Two
Born
homosexual or not
The question
I asked in The Third Sex? forty-four
years ago was whether homosexuals were born that way or not. Most, but not all,
homosexuals want to believe they were.[1]
Despite the fact that each person I interviewed for the books published by
Logos on homosexuality said they were born gay, a number said they never had
had a heterosexual thought. However, am examination of the conversations from
which the interviews were drawn it appeared to me that each person had merely
adopted the premise they were born gay. There was no hard science behind their
gay identities at all. I came to the conclusion that being born gay was little
more than a cultural myth in the homosexual community. “I was born gay,
homosexuality is natural for me” was an identity marker that went with the
territory.
Born gay? How did that happen? And,
what purpose or advantage was operative in the evolutionary/biological process
then if homosexuality is normal? Was the natural selection mechanism running
amok? Look, the parts don’t fit, that is plain enough; the homosexual act,
among humans beings for sure, goes against everything natural. Sex is not for
pleasure alone; the genes are designed to perpetuate the organism.
The role of guilt
From time to
time I catch a glimpse at something in the inner being, something nearly
invisible, way under the radar, yet powerful at the same time, that may be the
motivator behind the desire to think one is born homosexual. In a word–guilt.
The Creator God has written the truth of who and what we are in our core being,
in the inner person. When that base data is violated, a warning bell is
sounded, that is, our conscience accuses us. And that psychic/spiritual finger
pointing is very unpleasant.
It is entirely necessary to quote a
few Bible verses to illustrate my contention. And in case it is not clear, what
matters most to me is the Scripture. The science on the subject is unclear and
may always be—at least it will be under contention. Whatever people may think,
even experts, is going to be suspect to some degree and subject to critical
analysis since hidden and not so hidden agendas will be in play as is the case
for my own work. So what counts for me is what God has revealed. Of course, if
one does not have a high view of the Scripture, then what I am presenting will
be next to meaningless. The culture, perhaps including science, since so much
science is compromised by political considerations, will not be of much value
since culture is most often derived from low common denominators and not from
revealed truth. Without revelation from God only the loudest and most powerful
voices will prevail. Now then we look at Romans 1:18-20.
For the
wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For
what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have
been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things
that have been made. So they are without excuse.
In chapter five we will take a
closer look at Romans 1, but in the segment of Romans above, Paul clearly, and
carefully, states that homosexuality is unrighteous. My point here is that the
truth of creation is plainly revealed to us. The word “conscience” is not in
the text but it is implied. The words, “known,” “plain,” “perceived” are
used—these are likely the functions of what we ordinarily identify as
conscience.
There is then something in us, an
alarm of sorts that lets us know when certain forms of behavior are outside the
limits of that which is righteous. Guilt is at least a part of that alarm, and
humans will go to great lengths to avoid the sensation of guilt. And claiming
to be born gay would be an obvious method of assuaging guilt.
Fellowship of the guilty
One way of
dealing with guilt is to have whatever it is that produces guilt, or finger
pointing, turned into something that is approved.
There is an interesting passage in the New Testament that speaks to this
very thing, Romans 1:32. “Though they know God’s decree that those who practice
such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those
who practice them.” In the preceding verses Paul lists a number of expressions
of unrighteous behavior and included in the list is male and female
homosexuality. More of Romans 1 will be under discussion in the next chapter
but here I want to focus on the phrase, “give approval to those who practice
them.”
Our present popular American culture
is busy, and has for some time, justifying sexuality of all kinds. The Hugh Heffner
types among us found it commercially advantageous to do so, and those who
deviate from cultural norms have a vested interest as well—to satisfy their
desires. (Desires indeed—if I were to describe some of these, just the ones practiced
by segments of the gay community, it might seem as though I was making things
up to make homosexuals look bad.) Cultural approval is the goal and the front
lines are the schools, media–print and television, besides the courts and
legislative bodies. What could be better: make it safe and acceptable to
practice whatever kind of sex we feel inclined toward. The line is presently being
held in regard to sex with children, so far, but will this change in favor of
the pedophiles, both heterosexual and homosexual? And it is here, for instance,
that the fellowship of sin is somewhat evident to the broad population, a we versus they thing that reminds one of
sectarianism. Sectarian? Maybe cultic would be a better description. A whole
language with subtle code words and gestures developed long ago, which is
sometimes called “camp.” Members of the gay community, for example, have called
me, “a breeder” and it does not have a warm fuzzy meaning. Many other examples
could be given. A separate world of insiders exists, all based on sexual
preference. These revolutionaries see themselves as a minority fighting for
freedom of sexual expression.
