An Open Letter to the Gay Community from a Christian Woman

Dear Gay Community,

I have been struggling with a heavy heart to voice my beliefs. Not just because I know it will hurt many people that know me, but also because I have been feeling demonised and discriminated against for having these beliefs.

I have several gay men and women in my life whom I absolutely adore. They are incredible humans, who are caring, kind and giving. I think they are beautiful souls and deserve every happiness in this world. However, I also need to ensure that I look after me and my happiness. I need to be happy and comfortable with the decisions I make in this life. In a world where free speech, thought and belief is so well endorsed, it is not fair that my beliefs are discriminated against.

God called us to love one another and not judge one another. God loves us, despite the fact that we are all sinners. He loves us so much that he gave his own son as a sacrifice to pay for our sins. Most people don’t understand this concept. Most people think that we are crazy to believe that Jesus died and rose again. That’s okay though, you are entitled to your beliefs and opinions about what we believe in. You are entitled to believe we are crazy. You have a right to believe whatever you want to believe. As long as you don’t force your beliefs onto us. We will not try to convince you about our beliefs. We don’t expect you to convert and believe what we believe. We don’t expect you to promote Jesus and what he stands for. We simply ask you to respect our beliefs as we respect yours.

So why do you insist on trying to take our beliefs away from us? Why do you insist that we forsake our beliefs and come around to your way of thinking?

Are you not discriminating against us?

As a Christian, when you believe in God and accept Jesus as your saviour, the bible becomes your physical connection to God. It is our history of the world and our guide to Christian living and wellbeing. It is our safe haven and our way to know more about our God that loves us so much. Every word is God’s word. God used men to create something we will always have to look back on and forward to.

So yes, as the bible says, homosexuality is a sin in the eyes of God. So is drunkenness, incest and adultery, but this still happens every day and even in Christian lives.

You would never ask us to promote incest, drunkenness or adultery. You would never ask us to sign a paper going against these beliefs. So why do you demonise us for the latter?

What about drunkenness you say? It’s not as bad as incest and adultery you say? Yes, we live in a world where drunkenness is more widely accepted and even celebrated. But it is still a sin in the eyes of God. So even though our modern society accepts this culture wholeheartedly and even though many Christians still struggle with alcohol, we as Christians would never promote it. We would never sign a document that says it is okay to behave this way, because God is not okay with it.

Adultery is just as prominent in this world. Divorce rates are higher. People cheat on a regular basis. As Christians, we are not called to judge those people, we are called to love those people. But if an adulterer asks us what our beliefs are, the answer will be that it is wrong in the eyes of God. We will never promote adultery or sign anything that states it is okay to do that because God is not okay with it.

You would never ask us to go against our beliefs for any of these reasons, so why are you asking us now?

What you need to understand is that Voting ‘no’ has very little to do with you and everything to do with where we stand with God.

We do love you and no, we don’t judge you, but if you ask us to choose between you and God, it will always be God.

We cannot go against our beliefs and to persecute us for following those beliefs instead of promoting yours is discrimination. We have accepted you and your beliefs, so please stop discriminating against us for our beliefs.

We are not bigots. That is hurtful. We don’t call you names for your beliefs - we accept that those are your beliefs. Jesus teaches us to love all and we do, but we cannot promote an idea that goes against what the bible teaches us. We will love you the same tomorrow as we do today if the vote is passed with a yes or a no, but please don’t discriminate against our beliefs. Don’t force cake makers who have staunch beliefs to make a same sex wedding cake. Don’t force priests or pastors to marry you in the name of God or in a holy church.

Please understand that our beliefs are different and just as important to us as yours and just because our beliefs are different it doesn’t mean we need to go to war with each other. Yes, I say war, because this is how wars are created, for not having the same thoughts and opinions of another, but being forced to anyway. Oppression and dictatorship is created because free speech and free thought is no longer allowed.

Since when did we start living in an authoritarian world where a woman is fired for not having the same personal beliefs as her Employer? Since when is free speech and free thought unacceptable because it does not reflect your beliefs? Can you not see that what you are doing to us is wrong? We have accepted you, never hurt you and have never forced you to accept the Christian way of life. Please don’t oppress us or discriminate against a church that has been standing for thousands of years. Please don’t force us to do something we cannot do or hurt us with your words when our actions do not reflect your ideals.

If new marriage laws are passed and you happen to come across a vendor, celebrant etc. that don’t have your beliefs, thank them for their time and move on. There will be plenty others that can accommodate you and you won’t be infringing on their beliefs.

We are not trying to hurt you in anyway, you already have the same rights as we do and we are only asking to be allowed to follow our beliefs. Please don’t hurt us because you don’t understand our faith.

We are sorry that our beliefs are not in line with yours. We are sorry that these beliefs may hinder something so important to you, but our love for God is every bit as important as your beliefs.

We do love you and no, we don’t judge you, but if you ask us to choose between you and God, it will always be God

We will always choose God.

Sincerely,

A Christian Woman

  In accordance with s 6(5) of the Marriage Law Survey (Additional Safeguards) Act 2017, this communication was authorised by Kathy Clubb of Melbourne, Vic.   

Further reading: The Marriage Plebiscite: A Pastor's Resource, please click here:  

Love and Other Four Letter Words, please click here: