Nalt Christians - Dan in montana

Hi -- my name's Dan. I'm from Great Falls Montana. I'm heterosexual, I'm married and I'm a Christian: I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I believe that he died for our sins and rose again, and I await his return. And also, not in conflict with my faith, but in many ways because of it, I believe that being gay isn't inherently sinful, that LGBT people are loved by God for who they are, that they should be allowed to marry and enjoy the same rights and privileges as every other member of our society and that they deserve full acceptance by the Christian church. I don't have a dramatic story about how I arrived at this understanding. Frankly, I've never really felt the conflict between Christianity and homosexuality that so many people do. For me, Christian faith and full acceptance of LGBT people isn't a tenuous proposition -- it's simply the way it should be. But you don't need an exciting story to take a stand. I, like many Christians I know, have too often been silent when issues surrounding homosexuality have come up. And remaining silent is to be complicit with the harm that the church has inflicted for so long upon so many people. And let's face it -- it's far easier to keep quiet than to take a stand -- especially when it comes to emotional and divisive topics. But if we wait to speak out until we think the time is right then we may never speak out. The time is always right to stand up for the truth, the time is now. So it is my fervent wish and prayer as a Christian, that all people -- including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, would be fully welcomed and accepted by the Church. That someday, hopefully someday very soon, there won't be a need to say "we're not all like that," but rather that Christians can proudly declare that we are all like that -- that we all truly embrace the model Christ set for us, that we all love one another as God loves us, that we all accept how God created each one of us and that we all realize that a person's *** orientation is no more an issue than their race or their gender. But, until that day comes, please remember that, though there are many Christians who still wrongly judge and condemn gay people -- we're not all like that.