The gay activists have made
tremendous strides, as they said they would, in seeking the approval of
homosexuality. Homosexuality is often applauded and those who “come out” can be
treated as heroes, and some even receive forms of homage. A strange thing
indeed when unrighteous behavior is approved.
A valid defense?
The
homosexual who claims to be born that way is without excuse and that means
without any defense for the trial and judgment that comes at the end of the
age. Though a contemporary culture may approve, or seem to approve, of
homosexual behavior, the Judge will not be impressed. Culture does not
determine truth.
Western countries are rapidly moving
toward the acceptance of homosexual unions and marriage. [2]
The laws of many nations will no doubt reflect the prevailing winds of opinion,
opinions voiced by aggressive activists.[3]
But, and I have no hard data on this, I suspect that the majority of people
will in their own hearts and minds still say no to homosexuality. Only a
minority, and generally only a silent minority at that, will stand up and be
counted. Homosexuality has won acceptance before, but a kind of pendulum swings
back, for a variety of reasons, sometimes the collapse of a culture or a great
outpouring of the Holy Spirit in a revival or awakening. Without a biblical foundation there is little
to prevent “normalizing” of homosexuality. There is no help in the U.S.
Constitution and the national religion or sentimentality is not strong enough
to withstand the preachers of acceptance of homosexual behavior.
Here the voice of the Apostle Paul must
be heard. He knew, as a trained Rabbi, that the Scripture condemned
homosexuality, and living in the Graeco-Roman world he saw the impact of gay
sex on that culture. He would have seen the young boys forced into gay
prostitution serving pagan temples, he would have known of the horrendous abuse
of little boys by the Roman elite including emperors like Tiberius. While Paul
did not advocate the stoning of homosexuals as was actually prescribed in the
Old Testament,[4] he
nevertheless understood homosexual behavior to be sinful. He even acknowledged
that members of the congregation at Corinth, whose citizens had become
accustomed to homosexuality, had been engaged in the practice. He wrote:
Do you not
know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be
deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, not adulterers, nor men
who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor
revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of
you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
Paul does not excuse those in the
church at Corinth who had been homosexual, and the same was true of those who
had engaged in other forms of sinful behavior. They all must cease from
engaging in whatever sin they had given in to or had been captured by. There is
no talk of acceptance of homosexuality, no indication that anyone was born a
homosexual.
Perhaps it is a mistake to reject
what Paul says, and for that matter what the Bible says as a whole, about
homosexuality. Christians, and others who consider homosexual behavior to be
wrong did not necessarily come to accept that viewpoint because they simply had
to in order to be Christians. Before I believed in things biblical, I did not
accept homosexuality as a normal expression of human sexuality. I neither
feared not scorned homosexuals, which of course, does often take place. The
first time I heard that a couple of male medics in our barracks at Travis Air
Force Base in Fairfield, CA had been caught doing a sexual act together I
wondered what they could possibly have been doing and then felt sorry for them
because of the discipline that followed. At that period of time, 1962,
homosexuality was little more than a blip on the screen for most of Middle
America. From what I have gathered about the Christianity that followed WWII
through the Sexual Revolution that came a couple of decades later, gay was not
a termed most would have understood; homosexual behavior would have been
considered unseemly and bizarre. My point is that if there were no Bible and no
Christians, many people still would regard homosexual behavior to be
questionable if not wrong all together.
Natural
Homosexuality
is not natural, according to the Scripture, which by the way must not be easily
discounted. Despite the fact that the Bible is not highly regarded in much of
the world today it may be again. In Romans chapter one, which will receive more
attention in an upcoming chapter, Paul uses the term “natural” in relationship
to human sexuality. Building off, no doubt, the Genesis account of creation,
men and women are made for each other so that they might be fruitful and
multiply. (see Genesis 1:26-28) This is what is meant by natural—built into the
fabric of creation.
Of lesbianism Paul says, “women
exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature,” and
concerning male homosexuality, “men likewise gave up natural relations with
women and were consumed with passion for one another.” (see Romans 1:26-27)
Whatever might be said about
homosexuality, those who are faithful to the biblical accounts and have no
reason to alter the obvious intent of said Scripture, homosexual behavior must
be seen as being unnatural.
