A gay person can still be a Christian, one who’s loved, accepted, adored and anointed by God, a UK-based Nigerian gay pastor has said.
The Reverend Jide Macaulay, who was talking about his journey to reconcile his faith and sexuality, told HuffPost UK that being a black gay man, particularly of African descent, is never easy.
The divorced father-of-one, who’s also HIV positive, revealed he was in a difficult mental state after he came out as a gay – a decision that led to the marital separation.
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“As a person of faith, I believe that gay means God accepts you, God adores you, God anoints you and God assured you. And I just want everybody to celebrate that,” Macaulay, who’s also a lawyer, said.
“My journey and education with faith actually started at home [Nigeria]. I was raised in a conservative Nigerian Christian home.”
Recalling how it was difficult for him to come out as gay especially after he discovered a Bible text (Lev 18:22) on homosexuality which says: ‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable’, Macaulay said he struggled with that portion at the time.
“It took me years later for me to be able to reverse the theological understanding of who I am and what the Bible says,” he remembered.
“And the challenge for me was being able to communicate my feelings to my parents and also to my siblings. It did not happen until years later when I had already been married to a woman.”
He went on: “And also as a black man in England it was difficult because I didn’t know many people who were black and gay, and Christians, too.
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“I was let down by my primary Christian community because I was excommunicated. I felt lost. I felt that I didn’t have a place in Church. I felt I didn’t have a place in the Nigerian community in England.”
He added: “I believe that I am a Child of God. I believe that God loves me regardless of my family’s views or understanding of who I am and my sexuality.”
Macaulay is the founder of the House of Rainbow and his mission is to support IGBTQ people of colour.
Watch the Video:
Gay means God Adores You – Nigerian Pastor pic.twitter.com/3UoqdgVR6b
— OSMEK NEWS (@osmek_media) June 27, 2020