Posts by Believe Out Loud
What LGBTQ People Need To Hear From Christian Leaders
“Sexual orientation is not a sin. Gender identity is not a sin. We are all created in the image of God.” For me, more than anything else—this statement is what I want to hear from our religious leaders. I want to hear the unambiguous pronouncement that people who are same gender loving, bisexual, transgender, non-gender…
Read MoreGod Is Bigger Than Everything: Reflections On The Reformation Project
Growing up the thing that fascinated me the most about God was his size. My mother would tell me that God is bigger than everything. She would also tell me that God is everything, which I always questioned because wouldn’t that mean God would even be bigger than himself at times? Yet, my mother never…
Read MoreWhen Some Lives Matter More Than Others
In the wake of criticisms aimed at President Obama’s handling of Ebola, a black and white photograph of Ronald Reagan started appearing all over my Facebook feed. Written across the photograph, in standard meme format, were these words: “President Reagan ignored AIDS until 20,849 Americans had already died. But tell me again how Obama’s immediate…
Read MoreResponding To Non-Affirming Faith Leaders With Compassion
One of the most common questions that I have been asked by people in my years of ministry in the LGBT Catholic community is “Why are some bishops so stubborn against changing policy and practices in the church concerning LGBT people?” It’s a good question, and it is one that I wish I could answer. Many…
Read MoreBelieve Out Loud Hosts Level Ground Film Festival In New York City
“A drag queen, a lesbian rocker and a Catholic nun walk into a church…” This might sound like the opening line of a joke, but on November 14, 15 and 16—that’s exactly what’s happening in New York City as Believe Out Loud joins Level Ground Film Festival to bring the Road Show to New York…
Read MoreIn The Wake Of Election Day
This week has been appropriately dreary. Tuesday night ended another election in our country. Today our emotionally jostled citizenry is sifting through the ashes of yard signs, campaign contribution receipts, and “I Voted” stickers. Maybe it’s because of the rise of social media that’s connected me with the unbridled commentary of hundreds of people of…
Read MoreNaked Pastor Publishes Cartoons For The LGBTQ Community
David Hayward (aka the Naked Pastor) recently published a new book: The Art of Coming Out: Cartoons for the LGBTQ Community. As an artist who is often featured on Believe Out Loud, we asked him a few questions about his cartoons and advocacy for LGBTQ equality. 1. Why did you write a book for the…
Read MoreLove Trumps Law
You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (James 2:8) Do you know why Jesus got on the nerves of the Pharisees, Sadducees and other religious people of his day? Do you know why those same religious people tended to repel the “sinners,”…
Read MoreGay Passion Of Christ Revealed In New Art Book
Image Detail: “Jesus Goes to His Execution” by Doug Blanchard My long journey with the queer Christ reached a milestone this month with the publication of my new book The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision. The book features paintings of Jesus as a gay man of today in a modern city by New York artist Douglas…
Read MoreGroundbreaking LGBT Christian Journal Now Available Online
The year was 1985. I had graduated college the year before and had just started to come out as a gay man. The son of a Lutheran pastor, the church had made up a big part of my world. However, because of the growing awareness of my own sexual orientation, those years growing up were…
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