I’m very proud to be taking part in the Hop Against Homophobia Day
and to stand up for the human rights of all people, whatever their sexuality,
gender, race or religion.
I also want to stand up for heterosexual
Christians like myself who are 100% behind the drive for GLBTQ equality and
same-sex marriage - the media seem at the moment to be concentrating on those
Christians who are against the idea, and I think it's important for people to
know that we don't all think the same. I'm proud to say I've just joined the Lesbian & Gay Christian Movement in the UK
to show my support, and hope that other Christians will also stand with me on
this point.
As a Christian, I’m also very proud of the
fact that I’m a writer of gay erotic fiction, and celebrate love and romance
wherever it’s found. To my mind, there’s no battle between being GLBTQ and
being Christian, and the sooner the churches catch up with this freedom we have
in God, the better. Recently, the Church
Times wrote in one of its articles that we have much to learn about
equality, truth and justice from society’s approach to homosexuality and faith,
implying that God doesn’t always speak to us through the Church alone. Quite
right too!
You can find out more about my gay fiction
at Gay Reads UK, and about my Biblical
fiction (which happily includes a lesbian reinterpretation of a few of the bible
stories) at Biblical Fiction UK.
And as a special treat, anyone who leaves a
comment on this blog will be entered into a competition to win a FREE ebook from
my gay fiction collection. Good luck and happy blog hopping!
I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU!!!
ReplyDeleteWho are we to judge? The Bible says: no sin is greater than the other. To judge someone for their sexuality, when the person passing judgement, beats their spouse or are out there molesting children!!
All the gay person is doing is being honest about themselves!!
Meka - mekaga85@gmail.com
Thanks, Blessed - and very true! Though I would add that I don't believe sexuality of any description to be a sin - but rather a gift from God - who is full of a variety of brilliant ideas :))
ReplyDeleteAnne
xxx
Well said Anne, I agree totally :):)
ReplyDelete(so long as Blogger lets me post this comment, as I try for the 3rd time ...LOL)
Got you, Clare! :)) Thank you!
ReplyDeleteAnne
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Very true, Anne. Nicely put!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks, Barbara :))
ReplyDeleteAnne
xxx
Well said! I think people tend to forget about the LOVE part in belief systems. We are not meant to pass final judgement. Always a pleasure to read your thoughts Anne ;)
ReplyDeletesionedkla@gmail.com
Thanks, Kassandra - always a pleasure to chat with you :))
ReplyDeleteAnne
xxx
Good points Anne. Good for you
ReplyDeleteSuze
Littlesuze@hotmail.com
Many thanks, Suze! xxx
ReplyDeleteGood morning, I wanted to say how much I admire you for banding together with so many authors for such a worthy cause. Good luck in your endeavors.
ReplyDeleteMissy Martine
missymartine@comcast.net
www.missymartine.com
Thank you for sharing and being part of this hop!
ReplyDeletexx
Angela S Stone
angela@angelastone.ca
http://angelastone.ca/blog-3
It's great to be part of such an important event, Missy Martine & Angela! :))
ReplyDeleteAnne
xxx
I am thoroughly enjoying reading all the blogs. Thanks!
ReplyDeletegisu29@gmail.com
Love should always triumph over hate and I believe it always will.
ReplyDeletekimberlyFDR@yahoo.com
Thanks for joining us, Gigi & Kimberly - so true what you say about love. It's the most vital thing of all! :))
ReplyDeleteAnne
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Thank you so much for sharing this with us today.
ReplyDeletemusings-of-a-bookworm@hotmail.co.uk
Great to see you here, Kerry - there are some fabulous posts in this event! :))
ReplyDeleteAnne
xxx
Lovely post, Anne. Couldn't agree more.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Elin! :))
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
ReplyDeleteandreagrendahl AT gmail DOT com
Thanks, Andrea :))
ReplyDeleteGreat post Anne. I'm gay, and yet my Dad is an COE Reverend and doesn't bat an eyelid at my sexuality.
ReplyDeleteReports always seem to surround Christians against homophobia, when it simply isn't true across the board.
Geoff
That's so good to know, Geoff! People really need to see that not all Christians are anti-gay - it's definitely time for us to speak up too.
ReplyDelete:))
Anne
xxx
Thanks for this, Anne. So often Christians are shown as hateful, intolerant people when in fact this is often the minority and many, many Christians practice the love, respect and tolerance that Jesus preached. It's just a shame that the hate filled minorities seem to be the ones with the biggest mouths and as such end up being what the media focuses on. Grrrr!
