Eric and Eugene: reconciling faith and orientation

During my ex-gay days, I remember thinking that Christians who identified as gay couldn't possibly be "real" Christians--or if they were, they were living in a lot of sin and trying to justify their life so that they could have their cake and eat it, too. It seemed easier to think that these people were "justifying sin" and were sacrificing a real relationship with God than to really see their heart and their journey.

Recently two of my favorite bloggers have been writing about their journeys and how they came to reconcile their sexual orientations with their faith.

Eric at Two World Collision has written four posts about his worlds colliding.

How did I get to this point? How is it possible that I can live, with good conscience, both a Christian and gay life? Now that I'm here, where do I go now?

For answers to these questions, check out Sankofa Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. I actually got a chance to meet Eric and spend some time with him on my recent trip to Orlando, and he is as genuine as it gets.

Then there's Eugene. I've also gotten a chance to get to know Eugene and he's someone I greatly admire. He writes,

It's been less than two years since I walked through the doors of a local ministry. At that point in time I was stuck - I was confused, lonely, hurting and more than a little disillusioned that I'd failed to achieve "change" despite the programs I'd gone through and all the "right" things that I had done toward that end, and I had no idea what to do next.

Read the rest of his story here and here.

I hope you'll take the time to read their stories. While my faith journey doesn't look exactly like theirs, I can relate to most of what they wrote, and I'm so glad to see people coming through this process with their faith not only intact, but strengthened.