Being Gay and Christian in England in 1996 (British TV Documentary) 

"He didn't commit suicide - he drowned". I think Simon's friend has summed up perfectly what happened. The interviewer says that Simon was 'trapped'. Yes. He was. But he wasn't trapped by his homosexuality - he was trapped by the teachings of a Church which unashamedly set itself up as the moral authority. He was trapped by the expectations of his parents, and sadly, the father still doesn't have any understanding of who his son was.. Simon drowned because his experience was of a Christianity focused on sexuality and devoid of love and acceptance. Simon had been bullied in childhood and in adulthood encountered a society which rejected him, so it's understandable that he saw no hope. He was gay. He was Christian. However, Simon was a lot more than that - he was a beautiful, sensitive and loving young man - who deserved to experience love in a way that made sense to him. Shame - shame - on all those who caused him to drown. I am in tears.

What an utterly depressing documentary. Thank you for reminding me why I left the Church behind. His father and his Church should hang their heads in shame. Disgusting.

My best friend committed suicide in 2001- life has NEVER been the same again. You did deserve love Simon. Rest in peace buddy. His dad makes me angry. Counselling someone out of being gay, idiotic man. This is what the brainwashing of religion does.

Evil isn't content until good is stamped out, destroyed. Too bad Simon Harvey's bully in the Ipswich High School was never held accountable for his vicious assaults. Coward.

That father speaks Rubbish, Shame on him!

Ffs that “father” …. I’m seething with anger towards his words. That poor young man! May he finally rest in peace, WItH a headstone!

Simon's father failed as father.

How terrible, plus the law going after the people for being different ? We haven’t made enough progress because the hate is still here. It just people have to be strong enough to tell people “ YOU WON’T BRING ME DOWN “ because it’s my life. My life, is none of your business, my happiness mine to enjoy, and F…. You !

Clearly, this father, in his ignorance of sexual identity issues, CAUSED his son's death. So unfortunate.

His father has since died, 2012. At least Simon got a mention in his obituary

Simon's father and his organization, U-Turn, is evil. It is the attitude of the father, and other's like him, that precisely is responsible for Simon's suicide and the suicide of countless others like him. Sorry. There is no forgiveness for evil people like that which makes gay people like Simon go through such horrible suffering. Simon did not need help. He needed unconditional love, just like Christ showed us how to give. Listen to Simon. How much more pure of heart and holy towards God than Simon (or John), does a person have to be in order to be accounted for as a Christian?

Religion killed Simon. Shame also on his father. RIP.

Wow. What a sad story. His father had a chance to make a legacy for Simon but instead used it to spread even more false religion- the same religion that caused his son to take his own life.

GAY- God accepts you 🙏 rest in peace Simon x

Dad like that a gay son would seem hopeless I guess.

That father is horrible. Hiding his ignorance and bigotry behind religion, the usual.... He could have honoured his child by doing something good. But instead he started some kind of conversation therapy programme to continue torturing people. Awful man.

No wonder h committed with dad like that

i'm so very sorry for your loss.

He reminds me of Jesus asking God to take this cup from me. I think God and through Jesus is trying to teach us to stop persecuting what we do not understand out of fear. Love has always been the hardest thing to learn and feel. 😇🙏🌈

Such a sad story. The father is a psychopath. Simon was immature in his thinking, having swallowed the myth that he was in his very nature sinful, he couldn’t escape it. Tragic loss of a young man.

Uturn is such an evil organisation

This is a very sick Father

Unmarked grave - seriously!!

These days in 2021 it's really no different there were Pharisees and Jesus was talking about them as well Paul did not understand homosexuals the word homosexual was not even invented until 1890.

So sad how many lives have been ruined by religion. It truly is a cancer to humanity.

The interviewer takes a calm moderate approach. It's to the downfall of the alphabet people that they refuse to.

Cant a person be gay and a Christian and be happy?

So sad .

To Simons father. He killed himself partially because of your contempt of him.

A question: where in the bible Jesus, God's son, talks about sexuality?

This father drove his son to suicide. What religion does to the human brain.....

Bless his father's heart, like so many parents the road to hell is paid was good intentions. The father so thought he was right and so it was the only thing he knew to do it was to teach other homosexuals that they needed to change Never understanding that true acceptance and love is welcoming The stranger, not crafting a new person to fit your image for the appearance of righteousness sake. come as You are. 😇🙏🌈 God never told the gay people that God wanted him to change it was the wording in the rewording of the scriptures that drove Calvinism to create their own theology in their own way that has created this mess. Gay people embarrassed us so we want to change the gay person into what we believe sexuality should be. It's just like God whether it's a black people or women are now gay people the church is always got things wrong due to prejudice and racism and it's in our hearts if we're falling that is the true nature of our fallen condition we're prejudiced we're racist and we're tribal. 🙏🌈

Thank God that the church and most Christians have learnt to speak honestly about sexuality. I’m a gay Christian and I feel the trauma inflicted on me by the church can only be healed by the church. Christ the Redeemer over Christ the Condemner.

