Keila Guedes went from repressing religion to publishing a warning book

Realizing that she could not change something that was natural to her, Keila decided to leave the church she was part of at the time, and where she held several ecclesiastical positions, to then delve into in-depth studies about her questions regarding biblical condemnations; and to her surprise, there was an unveiling of new knowledge: affirmative theology that includes homosexual people and makes no distinction between sexuality or gender in the sacred scriptures.

“I grew up hearing that Jesus was my best friend, but my best friend couldn’t hear my biggest secret,” says Keila.

And these three decades in the closet suppressing her sexuality awakened in her a strong feeling of courage – so much so that, in 2021, she created a page on social media called “Right to God” to alert the LGBT+ community that, in fact, there is an erroneous and malicious interpretation of biblical texts.

The page was so successful that it received a flood of messages from several people thanking it for the content it brought. It was then that the idea was born to gather all of this in a book and, with an easy and dynamic reading, bring more articles and in-depth research denouncing the fundamentalism of the traditional evangelical church and the homophobic discourse of its leadership.

“The purpose of my book is to alert my community not to go through what I went through. You don’t need to be afraid to be who you are! Jesus designed you to have an abundant life. There is no abundant life inside the closet!”

And this need to teach people that there is no condemnation for their sexual orientation or gender identification was so great that it was not limited to the resounding success of his book: “LGBTQIAP+ People and the Right to God”, but also made him speak in churches and institutions talking about the subject and also included the creation of an online course to teach and answer questions about this very important topic.

While participating in a seminar last month, when Pride Month was celebrated at the Brazilian Legislative Institute in the Federal Senate, Keila was honored with the news from the event organizers that Congress will acquire a copy of her book to be part of the library – and thus contribute to information and diversity in the Legislative Branch of our country.

To purchase the book Click here.

*Artur Vieira is a Christian, gay and journalist who has worked with the LGBT+ public since 2013 on the internet with the profile @devoltaaoreino.
By Ezatamentchy