How To Get Understanding

CRISIS: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social, and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing Up Gay in America.

By Mitchell Gold with Mindy Drucker

Homosexuality was never a subject I spent a lot of time thinking about until a great young man at my church came out. Of course a lot of opinions and beliefs were discussed which led me to do what I always do, research. I read two wonderful books by Carol Lynn Pearson which really helped me to ponder and conclude several things; mainly that you do not choose to be gay; it is who you are. Since then I have thought a lot about how the so-called religious behavior of people lead young gay persons to feel ostracized, or worse, suicidal. I find that I cannot bridge “Christ-like” behavior with the end result of suicide. I cannot be convinced that anybody, regardless of the orientation could come away from a conversation with the Saviour and feel the best course of action would be to end their life. So I am left with analyzing my actions towards those who are different than me. As the bible says, judge not lest you be judged; who am I to worry about what the Lord will or will not do to those who are different than me – I got enough on my plate just worrying about myself and my own not so visible differences – I am far from perfect.

Anybody who wants to learn more about the consequences of their personal interactions with people who are gay, this collection of stories will definitely open your eyes. A way to understand better is to substitute the name of whatever minority group you personally belong to for gay (like Mormon, or Black, or Fat). In the end I feel that God will judge each one of us on how we treat our fellow man, regardless of what they are or are not doing.

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