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He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice. - Albert Einstein
A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read.
-Mark Twain
I read this article earlier and was about to post it myself, but checked first to see if anyone else had. If you go to his website it says he lives in Portland, OR. But the article mentions his church in Nashville. So what I'm wondering is, which of these two cities is the one where he performed this experiment, because the responses could be very different for each city. I used to live in the Nashville area, and coming out of the closet there would definitely be a different experiece than doing so in a place like Portland. I'd like to see someone try this experiment in a small town in the Bible Belt. Or...maybe that wouldn't be a good idea, actually.
I tried to be openly gay for 2 days in a small Bible-Belt town. People told me to my face that my disabilities were God's punishment for my homosexuality. Yep.
I tried to be openly gay for 2 days in a small Bible-Belt town. People told me to my face that my disabilities were God's punishment for my homosexuality. Yep.
I'm very sorry for your experience. Yes, and they call themselves Christians.
I tried to be openly gay for 2 days in a small Bible-Belt town. People told me to my face that my disabilities were God's punishment for my homosexuality. Yep.
Don't ya just love the way these stone age mental midgets cling to the superstition and ignorance of the past. Humanity can't progress while holding onto ignorance with all their might.
I tried to be openly gay for 2 days in a small Bible-Belt town. People told me to my face that my disabilities were God's punishment for my homosexuality. Yep.
My only surprise is that they actually had the nerve to say it to your face instead of exclusively behind your back.
This is the problem that comes up when one sees sexual orientation as a choice. It seems like a lot of people see homosexuality as just sex or lust toward members of the same sex. But just like being straight, there's more to it than that. When a straight man sees a beautiful woman and immediately sexual thoughts come to his mind, did he decide to have those thoughts? He may choose to suppress them or embrace them, but that initial spark comes naturally to him. If he falls in love with a woman does he think, "I believe I'm straight, so I'm going to fall for this woman instead of my best friend, who is a man." Of course not. It just happens; it's not a decision he makes. So why couldn't the same thing happen to two men? Or two women? Do you honestly believe a man living in the Bible Belt would say, "You know what? I think I want to be gay. I'll probably be ostracized for it, maybe even physically persecuted, but I just really want to be romantically drawn toward men instead of women." That's ridiculous.
So some people feel homosexuals are simply choosing a lifestyle, and they condemn it as such. But to a homosexual person, their sexual orientation is not something they chose, just as yours and mine are not. So when you say, "I don't hate you, but I can't condone your homosexuality," what you might as well be saying is, "I don't hate you, but I can't condone this trait of yours that you didn't choose and have no control over." From their point of view, it's no different than telling an African American man that you don't hate him, but you just can't condone his skin color because you feel it's wrong. You may not see it that way, but they might.
This is a highly over-simplified, and much relied on, approach to sexual orientation. I don't believe it is a choice. But, that doesn't mean that people are BORN that way either. Those aren't the only two choices. Other factors play into it.
The scientific community has agreed that there is no conclusive evidence that people are born gay. All the extensive research on this subject failed to show any scientific evidence that shows a purely genetic basis for homosexuality. To this day, many scientists, psychologists, and researchers say that environmental factors are major contributors to homosexual feelings. Another accepted finding is that peer attachments with same-sex friends can also play a role in developing sexual orientation. There are many factors to consider. That doesn't even get into the Bible's explanation of generational curses.
There was a study on almost 8.000 twins in Sweden. Their findings showed that genetic factors explained 18-39% of sexual orientation choices while 61-66% of sexual orientation choices were a result of the individual's environment.
The long of the short of it is this: There is no conclusive scientific evidence that anyone is born gay. Saying they are doesn't make it true. People can argue about all the research they want to but it doesn't matter. Each side would be able to present research.
Putting all of this in context with this thread, a friend of mine who is gay but became a Christian told me that arguing about this is futile because, until the other person comes to a true revelation of who Jesus is and surrenders themselves to Him, they're not going to ever understand the whole "God didn't make people gay" issue. He gave me a link to an article that he says is very accurate with his experience. I saved it for a time like this. Here it is: The Bible and Being Gay
(Thanks, Cosmicstargoat. I should have tried the link before posting it.)
Last edited by plain and simple; 10-13-2012 at 03:50 PM..
Reason: To fix the link.
The long of the short of it is this: There is no conclusive scientific evidence that anyone is born gay.
Saying they are doesn't make it true. He gave me a link to an article that he says is very accurate with his experience.
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