Editor:
I discovered this site quite by accident while looking for something else, but I feel I must congratulate you on it. My daughter is gay (or was, I believe she is asexual now) and it led her into deep spiritual probing, aided by the community of women in which she found herself. Being gay actually led her to God and our closeness as mother and daughter in turn led me to God. Please don’t let any of the hate mail get to you – love is what it’s all about – and I’m pretty sure that homophobes are reacting from a deep-seated fear of their own sexual orientation.
Keep up the good work.
Love and Light
Sian
Editor:
Nice magazine; nice website! My fifteen-year-old daughter is working on a school newspaper project (and personal, too?) on homosexuality. I am grateful to be able to forward to her your web address. Thank you.
Paul
Editor:
Praise God for Christians like you! I am a gay person with a strong love for God and rarely find people who are of the same mind. This web site is excellent. I am so glad I found you.
I like how you say you will no longer argue scripture. I am so sick of being bashed and grilled and rejected as a Christian. I just don’t want to argue with anyone anymore. It is pointless. Thank you for reminding me of scripture that encourages love and tolerance of others. I had all but forgotten how to act, isn’t that ironic? Through the need to defend ourselves we forget what it means to act like a Christian.
God Bless,
Nancy
Editor:
I came to your site because my son suggested it. He came out of the closet a few days ago. I have been a devout Christian all my life and I have raised my children in the church and for the life of me I do not understand a word of what you are trying to say. It seems to me that you have taken very straightforward scriptures and have bended them to fit this lifestyle. It breaks my heart that this is the way my son has chosen to live and yet you seem to give him encouragement in this decision. That is what it is a decision. He was not born a homosexual.. he decided to be one. I love my child and will be there for him but I can never understand this lifestyle choice and what you are trying to sell as truth. So now I am giving you the chance to enlighten me. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Toni A. Fisher
Editor Candace Chellew responds:
Mrs. Fisher,
I feel, and understand your pain over your son. However, from the tone of your letter, I don’t believe there is any way I can “enlighten” you. No matter what I say, you will not believe me. Your mind is apparently all ready made up. You don’t accept that your son was created as a homosexual. I can tell you, from my own experience, that he most likely was. Our sexual orientation, be it heterosexual or homosexual, is God-given. How we use our sexuality is where we fall into sin. Encourage your son to seek monogamous, committed relationships. Promiscuity, be it gay or straight is a sin.
I realize it’s hard to reorient yourself, even though you obviously love your son dearly. He’s in a spot where he needs your love and your support. My mother did not understand, nor agree with me, when I came out to her, but her exact words were, “You’re my daughter and I love you.” Her support, if not her understanding, has meant the world to me. I urge you to do the same for your son. You may not ever understand or accept him, but if you truly love him I urge you to support him in whatever he endeavors to do. That, Mrs. Fisher, is the greatest gift you can give him. He is your son, and he is gay.
I never decided to be a lesbian … I just am. May I ask you when you decided to be a heterosexual? There is no moment of decision for any of us … there is only our sexual orientation. Why on earth would someone decide to be a social pariah … hated by your family, hated by society … and often hunted down and killed for sport? Mrs. Fisher, no one chooses that. Your son is who he is … not because he chose it, but because he was created that way by God.
I do hope you’ll read through the magazine. I think you’ll find our pages are full of gay and lesbian people who love God, and praise God for making them as they are supposed to be! We are all children of God, and we believe in Jesus and love God here at Whosoever. I realize nothing I can say can “enlighten” you … only God, through his powerful grace and love can do that. I only pray you’ll open your heart to your son and let him teach you about himself and the wonderful gift he has to share with the world.
Your family is in my most earnest prayers.
Blessings,
Candace
Editor:
I read you misinterpretations of scripture, but I believe there is one that you cannot misinterpret. In the beginning God created one man for one women. That was his perfect plan. Man and women were created for each other. They were made so that man and woman could come together to become one flesh. You can see it all throughout creation. Look at the animals. Female and was created for male.
Love in Christ,
Phil
Editor Candace Chellew responds:
Hi Phil,
Thanks for visiting the magazine.
I’m certainly going to agree with any argument that says a man and a woman are needed for procreation. Yes, indeed, flap A fits into slot B rather nicely when one wants to create children. But aren’t you over simplifying things a bit? Is the sex act all there is between people? Did you choose a woman as a wife or girlfriend simply because she had a slot B that could accommodate your flap A? Certainly not! I’m sure there was some emotion involved, some sort of physical and chemical attraction that brought you together!
Homosexuals are not all about sex. It’s not just that some like slot B with slot B and others like flap A with flap A. There are true emotions involved. There are women in this world who find themselves emotionally and physically attracted to other women, and men who feel the same way with other men. Certainly if these gay and lesbian people want to procreate, they’re going to have to find someone of the opposite sex to do with it. And often they do.
I’ve heard the argument that to be within God’s will one must only have sex that is either procreative or has the potential to be procreative. Otherwise that sexual activity is condemned. Okay, fine. What about infertile heterosexual couples? Their sexual acts are non-procreative. Are you out there condemning their sexual habits? I don’t think so. Why? Well, because they’re heterosexual. The bottom line is … you find the act of homosexual sex personally disgusting, and you’ve found a way to use the Bible to back up your personal taste. Don’t worry … that’s nothing new … it’s been done for centuries. In fact, many of the admonitions in the Bible against things were written to use God to back up personal tastes of the time. An example is the subjugation of women! Be happy! You’re part of a grand tradition!
