I first learned that I was a sinner in junior high school. Struggling to understand my budding attraction to other boys, I turned to my local public library for help. Being a devout Roman Catholic, I found a reference book on Catholic doctrine, and I furtively turned to the entry on “homosexuality.” There I learned – to my horror – that I was not only a sinner, but that I was intrinsically disordered. I shut the book in shame, and my relationship with God was never the same.
It took another fifteen years – and a good dose of God’s amazing grace – before I was able to walk into a church out of love and not fear. In those intervening years, I had met and fallen in love with my now-husband, Michael. Through Michael, I had experienced the power of God’s incarnational love in a way that no theology book or doctrine could ever convey. Because of the grace of this relationship – that is, a relationship that was a pure gift from God and not something that I had “earned” or “deserved” – my eyes and ears were opened once more to the Good News.
From the introduction, by author Patrick S. Cheng.
Great for:
Those who are particularly hung up on the “sinful” nature of homosexuality, and would like to hear from theologians and individuals who have worked past that particular aspect of identifying as LGBTQ+.