So, I think that’s the limiting factor for me. RYAN: I feel ambivalent about rainbows and glitter, but I definitely don’t like crowds. I think that’s going to have a much greater impact than frowning every June because affirming individuals celebrate their theology. There are more important issues at hand - like preaching the Gospel to our communities around the world. I just don’t know that this is something for believers worth fighting over. They were fighting for the chance to be seen as people, something that the culture had not done for decades. The years following this raid were filled with major steps for the LGBT+ community - marches for affirmation of their humanity. Pride stems from the reaction to the Stonewall Inn raid back in June 1969 this is why Pride Month is in June. And the history behind Pride Month’s origins is something more people should know about. I think there are benefits to bringing this area of our culture into the light. I guess I’m struggling to think of any reason why my being at a Pride Month event would be beneficial to myself or anyone in attendance.ĭEAN: Pushed into a corner, I would not say that Pride shouldn’t exist. But please don’t push me into a corner. It’s truly unfortunate that this is the immediate assumption, but my guess is that the first thing someone would think if they saw me at Pride would be, “Oh, so you think it’s perfectly okay for men to have sex with men?” Some of it is probably because of the fear of seeing someone I know there and feeling like merely my presence somehow damages my Christian witness. JACOB: I’ve never been to a Pride event myself, and honestly I’ve never had a desire to attend one. People I greatly respect have attended others I greatly respect have not attended. Pictures and firsthand accounts are all that I know. I’m curious.ĭEAN: I’ve never been to a Pride parade in person. TOM: Have any of y’all been to a Pride Month event? I know Matt has. I can agree to fight the kind of blatant cruelty of bullying LGBT+ people that was common in the past, but I can’t support the sexual stuff at Pride events. However, the huge difference for me is that I do not let that attraction define me they do. MARSHALL: Of course, like gay Pride participants I do feel an attraction to men and have been mistreated because of it.
What brought them to Pride? What does it mean to them? How has it impacted their lives? I want to talk to the people at Pride and hear their stories. I want to see Pride for myself - the good parts, the bad parts, the mediocre parts, and everything in between. I wish I could watch from the sidelines, invisible to all others. What I do know is that I’ve at least felt a pull to observe. At this point, I don’t know that either is completely right or completely wrong - I think it depends on the event you attended, where you went, and everything else.
But I also have firsthand accounts that it is a meaningful event that brings healing into people’s lives. I have firsthand accounts about Pride that it’s a sex romp through America. On the other hand, they are celebrating and glorifying things that we have decided to abstain from as apart of our beliefs.ĭEAN: I’m torn. So, like you said, I get the celebration and affirmation of their humanity. On one hand, we can really relate to a lot of what LGBT+ people have gone through, and a lot of them have suffered even worse than us. But I also want to stand for what I believe God has called me to with my sexuality.ĮUGENE: I guess it is a double-edged sword. With regard to Pride Month, I certainly want to respect those partaking and celebrating and emphatically affirm their humanity, especially as someone with a shared sexuality experience. We’re dipping our toes in a lot of different waters and communities. TOM: It’s an interesting position for us to be in as men identifying as SSA or gay but also as Jesus-followers with a traditional sexual ethic. And deflecting sensitive topics with bad humor. let’s talk about it, I guess?ĭEAN: I love rainbows.
It’s a divisive topic in church culture! Should Christians celebrate Pride Month? Should we in this YOB community recognize Pride Month or even attend a Pride parade? Our core authors gathered to talk about Pride Month - our response to it as Christians and particularly as gay/SSA believers.