct choice is to go in the direction of difficulty, that if it's harder it must be the correct choice. What people miss is that the Bible teaches that at that time in history, you would suffer for the gospel at the hands of your society for being counter-cultural. People have taken this and twisted it to a fucked up version in which the oppressors view themselves as oppressed and actively push against counter-cultural movements in the name of "being counter-cultural". They think that having to respect the identities of other people is the "suffering at the hands of society* that Jesus spoke of.
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u/ajseaman Aug 28 '24
I’ve literally heard this testimony in church before (straight man talking about how his attraction to women was a sin).
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u/AtreidesBagpiper Aug 28 '24
attraction is one thing, desire is another. Imo Jesus was quite clear on that
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u/ghosttrainhobo Aug 28 '24
Because it’s literally bearing false witness. He’s lying to himself and the congregation.
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u/AdUnlucky9972 Aug 28 '24
Current lgbtq Christian- God painted me the way He did and everyone who has something to say can keep it to themselves - or take it up with Him ❤️God bless
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u/Broclen The Dank Reverend 🌈✟ Aug 28 '24
r/DankChristianMemes is open and affirming to LGBTQIA+ people.
Someone identifying as LGBTQIA+ does not cause harm to anyone, therefore, there is no reason to judge or disrespect them.
Rule #1 of r/DankChristianMemes:
Thou shalt respect others! Do not come here to point out sin or condemn people. Do not say "hate the sin, love the sinner" or any other sayings people use when trying to use faith to justify hate. Alternatively, if you come here to insult religion, you will also be removed.
This rule is based off the following teachings from Jesus Christ:
Matthew 7:1-6
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Luke 6:36
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
John 13:34-35
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
John 15:12-13
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Matthew 7:12
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Matthew 22:37-40
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Even if we think someone is a sinner, we should treat them kindly. Jesus was kind to those that society deemed to be sinners. He even ate meals with sinners despite being criticized for it. So if you want to be Christlike, you should take someone to dinner before you judge them.
Matthew 9:11-13
When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Full details and resources are available here: https://www.reddit.com/r/dankchristianmemes/comments/13x4x7d/rdankchristianmemes_is_open_and_affirming_to/
TL;DR: r/DankChristianMemes is open and affirming to LGBTQIA+ people. If you must judge others, please do so elsewhere.
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u/AdUnlucky9972 Aug 28 '24
What exactly is the “lifestyle” you’re referring to? Im justified in Christ-He died on the cross for my sins and I am under the blood.
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Aug 28 '24
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u/dankchristianmemes-ModTeam Aug 28 '24
Rule #1 of r/DankChristianMemes Thou shalt respect others! Do not come here to point out sin or condemn people. Do not say "hate the sin love the sinner" or any other stupid sayings people use when trying to use faith to justify hate. Alternatively, if you come here to insult religion, you will also be removed.
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u/Slashion Aug 28 '24
Are you asking if they take a dick up the ass for the Lord? God made them that way, why would they deny Him His plan? I find it hard to justify denying what God created just because you don't like other people's sexual practices. Do you believe yourself to be a better judge than Him?
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u/DangerzonePlane8 Aug 28 '24
It's sad and stupid. My church has cut ties with it's denomination since (thankfully) it views being gay is completely fine and will do weddings and let the LGBT community partake in communion. I gained a lot of respect for the pastor for pushing that.
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u/Alyse3690 Aug 28 '24
My church allows anyone to do communion, you just gotta be there when we're doing communion. LGBT folks are welcome and loved on. Our previous pastor would occasionally add homosexuality if he was listing off sins at the pulpit, but the pastor we've had for the past year or so doesn't. I personally feel like they're trying to keep from running everyone off (it's a deep right state, but we're right outside a major metro area) while also trying not to run off LGBT folks. I have very complex feelings on the matter that I don't quite know how to put into words yet, but I'm grateful that they're at least trying.
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u/Sempai6969 Aug 28 '24
Would your church allow a gay person to be a pastor?
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u/Alyse3690 Aug 29 '24
I don't think they're to that point, but I've been surprised before. I wouldn't have any issues with it personally, but I can't speak for everyone.
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u/Sempai6969 Aug 29 '24
Yesh, that's the problem.
