I have some trouble with the whole issue of whether one is born homosexual. I have read all of your comments on this site and am still confused. Do you know any gay men? Have you ever spoken to them on their views of their sexuality? I have and am not convinced that homosexuality is "a choice". With all the controversy and negative press the gay community has been getting in my city, why would anyone choose to be part of that scene if they had the option not to be? Also, several gay acquaintances have assured me that their sexual attraction to other men is as real and a part of them as my being a married heterosexual. Just as I would never entertain the notion of sleeping with a man or even contemplating such an act, gays have told me the same applies to them except they are attracted to men. I believe homosexuality is more than just an "act"...it seems to be a lifestyle and not something that you can "reform" or "cure" someone of; it's not something that one can just "turn off" and say "I'm not going to do that again". How would you react as a heterosexual man if someone told you your sexual interest must be in other men? In essence I guess I'm saying that I believe there to be a genetic dysfunction that predisposes one to homosexuality. Although I am at odds as to why God would condemn such an act when he allows such biochemical "exceptions" to be born...your further thoughts?
Answer
Thank you for reading my answers, and especially thank you for questioning them. I am a poor human who tries to answer to the best of my ability from the Bible. It is only through questioning my comments that I can learn more. Also, keep in mind that my responses try to be what the Bible says about the subject. If anyone does not accept the Bible as God’s word, then they will not accept what it says as authoritative.
Yes, I do know quite a few gay men and women. I have talked with some about their views. Like many people, they are of two minds. There are many who say that they were born to be homosexuals and there is nothing they can do about it. There are others, like my friends at the “Christians No Longer Gay Living for God” web site, who say that one can change.
With all the negativity, why would anyone choose to perform homosexual acts? For the same reason people steal, kill, take drugs, or any number of other things that they find pleasurable. With the emphasis on health and the negative view of overweight people, why do some people continue to overeat, when they could choose not to? I don’t know, other than that it is hard to give up something you have learned to enjoy. In some cases, some things become psychologically addictive for any number of reasons, and that includes sex (either homosexual or heterosexual).
Whether or not one “is a homosexual,” the Bible’s definition is simply one who has sex with another of the same gender. It addresses the act itself, and that is all. It also says that people who engage in those acts can change (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). I hear a lot of people say homosexuality is “a lifestyle.” I will not argue with that, if one uses the word lifestyle properly. A lifestyle is not something that is genetically bound (or predisposed) on a person. Breathing is not a lifestyle. Eating is not a lifestyle, although how much you eat may be. Being a couch potato is a lifestyle. Exercising is a lifestyle. Chocolate is a lifestyle. I have chosen chocolate as a lifestyle. It would be extremely difficult for me to give up chocolate. But given the right incentive I could do so, because it is a lifestyle and not “hardwired” into me. There are those to whom alcohol is a lifestyle. They may even be genetically predisposed to alcoholism, but they can quit drinking. (In the mapping of the human genome, obesity and alcoholism have been found to have possible genetic predispositions. I have yet to hear it trumpeted from the rooftops that they have found a homosexual gene. That’s not to say they haven’t; just that I would have thought the gay community would have jumped that bandwagon if they had.) Some say it is not something you can just “turn off” and others are living proof that it is.
You do bring up a very valid point. If one who commits homosexual acts were created that way, then God would be unjust to condemn it. Because he has condemned it, that suggests to believers in the Bible that God didn’t make “such biochemical exceptions.”
Let me close by saying that I have learned a lot from my gay friends. They have taught me that I can be tolerant even without being approving. They have accepted me into their lives, so I can do no different for them (especially if I want to continue acting). Most of all, they have taught me to loosen up and be a hugger. I now hug friends and acquaintances of any persuasion, rather than always settling for a mere handshake. That is, to me, a valuable lesson.
I know I haven’t mentioned a lot of scripture in this. That is because I have included them in my other answers that you have read.