As for the animals … yes … let’s look at them, shall we? You see instances of homosexuality all over the animal kingdom. If you’re REALLY interested in finding out more … here are a couple of studies you should check out … unless you just think all these scientists are out there promoting the gay “lifestyle.”
Here’s an excerpt from “Queer Creatures” in New Scientist magazine:
Describing behaviours as diverse as “lesbian” gulls that share a nest and rear chicks together or the homosexual “orgies” of male manatees, Bagemihl stresses that animal homosexuality is not a single, uniform phenomenon. His mission is to document its sheer diversity: “same-sex behaviour in animals exhibits every conceivable variation”. What he deplores is the prevailing “Noah’s ark” view of animal sexuality. Sometimes, preliminaries to homosexual encounters closely resemble heterosexual courtship, as in the “mutual ecstatic” displays of male humboldt penguins and the castanet-like teeth chattering of male walruses. But sometimes homosexual encounters elicit novel displays: male ostriches court other males with a unique “pirouette dance”, for instance, while female rhesus monkeys engage in “hide-and-seek” games played only during female-female interactions.
“Nearly every type of same-sex activity found among humans has its counterpart in the animal kingdom,” he concludes. His take-home message is simple: homosexual behaviour is as “natural” as heterosexual behaviour.
Here are a couple of other articles for your reference:
“The fabulous kingdom of gay animals”
“Animals’ Fancies: Why Members of Some Species Prefer Their Own Sex”
Blessings,
Candace
Editor:
I had a young lesbian girl one time ask me if she could be saved, I told her that of course she could be saved, if not then Jesus died in vain, but I did point out to her that I believed that scripture told us to repent of our ways and yes our lifestyles. Those can be many different lifestyles though, not just homosexuality. I personally led a life of drunkenness and promiscuity, if I hadn’t repented and turned away from this lifestyle then yes I believe I couldn’t have been saved.
Cheryl
Editor Candace Chellew responds:
Cheryl,
This is a point of contention that’s familiar ground to me … but let me try to explain why I disagree. You say you led a life of drunkenness and promiscuity and you turned away from it with Jesus’ help. Praise God! That’s a wonderful testimony. However, it doesn’t compare with being gay or lesbian. Why? Well, drunkenness and promiscuity are obviously bad “lifestyles” to engage in. Homosexuality, however, is not a “lifestyle” in the way these two activities are. Homosexuality, just like heterosexuality, is a sexual orientation. It describes whom one is attracted to sexually, yes, but also it describes whom one is attracted to on all those other levels, emotionally, physically and chemically. Homosexuality, just like heterosexuality is amoral. Being homosexual does not make one immediately immoral.
Just as there can be heterosexual people who engage in excessive drinking and promiscuity, so can there be homosexual people who do the same thing. I don’t judge ALL heterosexuals on the acts of the few that are drunkards and promiscuous. Why do people, like you, persist in judging ALL homosexuals on the acts of a few gay people who engage in excessive drinking and promiscuity?
Just as not all straight people engage in this sort of “lifestyle” … neither do all gay people. I’m betting my “lifestyle” is a lot like yours. I go to work for 40 hours a week, pay a mortgage, walk the dogs, pet the cats, call my mother, go out with my friends … and yes … seek that one special person who I want to spend my life with in a loving, caring, committed relationship. Oh, and by the way, that person will be another woman! In the meantime, I date women … I don’t fall into bed with every woman I meet. Sex is something special, reserved for commitment and love.
If I were out drinking and having sex with every woman that walked by, then yes, you’d have a great point. That’s something I’d need to repent of and be forgiven for! However, it is not what I do … and it’s not what a great majority of gays and lesbians do.
Please do not judge us by the actions of a few … for I do not judge all Christians by the actions of a few who seek to condemn me or drive me from the fold. There are bad apples in every group. It doesn’t mean everyone in the group is that way.
Blessings,
Candace
Editor:
I’ve been on your site for the past 4 hours. I just couldn’t help myself from reading. Me myself like many others gave up on god when I decided to come out. Due to the fact, that the church told me that I would go to hell. Hearing that hurt very much. Because I knew in my heart I loved God. But I knew I needed to be true to myself. It’s very hard to be young as I am (19) and find any gay role models because all that’s in the public eye is sex and drugs. And I see many of my friends falling into that. But seeing your site really lifts me up. It really makes me feel good about myself and that my lifestyle is okay and God loves me anyway and I’m going to passing the site around and I hope more people can feel the way I do now and really feel full inside again. I just want you to know that what I think you are doing is great!!! And you must really be a special person. You opened my eyes again to God and THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Matt
Editor:
It’s difficult for me to write at the moment. Partly because I’m on a computer at work, but mainly because I can’t stop crying I’m so happy I found you!
My heartfelt thanks to you and your staff for the work you do and of course, to our Lord who inspires it.
Love,
Kathy