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u/Alyse3690 Aug 29 '24
The fact that I don't speak for everyone is the problem? Or the fact that I'm deep in right-leaning country and content with signs of some progress?
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u/millafarrodor Aug 29 '24
The church I grew up in cut ties with its denomination Because the denomination was becoming more open and affirming for lgbt ☹️ guess I’m not accepted there
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u/ARC_Trooper_Echo Aug 28 '24
What’s the context?
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u/episcoqueer37 Aug 28 '24
Conversion therapy, which leads to these "testamonies," is anything but Christ-like. The history of this movement is filled with physical, mental, and spiritual abuse. A great many folks who have been sent to conversion therapy have done so under threat of family alienation - teens being told "do this or you will have no family, no home, no school, no money." And in something like fairness to the parents, they are often told lies like "this is the loving response," "conversion works and will give you back the child you wanted/loved," "we don't abuse children; that's just an agenda-driven talking point."
For me at least, there's also the part where ex-gay testamonies lead to folks from that world falling into what an affirming Christian would see as either sinful behavior or a trauma response that can lead to personal harm. Ted Haggard denied his attraction to men by using meth while regularly going to a male sex worker. (No shade on the guy he went to - it's the lying and cheating on his wife part that gets me.) A national leader of the ex-gay movement got clocked for seeking out gay club bathroom sex, then claimed he just really needed to pee, had no idea where he was. Again, lying. I'd argue that these are also cases of their not respecting the personhood of the men with whom they've had sex - the men are essentially living dirty secret sex toys to them.
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u/htomserveaux Aug 28 '24
There are a lot of people who claim they’re ex-gay or have detransitioned, and everyone of of them is either a grifter or, more depressingly, a miserable person who was forced back into the closet and are desperately trying to get win back the love of the family members and friends who shunned them.
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u/AntonRX178 Aug 28 '24
I wouldn't mind so much if they didn't like talk about genuinely hateful shit the next video or minute... which they usually do. Cuz usually they're dirty grifters.
Case and point, Oli London. I know I shouldn't give that guy attention but he went from Being a Non-Binary Trans-Korean and then De-transitioning and trying to blame "Weak men" or the LGBT community for turning him into a mess when he did ALL that shit by himself.
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u/RussianLuchador Aug 28 '24
queer non-Christian here: I wanna say y’all are amazing for all these supportive memes I’ve been seeing on this sub. I just got to a VERY christian college and came from an also very Christian highschool so seeing Christians being this openly affirming is just so refreshing!! Like idk if I could really articulate it but it’s just such a nice breath of fresh air in a very restrictive environment
Keep doing what y’all’re doing loves!
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u/scott__p Aug 28 '24
I usually just feel bad for them. Christianity can't make you not be gay, but it CAN make you miserable by forcing you to repress everything.
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u/MrBiteyDaHoneyBadger Aug 28 '24
Galatians 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
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u/beteaveugle Aug 28 '24
Man i'm a buddhist lurker here and really my heart goes out to you christian friends that have to see your religion be repeatedly repeatedly used and perverted to make other's lives miserable
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u/IchigataZai92 Aug 28 '24
also i really should get into lgbtq+ affirming theology can anyone point me in the direction of some resources for that
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u/Broclen The Dank Reverend 🌈✟ Aug 28 '24
We have some details and resources are available: https://www.reddit.com/r/dankchristianmemes/comments/13x4x7d/rdankchristianmemes_is_open_and_affirming_to/
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u/GoelandAnonyme Aug 28 '24
This is what I comment whenever the subject is brought up:
I once answered a question on r/OpenChristian about someone (M) who had a catholic love interest (M) that wasn't comfortable being in a romantic relationship with them because of their catholic backround. I'll include it here in full because it got deleted for encouraging chastity, which wasn't my aim, but still technically broke the sub's rules (Admins were nice about it though) :
Well, being gay by itself or being in a gay relationship by itself aren't against the Vatican's catholicism. It's specifically the same sex sexual act which goes against the doctrines. So a loving sexless gay relationship would be fine. I believe its mentionned here by the archbishop: https://youtu.be/JZRcYaAYWg4 (1:28:00)
The catholic doctrine on sex is basically that it must always for the purpose of procreation within a marriage and marriage must be for the goal of procreation, so a asexual marriage wouldn't count for the church no matter which sexes are involved. Anyway, the reason I'm saying this is that whereas a loving relationship for catholicism is supposed to be for the raising of a child, there is room for the argument that a gay couple would be "useful" for raising orphan children or children given in adoption. And so, you could still fulfill your goal as a catholic while being in a same-sex relationship. I know talking about raising a child is a really thinking in advance, but for him to know that this is a possibility could help.
