I get a lot of problem page emails from worried readers, concerned that they will go to hell when they die because they have been told by their church/friends/family/TV/books.
Some churches welcome gay members, but these still seem to be the minority, and the negative view prevails that having a homosexual relationship is a sin, and the crime for that is a ticket to the underworld unless the individual stops living a "sinful life" and asks for forgiveness.
Well, I'm not a religious person myself and I tend to look at things from a logical point of view. The way I see it is this: if God exists, and therefore created all things, then he also created gay people. It wouldn't make any sense to cerate a gay person if God intended them to be miserable, alone and living each day feeling guilty and dirty about how he or she is feeling. Only a cruel and malicious god would do such a thing, and this isn't what the idea of God is about.
Being gay is part of you that you can't change, like your eye or hair color, or the type of personality you have. If God is responsible for making your hair brown or blond, for making your friend straight or your best friend a heavy metal fan, then he's responsible for making you gay. Sexuality isn't a choice, so it's either down to biology or God; neither case should leave you ever having to feel dirty or ashamed of who you are. We are all born with certain unchangeable qualities, and we have to make the best of them.
Some people have pets who try to mate with pets of the same sex; I have seen a gay cow bothering other male cows in a field! Animals don't burden themselves with crap about going to hell - they follow their pure instinct that is programmed into them or bestowed upon them in their design by God. Maybe we can learn something from their purity (though I don't recommend running after boys in a field!).
If you read anything negative about being gay in old books (or even editions of The Bible) remember that the book is written by men, translated by men, edited and altered by men over thousands of years. Men who were strictly religion, men who don't have the modern outlook we have now. Think what the bible would be like if it was re-written by God tomorrow; what do you think it would say? I imagine it would call for peace between all people, no matter what their sexual orientation and other background details.
Being a gay person isn't God's bad joke; it's just part of life. Enjoy who you are: love who you want, be happy, share with people. There's nothing evil about these things. There is far greater evil in the minds of religious people who scare others into repressed and lonely lives by telling them horror stories about hell. If there is a hell, you can be sure it is reserved for the real evil doers of this world - not for those who just happen to find love and happiness with members of their own sex.
