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By Jeremy Appel on February 2, 2019.

Shane Goldie, a Grade 12 student at Crescent Heights High School, wrote his book "The 'Gay' Christian" about his experiences as a devout Christian who happens to be gay.-- NEWS PHOTO JEREMY APPEL Shane Goldie, a Grade 12 student at Crescent Heights High School, wrote his book "The 'Gay' Christian" about his experiences as a devout Christian who happens to be gay.-- NEWS PHOTO JEREMY APPEL



jappel@medicinehatnews.com

A Grade 12 Crescent Heights High School student is a published author, having written a book reflecting on his experiences as a gay man who is also a devout Christian.

Shane Goldie, 17, who aspires to be a pastor, was kicked out of bible camp when word got out about his sexuality, the summer after he first came out in Grade 9 at the age of 14.

“They said that nobody would accept that it’s OK, that if they did, they wouldn’t be Christians,” said Goldie.

He says he wrote “The ‘Gay’ Christian” as a means of self-discovery and to show other Christians who are struggling with their sexuality that they’re not alone.

“I decided to write a book about this to help me understand, because at that time I was unsure if it was a sin, if it wasn’t a sin, if this isOK, if it’s just a phase or whatnot, so I started looking into it,” said Goldie.

“For me to finally publish it, I saw that there (are) kids like me, there are kids who are struggling with homosexuality, especially in the church and they’re told, ‘It’s either you give it up or you suppress yourself and live a straight life.’

“I know how bad that affected me, so I decided to help others.”

In addition to telling his personal story, the book draws from biblical sources — the Old and New Testaments — to show that Christianity and homosexuality are compatible, as well as the alleged existence of gay saints, whose existence was covered up by the Catholic Church.

The quotation marks around ‘Gay’ in the book’s title are intended “to put emphasis on the Christian part … Why do you have to be a gay Christian? Why not just a Christian?”

Goldie still hasn’t given up his goal of becoming a pastor. In fact, he recently applied to St. Andrew’s Theological College and Seminary in Saskatoon under the aegis of the United Church, which is staunch in its acceptance of LGBTQ people.

“If I do marry a guy, then I want to be able to be in the church that I’ve been working at and I don’t want to have to hide it,” he said.

Coming from a devout Christian household, his coming out had a mixed response from relatives.

“My dad originally wasn’t OK with the idea and told me it was a phase and whatnot, which I talk about in the book, and my grandparents and auntie, who are Christians, I know they love me and all, but they’ve told me I’m going to Haell and they don’t want to see that,” said Goldie.

“I understand where they’re coming from and why they believe, so I wrote this to also help the Christian community to give them an insight and start thinking about something different.”

The book is dedicated to Stephanie Martin, his Grade 9 English teacher and mentor, who’s also a member of the LGBTQ community.

“She is one of the first people I really came out to back in Grade 9, who showed me it’s OK to be you and supported me throughout this whole process,” said Goldie.

Those interested in purchasing a copy of “The ‘Gay’ Christian” can e-mail Goldie at enahsrj@hotmail.com.