Complications
What about
those who are convinced they are born gay? This is a subject that goes way
beyond the scope of this book. However, I acknowledge that due to a number of
factors it may be that a person is, for all intents and purposes, born gay. I
am referring to anomalies of physiology that would confuse the actual gender of
a person, and there are a number of such conditions. Then there are unusual
circumstances involving parents, which will only grow as gay couples are
permitted to adopt and practice surrogate parenting. “Faulty parenting” and
“faulty parent-child relationships” are terms that are not without serious
consideration, and effect.
Over the decades I have listened to
firsthand accounts wherein I had to admit that a person did not have much of a
chance growing up anything but homosexual. Let me go further: I think it possible
for someone identified as a male or a female who does not have the hormonal
structure of that sex, or even the genetic code pertaining to the sex they were
tagged with, would understandably be preconditioned if not absolutely committed
to a homosexual identity. However infrequent, the possibility must be
acknowledged. Therefore, we have complications.
By way of illustration I offer
something I have understood for some time. As a long time volunteer at San
Quentin Prison I have known many a convict who had little chance not ending up in
prison. Still, the system usually must go ahead anyway and remove the criminal
from the population. We understand this. Neither can we excuse the thief who
steals to feed a hungry family—it is still theft. Why is not a consideration when it comes to sin. Every, or most
sin, may be described as an ineffectual coping mechanism—to get psychological
about it, which the Bible never does. All sin, at some level, is a rebellion
against God, despite the stress and pressure that may be motivating factors.
Wrong behavior has a history, and to some degree understandable, but wrong is
wrong. Homosexual behavior is wrong. This will not change.
In many ways, it would be easier for
Christians to give in and simply accept homosexual behavior, or some forms in
which it is practiced, in light of the complications. I have been so tempted.
To do so would take away the hope of those homosexuals who know in the recesses
of their hearts and minds that homosexuality is wrong. As mentioned before,
those who showed up to the ministry I was engaged in were wanting out.
Collateral damage inflicted by ads
employing sexual stimulation
Men are more
at risk when it comes to constantly being presented by ads that hope to lure
them to a product by using sexual stimuli. Half naked ladies appear on many
pages of The San Francisco Chronicle I
read every day. The scantily clad beauty
standing by the new car, or holding a brew, inviting the public to a bar and
grill—the ad agency folks know how to lure the customer. Our minds play tricks
on us, the hormones are stimulated and we drink in the ad.
What about women who are also
subject to the same ads? My understanding is that they will also be stimulated
by such ads, ads with the scantily clad ladies in them even though the viewer
is heterosexual. It is not surprising then that I have spoken with women who
thought they were gay merely because of the stimulation they experienced when
seeing the ads. Not at all strange that there would be stimulation, but it is
only chemical and hormonal—not actually stealth lesbianism. And what would be
true of women will also be true for men. That same newspaper also has lots of
photos of half naked men—what goes for the women goes for the men as well.
There may be sexual stimulation, which does not even approach the idea that one
is homosexual thereby. The hormone thing is powerful and deceptive.
Must the complications force a change
in theology?
Ever since
the commandment breaking by the first creatures created in the image of God,
that is Adam and Eve, normal went out the window. Reading through the
consequences of the Fallfound in
Genesis chapter three, it is plain all of life was changed. Moments after the
first sin, Adam and Eve noticed they were naked, tried to cover up with fig
leaves, were fearful of God, and tried to hide from Him. Whether one takes the
Genesis account of the garden literally or not, the intent of the author is
clear: human sexuality was severely damaged. Nothing has changed over the
course of the centuries. Human sexuality is confused, distorted, and twisted.
Few but the idealists among us,
which usually are forced to take off their rose tinted glasses that make all of
life beautiful and fair at some point of the path to maturity, are shocked at
the incredible plagues that are common to human kind. People are born with
terrible troubles from the physical to the mental and emotional sorts. More
seems to be wrong than right. Born with a bent toward homosexuality—it would or
should be expected. Since all else in our world is distorted in some ways, and
some more than others, sexuality would logically suffer as well.
The point is simple enough: Even if
a person were born homosexual, whatever pre-disposing factors were present or
not, this does not mean homosexuality is normal or even good. It just would be
the way it was.
At one point, the kingdom of God
will come. “Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven” is one prayer that
will be answered. The Bible draws the picture so interestingly. Trouble in
paradise, Genesis’ early chapters with the tragic Fall, then paradise restored
in the kingdom that is coming, the last chapters of Revelation. God’s ultimate
intention will be realized. Those whom He has chosen and called to Himself will
be in His presence forever.