ReplyDeleteGrrrr, indeed, Jen - you're so right! We definitely need to speak up more for what we believe in :))
ReplyDeleteAnne
xxx
Anne,
ReplyDeleteproud to stand with you and all the other posters in the Hop.
Cherie Noel
Wonderful post. True Christianity, at its heart, is all about love and acceptance!
ReplyDeletevitajex(at)aol(dot)com
Thank you for participating n this hop and for having such a fantastic post. Love makes the world go round.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Anne. It's sad that too many of these supposed disciples of Christ seem to have missed the entire point of the message. Here in the US we seem to have more than our share of those that are spreading hate rather than love. Unfortunately that vocal minority seem to get a lot more coverage that those communities that are open and inclusive. After last week's North Carolina vote it's more important than ever that all of us speak out on this issue.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comments, all! Lovely to know that there are Christians out there who are inclusive - we need to hear a lot more about them! :))
ReplyDeleteAnne
xxx
I stand and applaud you! Sometimes we forget we forget our Christian supporters - I am guilty of in my own blog... I wrote about the new law in NC and a couple times referred to the homophobic religious -- and my very best friend in the whole world "privately" gave me a chewing out that not ALL religious people are against GLBTQ or marriage equality -- including her, a devote Christian. I had to apologize - and felt ashamed... I NEED to to better on remembering there ARE Christians -- like you, like my girlfriend (and others) who ARE standing up and letting their voice be heard... thank you Anne for your post... continued success in your writings... romancewiththeflemingtons@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Dawn - lovely to hear from you! And so good to think that our Christian GLBTQ-friendly voice is being heard - we just need to shout with you louder!! :))
ReplyDeleteAnne
xxx
I get very emotional when it comes to this subject and I can get on my soapbox and remain there all day. When my Lord commanded us to love one another he didn't say "pick and choose". I hate to hear people call homosexuality a sin because love is not a sin. Geez I could talk all day. But I'm not gonna, I'll quit now. Thanks for this post. It's something near and dear to my heart.
ReplyDeletemorris.crissy@gmail.com
Me too, Crissy - me too!
ReplyDeleteHugs to you :))
Anne
xxx
I am not very religious although I was raised Church of England. I am glad to see that not all churches spew hatred and that some are supportive of everyone, no matter who they choose to love.
ReplyDeletelmbrownauthor at gmail dot com
Thanks, LM! My poor mother and grandmother attempted to raise me C of E, but I told them when I was about 10 and in no uncertain terms that I didn't believe in God and didn't want anything to do with it. Hey ho, I think God's having the last laugh now, eh ... :)
ReplyDelete!!
Anne
xxx
Very well said! Thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteYvette
yratpatrol@aol.com
Thanks, Yvette! :))
ReplyDeleteYours is the third post I've read today that reminds us that the loud Christian group is a minority group giving Christianity a bad name. It's great to remind people of that, I certainly needed a reminder after all the news coverage :/ And I'm a Christian myself, albeit not a very active one - but that's the Icelander in me.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for taking part in this :)
Erica
eripike at gmail dot com
I agree! I hope some day there will not be a conflict with religions.
ReplyDeletelayladawna AT hotmail DOT com
Well said, I wholeheartedly agree. Thanks so much for sharing and participating!!
ReplyDeletetiger-chick-1(at)hotmail(dot)com
Many thanks indeed for the comments, Erica, Layladawna & Emily - really appreciate that! :))
ReplyDeleteAnne
xxx
Thank you, Anne! Not all of us Christians see homosexuals as some sort of "abomination", and I firmly believe that God would never do that either. He is a God of love, after all.
ReplyDeleteashley.vanburen[at]gmail[dot]com
Love the post. I have really enjoyed the hop, read a lot of great things.
ReplyDeletepeggy1984@live.com
Thanks for participating in this hop. I'm enjoying all the great blog posts.
ReplyDeletepenumbrareads(at)gmail(dot)com
Great post Anne!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad this blog hop was so huge. I hope that among all of these entries a few people finally saw How horrible It is to judge another person. I hope this blog made a difference somewhere.
Thanks for being a part of it!
Judi
arella3173_loveless(at)yahoo(dot)com
A big thank you to you, Ley, Peggy, Wulf and Judi - really appreciate your comments! :))
ReplyDeleteAnne
xxx