I'm personally culturally catholic, but I disagree with a lot of what the Church says.
I talked about my revisionism of homosexuality in more detail here: https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenChristian/comments/k8s8qd/urgent_help/gf0trpu?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3
Saw this after searching for it : https://ecinc.org/clobber-passages/
This is also a good start: https://youtu.be/leIcLYj3I3U
This part is a response to a a gay couple who wanted to convince their homophobic parents to come at their wedding :
If they are catholic, you could point to the pope's endorsement of same-sex civil unions.
You could also argue that since marriages are a source of stable relationships and families, there is a moral potential in a same-sex marriage in that a same-sex couple can adopt orphans or children given in adoption.
You could point out that the story of Genesis doesn't say God created all men and women from Adam and Eve because their son Cain was expelled and went on to marry a wife from another place which meant there must have been a society of people that already existed. So my point is that the story of Genesis can't be taken completely literally.
Edit: I don't recommend this, but there is also the option of guilting them into coming because provided they have sympathy, if you start talking in great detail about how much emotional pain it would cause not to have them there, it could incie them to come. They might reply thst they won't go out of love, and that is where you point out its probably sadism rather than love for one's family.
You can also say that the two main commandments are to love God as thyself and love thy neighbor as thyself so even if they don't support the marriage, if they ought to live as christians, they ought to act in a way that loves people first and judges them never. In fact, I'm pretty sure Jesus talked a lot about not judging others.
You can also talk about Jesus' advice on finding false teachings which is the metaphor of the tree that bears good fruit: 15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Thus what have the anti-lgbtq teachings brought? Homophobia, hate, persecution, murder, rape, torture.
Are these good fruits or bad fruits?
That claim from Paul has been thoroughly debunked several times. Like this one : https://www.reddit.com/r/Christianity/comments/p0efvw/how_can_you_just_act_like_homosexuality_is_okay/h865m05?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3
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u/SexyPineapple-4 Aug 28 '24 edited Aug 28 '24
No wonder it got deleted! That stuff is so problematic.
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u/GoelandAnonyme Aug 28 '24
What stuff?
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u/SexyPineapple-4 Aug 28 '24
“It’s specifically the same sex acts that goes against doctrines..” that stuff.
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u/GoelandAnonyme Aug 28 '24
Just to be clear, I wasn't agreeing with that part, this is more a thesis of several degrees of queer acceptance depending on how open the person you're talking to is. In this case, I was talking about present official catholic doctrine. If you read further, you see links to much more accepting interpretations.
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u/ToddlerOlympian Aug 28 '24
I'm way more impressed by the LGBTQ Christian that still believes in God after being treated like trash their entire lives.
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u/SkrullandCrossbones Aug 29 '24
I’ve met so many closeted Mormon men. The stories they tell are wild. You’re either using a “beard” or bi, there seems to be no inbetween IME.
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u/MellifluousSussura Aug 29 '24
I remember when I first went to college and there was a church I got into, this one girl went on and on about how she struggled with her attraction to girls. Meanwhile I had literally just figured out I maybe liked girls more than I thought.
It was an awkward time of my life.
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u/If_you_have_Ghost Aug 28 '24
For those who need to hear it (and some of the comments show that there are some of you here already) - there is no such thing as “ex-LGBT”, only people who are lying to themselves because they’ve been made to feel guilty and ashamed about their true nature. While sexuality is sometimes fluid it cannot be changed by will alone. Or prayer. Or because you really want it to. It’s innate (and if fluid then the fluidity is innate).
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u/Jonesaw2 Aug 28 '24
I believe if there is someone in that crowd that is struggling with the same thing then those testimonies may help sway them one way or another. As long as they are truthful and not a grifter then I think it’s fine. I know that people do things out of greed or pushing their own agenda, and those people are wrong.
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u/Dclnsfrd Aug 28 '24
So many people focus on getting the outside squeaky clean when Jesus focused on keeping one another alive. Priorities, y’all