“You are not broken.”
This is the very apt first line of a recently released book by Amber Cantorna: Unashamed: A Coming-Out Guide for LGBTQ Christians.
I had chills the first time I saw that subtitle. It’s tough enough for many of us to embrace our sexuality given wonky societal messages. Add to that the message that your very identity isn’t acceptable and it seems like a perfect storm.
As I mentioned before my Girl Boner Radio interview with Amber, the storm metaphor reminds me of the story of Noah’s arc in the Bible and the rainbow that appeared as a sign of hope—which couldn’t be more appropriate. Because Amber is bringing so much hope to the whole rainbow of LGBTQIA+ folks, as well as their friends and families. Given that Amber’s father is an executive with Focus on the Family, an American Christian conservative organization founded in 1977 by James Dobson, only makes her journey turned advocacy that much more impactful.
When I asked Amber what message she most hopes people take away from her latest book, she said:
“I think with Unashamed, one of the biggest messages is learning to accept and embrace and celebrate yourself—not just accept who you are, but celebrate who you are—and the diversity that you bring to the family of God . . . God is so much bigger than the box we put God in. So to display a piece of that to the world is truly a gift.
. . . If they can kind of learn to see God through that different lens of widely accepting, love, diversity, beauty, kindness, and then learn to see themselves through that lens of who God is in them, I think it’s going to drastically change the way they view themselves, the way they view the world and the way they interact in the world. So that’s my goal: to reduce the shame they feel from what they’ve been taught and learn to embrace and celebrate who they are.”
Stream the episode on Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify or below! It also features wonderful thoughts from Dr. Megan Fleming for a listener who’s developed a big time crush on her therapist.
Learn more about Amber Cantorna on her website. Find Unashamed: A Coming-Out Guide for LGBTQ Christians on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and most anywhere books are sold.
This comment is for anyone who might read. You can have committed many sins and be a Christian. You can have been a communist or mafia hitman, an adulterer, a homosexual, and extortionist or thief. You can have been a former gang leader who just really liked to fight, or a really rebellious kid who just wanted to be popular. What you can’t do though is be a Christian, and still keep willfully sinning and say it’s ok. God calls his people to repentance. The murderer cannot continue to murder. The homosexual cannot continue in homosexuality. The adulterer cannot continue in adultery. The thief cannot continue to steal.
The Christian life is not an easy one and is not for everyone. To be a Christian, you must deny yourself, take up a cross, and follow the example of Jesus. Jesus completely gave up his earthly life. Jesus loved and forgave his enemies. When Jesus was hit, he didn’t strike back. He told one rich man he needed to sell everything and give it to the poor. He was killed not just because in God great plan he was to be the sacrifice for the sins of everyone, but the religious leaders killed him because he threatened their power base. His herald, John the Baptist, was killed because he dared tell the King it was unlawful for him to have his brother’s wife.
A Christian might be tempted to commit murder, but he has the obligation to resist this temptation. A heterosexual may have the temptation to have sexual intercourse with someone other than their spouse. They must resist. A married person might be angry with their spouse and feel hatred for them and want to divorce them. They must resist. Someone with a sexual attraction to the opposite may feel drawn to the opposite sex, but they must resist.
If you make a serious effort to resist, you can overcome. Jesus, who the Christian follows, raised the dead, calmed a storm, walked on water, and healed the sick. If he wasn’t able to do these things, if he wasn’t God and able to help you, I would have to question why anyone would want to follow him. This is the opposite I think of what is taught and advocated on this webpage, but the Christian is not free to do just anything they want sexually. I appreciate though that as my view point at least for the Christian is opposite of what the website advocates, that August permits alternative view points to be posted.
God is not the author of confusion. He creates people male and female. Gender confusion comes from our confused society, a society without a moral center. I’m not sure gender confusion is something Christ were term a sin, but it’s definitely one I think Christ would want to see someone cured off. I don’t think it’s beneficial to play along with someone’s fantasy or confusion regarding their sex.
My spiritual beliefs have, kinda, put me in the same boat with my Christian friends. I believe that God loves us all equally, there is no hell, no devil; therefore, no salvation, no guilt, no sin.
This has people staring at me most of the time. But, if you believe that we ALL are going back to God after death, then life can become that celebration to be yourself. I don’t believe in hurting others, but don’t judge it either.
Thanks for getting me to think…again.
Scott
Thanks for sharing, Scott! Those are some lovely beliefs. I’m so glad this post/episode struck you.