And don't be angry at the father it's kind of sad it reminds me of the verse where Jesus said and if you're willing to follow me then sell all your possessions and follow me the man the father he was still looking at a way to turn this bad thing into a good thing and in his mind it was all about him again before it was about him he was too embarrassed to accept his son because if he accepted his son what would people think of him so if he goes out and change a bunch of homosexuals into straight people which could never happen we know this now it's still about him he's trying to do things in his own power we're God Jesus never had intended this man to do it so therefore he went to his grave thinking he achieved something great but he still missed the message to love one another as you love yourself if you loved yourself you would have realized the life without a companion would be not of God's word God said it is not good for man to be alone he committed suicide because the thought of being alone without love and he had experienced no love while he was here which we're still going through that now. Parents that shun their children lose hope all they have is hope that their parents will accept them and that they can find somebody in this whole world and they know their parents but the words that come out of life God said Jesus said it's not what goes in a man that makes someone clean it what it's what comes out of his mouth that makes him unclean the gay man was not unclean what was unclean was the church's teaching and the fathers way of love was unclean. And God said what I have blessed I have blessed let him who can accept this except this go to the eunuch and Matthew 19 24 I believe. Some of you were born this way from your mother's womb some of you were made this way from the church and some of you have made yourselves this way for the kingdom as long as you keep the Sabbath I will make your name a far greater name and build you a monument. This was to the eunuchs. The gays are the eunuchs. 🌈🙏😇

Where Religion exists evil follows.

The church is invalid. It was a different time. We are more spiritual now and realize the church matters not. It is of man. God is within.

You can not be both!

Jesus would show compassion for homosexuals he just wouldn't go along with the gay rights movement

Listen God is love. God is good. God is all for genuine love for one another. I genuinely love my brothers, I genuinely love my father, I genuinely love my uncles, I genuinely love my grandpas, my male cousins, and even my male friends. But I am not homosexual. What makes me different from homosexuals? Not only do homosexuals genuinely love their partners they also have "sexually" attraction for their mates. I love my guys but I am not sexually attracted to them. The meaning of the word homosexual is sexually orientation towards the same sex. The homosexual prefers the same sex to fulfill his sexual needs. Now, no one is born a homosexual, but rather everyone, because of the sin caused by Adam and Eve, because we inherited sin from them, we are naturally born to have an inclination to want to commit sins. No one was born a liar, no one was born a cheater, no one was born a thief, no one was born a murderer, no one was born a rapist, nor anyone was born a homosexual. Because of sin's inclination, each and everyone of us has the potential to become one or more of these things. Homosexuality IS a choice, why? Because, instead of fighting against sin's inclination, they "chose" to give in. They allowed their fleshly desires to take control of them. Why I list homosexuality along with other sins? Because a sin is a sin! Why we jump on homosexuality rather than those other sins? Do you hear anyone saying that lying is okay and live their lives as a liars? Do you hear anyone saying that cheating is okay and live their lives as a cheaters? Do you hear anyone saying that stealing is okay and live their lives as a career thieves? Do you hear anyone saying that murdering is okay and live their lives as a serial killers? Do you hear anyone saying that raping is okay and live their lives as a serial rapists? You know that these are bad, and if anyone say that these things should be recognized and legalized then you'll call them insane. The same with homosexuals! You hear these people saying that homosexuality is okay and live their lives as homosexuals. And they call themselves Christians? There is no such thing as a gay Christian. In order for a person to call himself a Christian is that he must believe and "obey" the word of God unconditionally, that person, even though born with sin, will put up a fight against sin's inclination, not live his lifestyle in sin! Anybody who proclaims that they are living lifestyle that is contrary to God's standards of living and is okay with it are announcing rebellion against God. He is out of line with God. No, sir you are not a gay Christian, you are a gay rebel! A serial killer cannot call himself Christian, a serial rapist cannot call himself Christian, a prostitute cannot call himself Christian, a drug dealer cannot call himself Christian, a gang member cannot call himself Christian, an extortioner cannot call himself Christian, a homosexual cannot call himself Christian, because these people "aren't living" a Christian lifestyle! As for the churches who permits gay couples are cowards! They do not fear God but rather they fear man. They do not glorify God, they glorify themselves among man. They are every bit as guilty as the homosexual. But not me, in not afraid, I fear God, and don't fear man. I glorify God and do not glorify myself before man. I speak the truth! I'm not judging, this is coming from the one who has the authority to judge, and that is God. This is coming from God. His word is set in stone, no matter how much you want to believe that certain sin is okay, no matter how much you want it to be, no matter how much you twist the words of God to justify your sinful lifestyle, God's words will always stand, it had in the past, it is so now, and it will be in the future! They "chose" to follow their hearts rather than follow God, they "chose" their feelings over God's words. Just because it feels right doesn't mean it is right! When they are cornered now, their last ditch effort is to say that the bible is written by man anyways and say they are Christians, who are you people? I sometime think that some man are sexually attractive, but God told me that this desire is wrong, so if I love God, then I would resist those feelings for the same sex. The point is, you have got to reject sin, do not let sin's law provail, do not let it take over. But for those who choose to remain living sinful lifestyles then you won't have a place in God's house. In order for you to live in God's house, you have to live by his rules. Or else, you got to go some place else and I think we all know where that is. Kevin Sanchez Now you tell me where in the bible that God said that it is okay for a man to lay down with another man like he does a woman. Tell me where did God say that it men who practice homosexuality will inherit God's kingdom. Tell me where did God constituted marriages between two people of the same sex. Tell me where did God condoned any gay relationships. Tell me where did God gave laws to regulate gay unions. Tell me where did God said he like homosexuality. Tell me where so that I may accept homosexuality.