Q and A

Here are some of the questions asked by audience members at the lecture and some responses by Dr Rosaria. Some questions were asked multiple times in different ways, so I grouped the answers together. Keep in mind that I was taking notes, so everything is paraphrased. These are simply key points and takeaways from the lecture.

When did you convert from gay to straight?
-There are no conversions from gay to straight. The only conversion is a heart change that loves Jesus. The Christian answer to homosexuality is holiness. Love the sinner, hate our own sin. God didn't reveal his son to me to make me a wife and mother.

Can a practicing Christian be a practicing homosexual?
-Repentance is so important in the Christian life. Christians struggle with all temptations, but temptations are not sins. Jesus was tempted in every way. What you do with the temptations lead to sin. Yes they can be a Christian and struggle with homosexual thoughts and tendencies, but if they are choosing to stay in that lifestyle they don't fully understand the gospel. A person can not be repentive and have opposing views of the Bible, meaning they believe the Bible is not 100% true or has a holy origin. Sin only makes sense with a holy God. Our world views sin differently than Christians. God calls sin any part that is not submitted to Jesus. We have to obey even if we don't know why something is a sin. Adam and Eve were told to not eat the fruit, but they did not understand why. They ate it anyway and sinned.

The old testament also says we can't wear cotton and wool?
-She made a comment about how she is wearing yoga pants. We don't have to follow the old testament laws anymore, thus we don't follow the death penalty for homosexuality. Homosexuality is not the biggest sin. I do not defend or support discrimination. Homosexuality and homophobia are equal sins.

Audience member said that suppressing homosexual desires is damanging.
-God made you and God takes care of you. I appeal to a higher authority.

Did you let your sexual identity define yourself?
-Yes, I guess I did.

Many people asked about the Bible.
-If you don't read the Bible, you can't talk about it or defend it. When we read it we need to compare scripture. We need to read it in the context of who wrote it. A holy, flawless, timeless, and sovereign God would not create a book that was flawed or would condemn a whole people group. People in the Bible are not accused with out a gift of grace. This does not mean that heterosexuality is the solution to homosexuality. We are at fault for making an aggressive binary. Take away for tonight- your soul matters. Read the bible and decide for yourself.

A female audience member stated that going against their gay nature is going against how God created them, and thus being with a man would be a sin.
-Romans 1 does not define human nature. Genesis 2 does. We are all made in God's image. We are all born in original sin, and that sin is different for each person. "If sin doesn't feel good, you are doing it wrong." (Yes, that is a direct quote from the evening.)