Marriage is only temporary
A group
known as Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection, approached Jesus
and tried to stump him with a hypothetical question. In the Law of Moses,
Deuteronomy 25 to be exact, is a set of laws, Levirate Marriage laws, that were
designed to keep property in the hands of the family at the death of the head
of the family. The Sadducees thought they would gain some ground with Jesus by painting
the story of a woman who married seven brothers, each of which died, one before
the other. Then she died. Which of the seven husbands, they wanted to know,
would she be married to in heaven. Part of Jesus’ response was, “In the
resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage” (Matthew 22:30).
No marriage in heaven. Why? Because
the ultimate intention of the creator God is realized. There would be a
marriage all right, but the groom is Christ and the bride is His Chosen People.
(Interesting that the word church in the Greek New Testament is feminine.)
So much of the Bible is prophetic
historical drama. The great stories and circumstances found in its pages often point
beyond the actual events themselves to a future reality, from the sending away
of the first couple from the garden, to the ark of Noah, the building of a
temporary temple, and on and on.
Human marriage, for instance, is more than a mechanism of populating the
planet and providing a reasonable framework to build a culture on. It looks to
the uniting of God with His Church, His ekklesia[5]
or called out ones. Genesis opens with a marriage between Adam and Eve, which
becomes corrupted of course, and Revelation ends with a grand wedding feast.
(see Revelation 19:6-10) John the Apostle, who received the content of the Book
of Revelation, heard these words: “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of
the Lamb” (Revelation 21:9).
The Lamb—this is Jesus, the Lamb without blemish, sacrificed for the sin
of His people who are known at the end of history as the Bride and the wife.
Jesus described His return at the last day as a groom coming for his bride.
(see Matthew 25:1-13)
Too much of a focus on sex
The
homosexual community is all about sex. Well, I know they claim it is about
individual freedoms and liberty and regular people doing nothing more than
trying to live their lives. And it is that to some degree, but it is very
unlike the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Now it is not a
question of rights since especially in America, all the rights necessary are
secured, on paper at least, for every citizen. No, the issue has to do with
those who even think that homosexuality is wrong. Homosexuality must be
believed to be normal and good, both. If not, such an injustice must be corrected in some manner or the other. Anything
less is to be considered homophobic, hate speech, politically incorrect, and certainly
illegal.
I understand that the preceding paragraph seems almost like a rant. It is
not; it is a careful analysis of the homosexual agenda that is aggressively
being advanced on nearly every front. And all for the sake of sex—bottom line.
And the point here is that the whole meaning of life is being missed. Sex is a
part of life neither the end nor the whole of it. Life is short and full of
trouble; being able to express one’s sexuality and have it approved by others
is not the goal of our living. Somewhere along the way, many gay people, even
those who are not influenced by the Christian Scriptures, realize this
spiritual fact. This book is written for them. Yes, there is something more,
something far better, and the way to it is a narrow path which is Jesus Christ
and His cross.
[1]
Some gays grew up fearful of, hateful of, neglected by, rejected by, molested
by a parent of the opposite sex, or some other scenario, whereby sex with a
member of the opposite sex was impossible but the call of the hormones was
present nevertheless. Others learned to get their sex where they could get it
and found, for any number of reasons, that it was easier, and quicker, to find
a homosexual partner than a heterosexual partner. The point is that not all
homosexuals will claim they were born that way. Some even will engage in
homosexuality because it seems sexier, more exciting, than the normal version.
[2]
When the first draft was written, this was accurate. Now, 2019, it is not.
[3]
The fight for homosexual rights, especially for homosexual marriage, has taken
on something akin to what motivated the civil rights movement of the 1960s and
1970s—a defense of what was perceived to be a persecuted minority. This is
evident in a number of the liberal leaning Christian denominations.
[4]
Leviticus 20:13 states that men who engage in a homosexual act are to be
stoned. Nothing is mentioned about female homosexuality and not for reasons
that homosexual acts among women would be acceptable. Stoning of homosexuals is
not carried over into the New Testament. There all sex outside of marriage
between a man and a woman is sinful. In the Old Testament many offenses
resulted in a death sentence and that is likely a means of showing the
seriousness of sin and points also the fact that the wages of sin is death, and
physical death only but eternal death. (see Romans 6:23)
[5]
The term is generally translated church or congregation or assembly.
