Thou Shalt Not Forsake Thy Celibate Christian LGBTQ Brethren

Church of the Pilgrims in Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C. A pro-gay rights congregation.

Today Vanessa Vitiello Urquhart of Slate Magazine wrote an article about “Side B” Christians. These are followers of Christ who, though fully committed to biblical teachings on marriage and sexuality, nevertheless identify openly as LGBTQ. Most of these Christians choose the difficult—but also potentially very fulfilling—life of celibacy. Others of them choose to enter complementary-sex marriages, in full recognition that their same-sex attractions will likely persist throughout their marriages.

The term “Side B” differentiates them from “Side A”—that is, those who believe that God blesses same-sex sexual relationships. It also differentiates them from “Side X”—the so-called “ex-gay” movement, which teaches that individuals can be cured of same-sex attraction through conversion therapy. I first learned about the Side A/Side B distinction from this article, written by my friend Ron Belgau. Ron is a co-founder and regular contributor to the website spiritualfriendship.org.

On a related note, last year I wrote a review in praise of Washed and Waiting by Wesley Hill (Zondervan, 2010), who also identifies as a Side B gay Christian.