Seventh-Gay Adventists

Seventh-Gay Adventists is a film about LGBT individuals who identify with or are members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church - the denomination I was raised in.



From the film's website:

Being a gay Christian isn't easy, but being a gay Adventist is especially difficult because Adventism, to most, is more than a belief system; it's also a close-knit community with unique cultural habits. For someone who grew up immersed in the culture of the church, attending (vegetarian) potlucks, church schools, and campmeetings, the culture and DNA of Adventism is almost like an ethnicity. For all its unique practices, Adventism does not deviate from the Christian mainstream in its condemnation of homosexuality.

LGBT Adventists face a gut-wrenching decision. They must choose between the church they were raised to believe is God's true remnant church and their innate desire for an intimate, loving relationship. Or is there a way to reconcile their faith and their identity?

This film interests me for two reasons: first, because the church's official stance on social issues, such as gay marriage and women's roles in church, is one of the main reasons I began to question my faith. The church's views on LGBTQ issues is not a particularly personal issue for me - I am straight, and know of only one person close to me who (though closeted to most of their friends and family) self-identifies as other than heterosexual. Regardless, I am very strongly in favor of LGBTQ rights and feel the church is missing an opportunity to "show Christ's love" by abandoning draconian beliefs about sexuality and embracing all its members equally.

Secondly, the filmmakers explicitly recognize the strong Adventist culture and the difficulty of breaking ties with it. This greatly resonates with me. I miss the community and traditions of the church, and would probably still be a tithe-paying, church-attending-every-Sabbath member despite my lack of belief in God if it weren't for the church's inability to move forward socially and philosophically. Unlike the individuals in this film, I don't believe the SDA church is "God's true remnant church," and I don't feel I have to reconcile the faith I was raised in with my personal identity, but I do feel I've had to abandon a large piece of my heritage and cultural identity in exchange for intellectual honesty and human decency.

I'll be sure to post a link if the film becomes available for viewing online. Those in the Miami area can see it at the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival on Sunday, April 29th.