Pride month is a governmentally recognized affirmation of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community. It is also known as the LGBT pride month and occurs during the entire month of June. Celebrations include parades, picnics, concerts, and more, and are supported by millions of people all over the world. Pride month honors the 1969 Stonewall riots.¹https://www.loc.gov/lgbt-pride-month/about/

“The Stonewall Riots, also called the Stonewall Uprising, began in the early hours of June 28, 1969 when New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club located in Greenwich Village in New York City.”²https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/the-stonewall-riots

The following PRIDE acronym is taken from https://lgbt.ucsf.edu/pride-values

• P – Professionalism: To be competent, accountable, reliable and responsible, interacting positively and collaboratively with all colleagues, students, patients, visitors and business partners.
• R – Respect: To treat all others as you wish to be treated, being courteous and kind, acting with utmost consideration of others.
•   I – Integrity: To be honest, trustworthy and ethical, always doing the right thing, without compromising the truth, and being fair and sincere.
• D – Diversity: To appreciate and celebrate differences in others, creating an environment of equity and inclusion with opportunities for everyone to reach their potential.
• E – Excellence: To be dedicated, motivated, innovative and confident, giving your best every day, encouraging and supporting others to excel in everything they do.

History of Pride Month

Pride month has a brief history. The following quote summarizes it.

“In 1994, a coalition of education-based organizations in the United States designated October as LGBT History Month. In 1995, a resolution passed by the General Assembly of the National Education Association included LGBT History Month within a list of commemorative months. National Coming Out Day (October 11), as well as the first “March on Washington” in 1979, are commemorated in the LGBTQ community during LGBT History Month.”³https://www.loc.gov/lgbt-pride-month/about/

From a Christian Perspective

From the Christian perspective, pride month is a celebration of sin and rebellion against God.  It is an official decree against what God has revealed in the Bible, and seeks to make society more tolerant and accepting of sexual immorality. This is something real Christians cannot support.  The Scriptures condemn such sexual immorality.

1. Rom. 1:26-28, “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper.”
2. 1 Cor. 6:9-10, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,⁴The word “homosexual” in the NASB version is the Greek aρσενοκοίτης (arsenokoites).  It occurs two times in the New Testament.  The KJV translates it as abuser of (ones) self with mankind once, and defile (ones) self with mankind once. 1 one who lies with a male as with a female, sodomite, homosexual. (Strong, J. (1996). The exhaustive concordance of the Bible: Showing every word of the test of the common English version of the canonical books, and every occurrence of each word in regular order. (electronic ed.) (G733). Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship.) The 1901 ASV, the KJV, translate it as “abusers of themselves.”  The NASB and NKJV translate it as “homosexuals.”  The NIV as “homosexual offenders.”  The RSV as “sexual perverts.” 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”

Since the Bible clearly condemns homosexuality, then true Christians should also. But this does not mean that we persecute, injure, or insult those who practice such immorality. Our goal is to be gentle and patient with them (Col. 4:5-6; 2 Tim. 2:24-26) so that God may perchance save them.  But, with the increase of immorality and everyone doing what’s right in his own eyes, an unfortunate sign of the degradation of our country and other countries around the world. As Christians, we need to pray for those who are lost in the LGBTQ+ mindset and asked that God sent his spirit upon our country.