Some people use the Bible as a club rather than a guide and try to clobber people into changing and becoming Christians only by observing a strict set of beliefs or dogma. That approach doesn’t work because it just antagonizes people. It makes the people who are quoting the Bible feel more pious that they’re preaching the Gospel, but it’s bad news not good news. Jesus said to repent, but he applied that to everyone.

Several organizations have the word “reconcile’ in some form of their title, which implies dialogue or at least compromise. The mainstream Protestant denominations are in various stages of dialogue or discernment of how to deal with the sin of homosexuality. Of course, that starts with the basic assumption that it is a sin. So does it all comes down to interpretation of a handful of verses? No, not really. Homophobia presumes an attitude of whether to be welcoming and inclusive or exclusive and judgmental. Once you have decided that, it is a question of finding means to justify your assumptions.

I grew up in the church, and it’s a big part of who I am. I’m not going to let people run me off simply because they’re judgmental and hostile to me. I can quote the Bible as well as they can. But those kinds of arguments only confirm people’s original positions and create more hostility.

So, let’s play nice and just get along together? It takes a lot more work than that. Let’s start with a little empathy for our opponent’s understanding and worldview. A lot of hostility against the LGBTQ community is simply based upon fear. That’s why we’re encouraged to come out and became open in our orientation so that we’re not just the unknown or stereotypes. Because of the past sins of the church, many in the LGBTQ community are so hostile to any organized religion they can’t even hope for reconciliation.

It was a long struggle for me. Your family background, education, life experiences, and personality all factor into how you may or may not reconcile these conflicts. Sometimes they primarily are internal, and sometimes they are open, argumentative, or even life threatening. Dealing with conflict is difficult and requires persistence. The LGBTQ community and the church have been at odds for decades, but I see a little more openness on both sides so perhaps there is hope of reconciliation.