This month, we’re digging in to the basics of Christianity — and what queerness has to say about that.

Have you been taught that there is only one way to be a Christian? (And that that one way involved being straight and cisgender?) Or maybe you grew up in a liberal community where anything goes except now you’re feeling drawn to Christianity and you don’t know what to do with that.

Are you struggling to figure out what it means to be a queer Christian? Can I have sex? Can I get married? Do I have to go to church? How do I integrate my sexuality with my spirituality? What if my partner isn’t a Christian?

Or maybe you just have a lot of questions about Christianity in general: Is pre-marital sex a sin? Do non-Christians go to Hell? What is the meaning of Jesus’ death on the cross? How do I read the Bible?

Where do you even start to answer all of your questions? And what happens if the answers you feel in your gut don’t match up with what you were taught as a kid?

Phew. I hear you! It’s a lot. And it can feel (and be) totally overwhelming.

When I was first coming out, I didn’t have a lot to go on. I knew that I was queer (and later on that I was transgender). I knew that I believed in Jesus and wanted to be a part of a community of faith. But beyond that I wasn’t quite sure what I believed. So much of what I had been taught as a kid didn’t make sense to me anymore. It didn’t square with what I was experiencing in the world. And it didn’t square with what I was experiencing in my relationship with God.

But I didn’t know what to do or who to talk to. There were resources about what the Bible said about “homosexuality” but that was about it. There wasn’t anything about how to relearn your faith or how to integrate your sexuality and your spirituality. There weren’t easy answers to the questions I was asking.

Maybe you’re at this place, too: overwhelmed, confused, not sure where to start. Don’t worry. You are not alone.

This month at QueerTheology.com we’re launching a series called Back to Basics. We’re going to dive deep into how to find answers to your questions, how to sort through what you believe, and how to build a faith that is holistic and life giving. Through articles, podcasts, and a webinar we’ll tackle it all.

Know that this won’t be a series where we simply give you the answers. It does no good to trade one cut-and-dry faith with no room to breathe for another one. Instead we’re going to give you the tools to work out what you believe for yourself. Sure it’s more work, but the end result is so much more rewarding.

Do you have questions that you particularly want us to tackle? Things that you’re struggling through/with? Send us an email to connect@queertheology.com and we’ll do our best.

P.S. Maybe you’ve been out forever, you’re solid in your identity and you’re also solid in your faith and you’re thinking this series sounds like a waste of time. I get that, but even those of us who are solid can be well served by taking the time to ask ourselves: what is really important to me? What are the things that are the most vital to my faith? What are the practices that resonate with me most deeply? What is the ground that I stand on? So even if you’re feeling settled, come along on this journey and recommit to the basics of your faith and life.

Photo by wuestenigel