I came to terms with my sexuality about 30 years ago when I was in my twenties. Because I was a Christian, I wanted to understand what it meant to be gay from a biblical perspective. One of the most formative books I read was Is the Homosexual My Neighbor by Virigina Ramey Mollenkott and Letha Dawson Scanzoni. It provided a theological understanding of being gay and it helped me understand that God accepted who I was as a gay man. That led me to ultimately find a good man that became my husband when we married in 2007.
When I looked at the scriptures that were used to prohibit same sexual relations, I came to see them as misinterpretations or laws that were no longer in force. But there are gay Christians who see themselves as gay but take the prohibitions against sex literally.
These people have a name: Side B Christians. Many of these people come from more traditional or conservative backgrounds. Side B Christians can be misunderstood by “Side A” Christians or gay Christians who are in same-sex relationships and are feared by straight people in conservative denominations. Today, I talk with a Side B Christian about his journey and the journey of compatriots. Wes Hill is the Assistant Priest at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Pittsburgh, PA and an Associate Professor in New Testament at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, MI.
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Show Notes:
Side B Christians Like Me Are An Asset Not a Threat by Bekah Mason
What Comes After the Ex-Gay Movement? The Same Thing That Came Before. By Greg Johnson
Revoice and the Vocation of Yes by Wes Hill
Love, Again by Wes Hill
Beyond religious life and marriage: A look at friendship as vocation by Eve Tushnet
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Episode 70: All About Side B Christianity