Allan Edwards from the US state of Pennsylvania is a gay man. He’s known he was attracted to men since he was a teenager and in the years since the mid-1990s, he’s come to terms with his sexual orientation.
But Edwards is also a pastor whose religion says homosexuality is a sin, so he did what he thought was right. He married a woman and never acted on the sexual feelings he naturally experiences.
That doesn’t change who he is. He knows it. His wife knows it. And when it’s old enough, their unborn baby will know it too.
Leeanne and Pastor Edwards. Image via Facebook.
“I think we all have part of our desires that we choose not to act on, right?” Edwards told NPR. “So for me, it’s not just that the religion was important to me, but communion with a God who loves me, who accepts me right where I am.”
It’s incredibly easy to read Edwards’ comments and think he’s trying to hide the truth from himself. That religion prevents him from being who he truly is and being open and honest about his sexuality. But Edwards swears he isn’t.
“I don’t think anyone chooses what they will be tempted by, sexually or otherwise. But we do choose what to do with that desire,” he wrote in a blog post.
Pastor Edwards. Image via Facebook.