A Journey Toward Acceptance and Love-A

A Journey Toward Acceptance and Love
By Greg Chapman

When a person cannot seem to fit it, cannot find acceptance in their family or church, a pain rises inside of them. Greg Chapman fought against this pain for most of his young adult life, after he realized that he was not attracted to women, and that his religious beliefs were on the harsh side. He felt that God did not want him, that he was a wretched creature. So he changed his beliefs, and what he accepted to be true. He became gay, and proud of it. Now he is happily comfortable, and believes the Bible and other religions to be merely stories-he picks and believes what he thinks is true.
The stories he believes to be true are those which “…helps me to love myself the most, to create the most, to love others and to support them in their creations.” I am glad he’s happy-I truly am. I do, however, disagree with how he came about being happy. It must have been hard, struggling with his sexuality-I have no idea what that is like, I always have liked boys and do not plan on liking girls in the future. Chapman must not have sought to find Christian counseling to help him overcome his homosexual urges, during that time period he drifted away from his family and faith. I believe that if he was really grounded in his faith, he might have tried to work things out between himself and the Lord-that is what Baptists believe in, acquiring a personal relationship with God. Chapman probably did not have all the resources that some do, and he felt that God did not want him. Perhaps he should have tried seeking God. Now he is gay, however, and has left the Baptist church. I’m glad that he’s happy and confident in himself now, but I don’t agree with his implied view that strict religion hinders people. Mr. Chapman can be gay and he can pick and chose what stories he believes to be true, and what will help him love himself. I will stick to my Bible and seeking God’s will instead of my own.

http://thisibelieve.org/essay/6/