Should Christians "identify" as LGB(TQIA+)?
There's a time and a place for almost everything, and that includes identifying oneself by the terms "LGB+," "gay," "lesbian," etc. Note that I said identifying oneself by these terms, not identifying with them. The distinction is essential, especially for a Christian who holds to biblical morality and a biblical worldview. The ways we identify ourselves are important. In the Bible, names are almost never just names, but rather have a prophetic value— proclaiming (even just subtlely) who a person is or who they are becoming. Since I am a child of God and am becoming someone new in Christ, I feel it misstates the truth of my life to associate myself with what many call the LGB+ community or LGB+ lifestyle.
It's risky, after all, to align myself spiritually or even just practically with that part of my past. For Christians, sin no longer defines, nor does temptation (1 Corinthians 6: 11).
And yet there is a time and a place for it.
Paul as Roman and Jew
It's obvious that the Apostle Paul identified first and foremost as a Jew—particularly one that followed the risen Christ as Messiah. After coming to faith, he abandoned his "old self" and implored others to do likewise. Though he didn't often dwell on his past, he did remind the Philippian church of who he was and where he'd been:
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.
—Philippians 3: 4–8
The "confidence in the flesh" that Paul speaks of here is part of what he has relinquished for the sake of the Savior. He refers to it without nostalgia or longing, and he no longer identifies with it. By referring to it as he does, he strengthens his testimony: "Whatever were gains to me I now consider loss..." For Paul, there is a distinct before and after. Paul doesn't deny the fallenness of his previous self, but rather uses it to fortify his case that Christ justifies and sanctifies.
Paul cuts to the chase and identifies himself by his Roman name (Paul) rather than by his Jewish name (Saul) in every one of his letters. Yet he apparently answered to both names (Acts 13: 9). Jesus first addresses him as "Saul " (Acts 9: 4). But once his ministry to the gentiles gets underway, he becomes more widely known as Paul.
What is interesting here is that Paul never swapped one name for the other. He never went from Saul to Paul. Scholar John Drummond offers that "Saul was most likely called Paul from birth." As a Roman citizen, he probably always had a traditional Jewish name as well as a Romanized version of that name. This was common among Roman Jews. Throughout his life, the name he used depended largely on the social context in which he found himself at the time. In fact, positioning himself in different ways to connect with different groups became a theme of his ministerial life:
To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.
—1 Corinthians 9: 20–22
When Paul addresses the crowd in Jerusalem following his conversion, he does so in Aramaic. This is an important detail, since Aramaic was the common language of the people he was addressing. Had he addressed the crowd in Latin or Greek—which he also knew well—he would have been positioning himself as an outsider. Note that in his address, he identifies himself as a Jew in the present tense:
Then Paul said: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify.
—Acts 22: 3–5
While imprisoned at Philippi, however, Paul identifies as Roman:
The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.” But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.” The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.
—Acts 16: 36–39
What's interesting about the Philippi incident is that Paul asserts his Roman citizenship chiefly to make a point. He is free to walk out of prison but chooses not to leave quietly—he demands an escort. The magistrates comply with Paul's demand and provide the escort he requests. Now that the authorities at Philippi know Paul is a Roman, perhaps they will be less likely to arrest him when he returns! And he surely will, since he has planted a church there.
It would be interesting to know Paul's thoughts on this kind of scene-specific self-presentation with all the different issues faced by Christians today. What would he think about the ways we present ourselves so that we bring only the most relevant facts of our old self into our testimony—at the most appropriate time? What would he think about Christians identifying as "LGB+,""gay," or "lesbian?" As "transgender?" It's likely that Paul would have stuck to his own basic principles:
Whatever we've been through or are going through, we are to see ourselves as conquerors in Christ (Romans 8: 12–13). Whatever we "were," we've been "washed," "justified," and "sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus" (1 Corinthians 6: 11).
Who we were and who we are becoming need not be in a state of trench warfare—as long as we're focused on who we are becoming (2 Corinthians 3: 18).
It's okay to align with categories as reflections of our experience—but never to the point that they distract from the redemptive and unifying action of Christ (Galatians 3: 26–29).
How much is just right?
There is considerable disagreement among Christians as to how to talk meaningfully about same-sex attraction without appearing to affirm the lifestyles so often associated with it. It can be a tightrope walk. On this issue, Episcopalian priest Wesley Hill (who is same-sex attracted and voluntarily celibate) says:
We live in a constantly changing world, and many modern Westerners—especially, but not only, younger people—recognize that “being gay” today is a cultural identity. It’s a community designation (“gay community”); it names a way of being in the world (“gay culture”); it involves a continuous narrative (“when I came out… my gay friends…”); and it can exist even before or without lust and behavior (think of how many teenagers you know came out before their first kiss). It isn’t identical to “lust” or even “desire.”
—Wesley Hill, Spiritualfriendship.org
Personally, I really like the angle suggested by Andrew Bunt of the UK Christian organization Living Out:
"When I use [the term "gay"], I’m not "identifying" myself. My sexuality isn’t part of my identity; it’s not at the core of who I am. It’s not what’s most important about me and it’s not my "controlling self-understanding" (as I like to define identity). When I refer to myself as "a gay Christian," I’m describing myself and part of my life experience; I’m not defining myself or making a statement about my identity.
—Andrew Bunt, Emerging Generations Director, Living Out (UK)
There are situations in which presenting oneself as "gay" or"LGB+" to a person or group is strategic, but these should always be tied one way or another to a person's Christian testimony.
