Daniel Mattson
| "LGBT" need to be charitably challenged |
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| “The reframing of human sexuality from behavior to identity has brought about a lot of confusion in the world, especially among young people … I'm troubled by these folks who are abstaining from sex but embracing the sexual identity of LGBT, et.al. I think this thinking of embracing a sexual orientation other than ‘male’ or ‘female’ will wreak havoc for our youth. Ultimately, I hope and pray that they'll come fully into the richness of the Church's teachings on sexuality, but in the meantime, they need to be charitably challenged, because of the impact they could have on people in the Church who are confused about their sexual identity.”
— Daniel Mattson[1]
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Daniel C. Mattson once believed he was gay yet he found himself bereft until he turned to Christ and accepted his true identity as a man. By reclaiming his sexual reality, he found peace and a ministry to others with same-sex attraction (SSA). Now is considered to be a gifted writer and poet, an inspirational evangelist and an ambassador for Christ. Dan is a longtime member of Courage, a worldwide Catholic apostolate ministering to persons with SSA.[1] As a public speaker, he proclaims the Good News of the Catholic Church's teaching on homosexuality and from time to time, he is invited to give his personal testimony to groups around the country. His story is told in the award-winning documentary Desire of the Everlasting Hills. A professional orchestral trombone player, Mattson has performed and presented master classes around the world, including at the famed St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia. He also blogs under a pseudonym at LettersToChristopher.wordpress.com.
| "being gay" vs. just a man |
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| "Same-sex attractions have as much power over my life as I allow them to have. This is one reason I have chosen not to be gay, and not to come out as a gay man. No doubt my same-sex attractions impact other areas of my life, but I believe I place them in a far healthier place by refusing to "come out" and thereby placing "being gay" at the center of my life. That holds no interest for me.
I'd rather know myself — and be known — as just a man, just the way God created me." — Daniel C. Mattson[2]
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Contents
Life
Raised in a Christian family, and aware of attractions to other boys at age six, Mattson's life was marked by constant turmoil between his faith in God and his sexual attractions. Finding the conflict between his sexual desires and the teachings of his church too great, he assumed he was gay, turned his back on God, and began a relationship with another man. Yet freedom and happiness remained elusive until he discovered Christ and his true identity.
Publications
- Mattson first began writing about faith and homosexuality in 2012 in an article for First Things called "Why I Don't Call Myself a Gay Christian".[3]
- In his 2017 frank memoir Why I Don't Call Myself Gay: How I Reclaimed My Sexual Reality and Found Peace, Mattson chronicles his journey to and from a gay identity, finding peace in his true identity, as a man, made in the image and likeness of God. Part autobiography, part philosophy of life, and part a practical guide in living chastely, the book draws lessons from Mattson's search for inner freedom and integrity, sharing wisdom from his failures and successes. His lifelong search for happiness and peace comes full circle in his realization that, above all else, what is true about him is that he is a beloved son of God, loved into existence by God, created for happiness in this life and the next. Mattson's book is for anyone who has ever wondered who he is, why he is here, and, in the face of suffering, where to find joy, happiness, and the peace that surpasses all understanding.[2] Mattson skillfully addresses two enormous issues facing the Church at this critical moment of history:
- First, some SSA Catholics seek not to reject “gay” identity but to cherish and enshrine their “gayness” as a personal identity beyond male or female. They are proud to simultaneously call themselves “Gay and Catholic,” abandoning Church teaching that homoerotic desire is intrinsically disordered. Though chaste, they prefer to celebrate being “gay” and to divine special gifts from it.
- Second, a growing number of priests and prelates now challenge the Church’s genuine understanding of the human person and of human sexuality. Some of these go further than embracing chaste “gay identity” and flirt with the notion that active homosexuality should be recognized as a valid way of life within the Church.[1]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 ‘Why I Don’t Call Myself Gay’: A same-sex-attracted Catholic tells his story. LifeSiteNews (12 Jun 2017). Retrieved on 29 Aug 2017. “His book, beginning with its title, would appear to be his “charitable challenge” to the infiltration of foreign ideologies into the Church. A master craftsman, Mattson builds a strong bulwark of truth against lies creeping into the Church. Dan makes it abundantly clear that the Church has a positive, life-giving message for those of us who live with SSA. Mattson speaks of the “empty promises of coming out” that “leads to a belief in what is ultimately an unreal condition — it paints a false image of the human person and traps people into sexual identities that are disconnected with reality.” Mattson rejects sentimentality, which misleads so many gays and their supporters, and instead, like a laser, he focuses exclusively on known truth.”
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Daniel Mattson (2017). Why I Don't Call Myself Gay: How I Reclaimed My Sexual Reality and Found Peace. Ignatius Press. ISBN 978-1-62164-072-1.
- ↑ Daniel C. Mattson (27 Jul 2017). Why I Don't Call Myself a Gay Christian. First Things. Retrieved on 12 Oct 2017.
