After their son came out, this conservative Christian couple went into a closet of their own.

[Lunabell]

Great article!!

As soon as Greg McDonald Jr. saw his parents, he knew he was in trouble. His father stood waiting for him with his arms folded and his brow furrowed. Beside him was Greg’s mother, her eyes red and puffy.

“Quick, pretend you’re interested in me,” Greg Jr. told his friend Betsy as he steered the speedboat toward the dock at his parents’ riverfront home outside Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Greg Jr. had just taken a group of friends out for a rollicking boat ride. It was late in the summer of 2001, and he was about to head off to his first year of college. In just a few weeks the 17-year-old thought he’d be free.

But while Greg Jr. was away his father, a conservative Christian, had checked his computer’s search history. He’d heard stories of young men being corrupted by the internet and had discovered his son’s secret: visits to gay porn sites.

https://ssnews.page.link/97Dk5Aq1jU2Bz3Sq9

[AllaN01Bear]

1. huge read. i briefly scanned it and o my. i feel for anyone in a "christian, conservative " family

notice i said that in quotes ,

[Lunabell]

2. It reminded me of my very conservative Christian parents.

After my mom died, my step mom pretty much laid down the law about loving his daughter unconditionally. My dad even eventually totally accepted my wife. Sent love to her over the phone etc. He was really changed by my step mom.

[Midnight Writer]

3. You can be either a person that hates or a person that loves.

The message of Christ is clearly to be a person that loves.

There are no loopholes, there is no ambiguity in His teaching to love one another.

[The Great Open Dance]

4. Thank you for the article recommendation

In my church, nobody really cares if you're right handed or left handed, brown eyed, or blue eyed, gay or straight--thank God.

[Tbear]

6. Sounds nice

Straight married Christian that can not stand the politics in the churches I have tried to attend. Afraid to try anymore.

[Tbear]

5. "The Bible was not as black and white as I once thought"

Does all the anti-gay stuff come from Paul’s letters? He wrote a lot and we only have a handful in the Bible. Are we sure he wasn’t warning Christians about worshipping the “gods” at the big temples ?
Anyway isn’t about 1 in 10 people LGBTQ?
So if God is perfect and he hates gays, why has he consistently created 10% of the people that way?
God is only 90% in people creation but he’s perfect in every other way?
Doesn’t fly with me that God created something he hates and wants to abolish. I will go with humans mis-reading the Bible.
I think we should all accept by now that being gay is not a choice. You can’t pray away the gay.
This article gets right to the damage caused by this faulty thinking.

[The Great Open Dance]

7. The children of progressive Christians

don't have to suffer like this. Nor do their parents suffer from homophobia. Brittle, rigid worldviews produce needless suffering.