Dear Friend,
I am a graduate of Liberty University. I know first-hand about how Liberty treats our gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning individuals. I have always wanted to go to Liberty since the tenth grade. I felt that Liberty was where God wanted me to go to school. I knew that I was gay when I went to Liberty. I also knew that I was a Christian and that God had always been evident in my life. While I was at Liberty, I believed the messages that they were teaching about Homosexuality, and that it was wrong. It caused me to be in torment because I knew what my heart felt, but I also knew how society and the people at Liberty felt about it. I tried to change myself, to become straight, but to no avail. I tried praying, fasting, casting out demons, having others pray for me, but nothing happened. I heard how the speakers who spoke against Homosexuality say that you have to believe that you can change and put your whole heart into it. I tried and tried, but still nothing happened.
I prayed a lot while I was at Liberty, but I always felt that God wanted me to be gay. I am one of his gay children. I ended up graduating from Liberty with a heart ready to serve God, but also with the embracement of my homosexuality. However, due to the extreme measures of what was said during my four years at Liberty by the administration and speakers that we had on campus, I still remained quiet about my sexuality, holding onto a fear of who I really was. My life at Liberty was fulfilling because of the friendships that I have. I still have friends from Liberty who know that I am gay and they still love me no matter what because they know I am a child of God.
However, my student life at Liberty was not the only way in which this school’s teachings and policies effected me personally. I also worked at Liberty during college. Then, someone from my church decided to out me to the Human Resources department. The department decided to let me go not based on my job performance, but because they could not have someone who was gay on their staff. They were concerned about what the parents would think if they knew that someone who was gay was working at Liberty. I was told that if I sought counseling then I may get my job back. They also told me that they loved me, but they couldn’t have someone like me working there.
Until then I agreed with everything that Liberty believed except concerning their stance on Homosexuality. God taught me a lot when I was there. This event got me to realize that I needed to stop living a lie and start living my life as God intended. Someone from the church tried to make my life a disaster, but ended up allowing me to obtain the life that I was supposed to live. Today, I am proud to admit that I am a Gay-Christian. God is still number one in my life. He has provided my every need now as he has always promised he would. I pray that my words will help someone to realize what harm religious persecution can do to an individual who is a Christian and gay.
In Him,
Greg Turner