Christ Leads The Way

The other day I was in a communications training course and I heard an interesting statement from one of the class participants. The facilitator brought up a lot of hot-button topics to get the class talking and communicating with one another. The topic that the class spent the most time on was the topic of homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Mind you, it was one of those 8am to 5pm courses that are drawn out for an entire day, just for the sake of it. So, my mind was in about a hundred different other places, day-dreaming. It was kind of like how when you dream, the location switches from place to place, and people in the dream constantly and sometimes instantly change from one person to another. That happens to me a lot. And that’s what happened then, too.

I was thinking about Scrabble (my favorite game, by the way) when my mind was forced back into the conversation.  So, it was the weirdest conversation that you can imagine people at work having in a formal setting. Again, I was in my own world while people spouted out their opinions, when I heard the commotion arise. I don’t know what all was said, but I came in on the end of the conversation.

The guy actually used a cuss word, and it raised a lot of commotion; hence, I was awakened from my daydreaming. The conversation had become impassioned. I don’t know what the specific question was, but the guy who was speaking had apparently identified himself as a homosexual and someone had inquired about what can’t a woman do for him and that’s where it started. But, the intriguing thing that I heard came from another guy in the room who openly identified as being a homosexual, just as about 3 other people in the room had done. He made the comment that he never had the decision to make to be gay or not – that it wasn’t a choice for him. He argued that he wanted the same benefits of a civil union as heterosexual couples have in marriage. This piqued my interest. I know what the Bible says about homosexuality: it’s a sin. So, I don’t agree with that guy’s comment at all. Being homosexual is a choice just like any other sin. It is not a part of a person’s genetic makeup.

The fact that I disagree with that argument does not mean that I do not respect all people. I respect every person as a fellow human being, and we all should. I simply take the stance on the matter that God takes on it. In His word, God calls it degrading and unnatural because it goes against the natural order of His creation (Romans 1:24-27). He also calls homosexuality detestable (Leviticus 20:13). God would not create people in a way that He detests. God also instituted marriage between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:4-5) and we should not seek to intentionally desecrate it or make it anything less than what God intended for it to be. I don’t agree with marriage being opened up by law to same-sex couples. People inaccurately try to compare the plight of homosexuals with that of minorities (women, black people, and individuals with disabilities). All the people in those groups are born that way and/or you can physically tell that they are what they are. And you can in no way rationally compare hundreds of years of slavery, degradation, and mistreatment with not being able to get insurance benefits like married men and women or being told that you can’t buy a cake because what you are asking goes against the baker’s religious beliefs. It’s not the same thing. The Bible is pretty clear about homosexual behavior being a sin. I stand with God on the matter.

Even still, the guy’s statement about him not being able to have a choice about it got me to thinking. So I did a little research. It seems that some people like to believe that there’s such a thing as a “gay gene” and that people are born homosexual. I read a really good article that looks at the major scientific studies that have been in search of the so-called “gay gene.” The article, “This is the Way God Made Me”–A Scientific Examination of Homosexuality and the “Gay Gene” by Dr. Dave Miller and Dr. Brad Harrub can be found by clicking the title. I encourage you to read the article in its entirety.

The article reviews several scientific studies by researchers like Simon LeVay, Dean Hamer, and Michael Bailey and Richard Pillard. All the studies that were completed in hopes to find a “gay gene” did not successfully do so. Instead, the studies were riddled with problems in sampling, identifying control groups, possible bias (especially LeVay), and other experimental design and implementation issues. Many people have probably heard of the twin study that was conducted with fraternal, paternal, non-twin, and adoptive siblings. What people generally try to assert is that because about 50% of the identical twins studied were both homosexual that homosexuality is genetic. However, “If there was, in fact, a “gay gene,” then all of the identical twins should have reported a homosexual orientation” (Miller & Harrub).

I like the fact that the article provides some concrete statistics based on the 2000 U.S. census. When looking at the data for the entire U.S. population, the amount of people that are homosexual is very minute – about 0.42%. Yet, based on how the media saturates our culture with homosexual characters on TV shows(cartoons even!), they would have people to believe it’s much more prevalent and acceptable than it really is (Miller & Harrub). It isn’t. One famous study by the Kinsey Institute has noted that the homosexual population is less than 10%. But, we can see from the above census data that it is much less.

Most people don’t remain homosexual throughout their entire lives. If it were genetic, then people couldn’t change. Miller & Harrub also cite evidence that reparative therapy can help change people’s sexual orientation. The world would like people to believe – especially young children and teenagers – that if they have a thought or feeling of liking toward the same sex, then they are homosexual. That is false. A person can think about stealing a car, but they are not a thief unless and until they actually steal a car. Having a thought and acting on a thought are two very different things. Being a homosexual is engaging in a behavior that is contrary to God’s moral law. It is aberrant and is unacceptable by God. That’s whose opinion people really should be concerned with – God’s. People who are living a homosexual lifestyle must repent, just like anyone else engaged in any other sin, in order to be forgiven by God. It’s a choice just like any other sin in life, but it is unlike skin color, sex, or ability – which people do not choose.

The guy who made the comment that he never had a decision was wrong about it. He had a decision when he first chose to live as a homosexual, and he still does. God’s grace, His mercy, His forgiveness, and the saving blood of Jesus abound to all those who will obey Him.

Miller, Dave and Harrub, Brad. “This is the Way God Made Me”–A Scientific Examination of Homosexuality and the “Gay Gene.” http://apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=7&article=1388