Jennifer Knapp, Gay Christian?

This morning my roommate asked me if I had heard that Jennifer Knapp came out of the closet as a lesbian this week. I had heard. And I had read her interview. And frankly, I was relieved to see that she was willing to wrestle with God and her sexuality without giving up on either.

On one side of the debate, I hear pro-gay proponents saying to follow your sexuality at all costs and if God is love he will accept you. While it is true that God will accept you, there are some issues with following sexuality alone. On the other side, some Christians say that we are defined by Christ and not sexuality. While it is true that we are defined by Christ, there are issues with denying our sexuality. God has created us as sexual beings and the feelings we experience must be attended to in the process of becoming a whole person in Christ.

I don’t have time to tell you everything I am not saying by what I am saying, but please notice that I did not say that the feelings need to be acted upon, but attended to. As John Calvin said at the beginning of The Institutes of Christian Religion: “There is no deep knowing of God without a deep knowing of self and no deep knowing of self without a deep knowing of God.”

It is encouraging to see a public figure who is able to honestly admit her sexuality, while still clinging to God. I know too many people who have walked away from their relationship with God because of their homosexual feelings and, if nothing else, she has stayed open to God during this process instead of walking away.

As a lust-addicted, people-pleasing, manipulative, judgmental, consumeristic, prideful Christian, I’m sure that I can scoot my bloated ego over to make room for a gay Christian at God’s Table and let God work through our broken lives together.