Nature vs Nurture

Nature Vs Nurture

A Christian Perspective on The Forbidden Subject

When one dares to address the subjects of homosexuality and gay marriage from the Christian perspective, they dare to draw steep and swift criticisms at least, and great hostility at worst. But given the high passions, current political battles as well as the cultural relevance of the subjects, I feel it is only fit to share a proper Christ centered perspective. In this essay I will be speaking in brief about the idea that one can be “born gay”, and weather or not the bible condones homosexuality and what the Christian’s response to the desire of homosexuals to marry can be. These will not be exhaustively explored as the goal here is simply to spark thought on the topics and open up an adult dialogue, ideally, leading to a proper understanding of the issues at hand. If one reading this is struggling with, or has long given up resisting homosexuality, this may be tough to hear, but will be worth the read.

It is useful at this point to begin with what the Bible has to say about homosexual desire as well as homosexual behavior and to clear up some semantic definitions. These are in fact two separate issues. One can have homosexual desires or but choose not to act on them just as one may feel an inclination toward any kind of behavior. It is only when one chooses to act on these urges that we would define it as homosexuality. In either case, the Bible is very clear on the idea that it is not in God’s design for human beings of the same sex to participate in sexual acts together, or to entertain it as a fantastical preoccupation. It is quite clear that to have desires for such behavior is a problem in one’s mind which also should be dealt with and overcome as one would deal with any unproductive or sinful tendency within them self’s. It is important to mention, however, that the sin of homosexuality is no greater or more immoral than any other sin in the book. I will repeat this to make sure the point is thoroughly made; the sin of homosexuality is no greater or more immoral than any other sin. For any Christian to point at another person’s short comings while ignoring their own, is truly un-just and unbiblical. In the eyes of God, sin is sin, and no one is capable of living a perfect life in light of God’s perfect standard. We are all born into a sinful world and tend toward sin of all kinds. Each of us, left un changed, are deserving of punishment for our sinful ways. It is only through the redeeming work of Christ that any human can be justified in God’s eyes and ours as well. That said, it is also not proper for one to simply continue on a path of sinfulness because perfection is unattainable or because they believe grace given by God will save them from any consequence now or in eternity. We should all strive to improve and refine our self in Chris’s image regardless of our history or tendencies, while resting in his Grace in the end.

So at the center of this debate is the question of weather or not homosexuality is an inherited trait passed on from parents to children, or if it is brought on by conditions present in someone’s youth, which in effect, “turns them gay”. I will argue at this point with no hesitation that homosexuality is not genetic in any way; there is no “gay gene”. But in the gray column we can be confronted by any number of genetic traits, bents, mental issues and emotional imbalances, any of which could lead one to be much more likely, if not, surely to struggle with same sex attraction. But even in this case, it will typically require some event in ones life, or a trend of events to trigger those things to manifest as same sex attraction, as has been demonstrated by numerous psychological and social studies. In any case it is clear that the expression of, or initiation of homosexuality it is the result of environmental factors in a person’s youth. There are several things, which I believe support this viewpoint. First, if there were in fact a “gay gene” I would argue that by this point in human history the gene would have been deluded and integrated to a point of non existence as with many other genetic variances. The homosexual population has not been isolated enough or prevalent within other genetic pools to allow for such a gene to proliferate, or even survive as others may propose that it has. It is also inconceivable that the gay gene could be accounted for by oppressed and “closeted” homosexuals participating in heterosexual relationships because they were not allowed to fully express their true identities. This idea is also used to try and drum up some kind of pity based support for the oppression our culture puts on the closeted homosexual to stay sadly and lonely locked in his or her closet. As attractive as that idea may be as a possible out for the gene pros, it could not possibly account for the huge population of homosexuals in our culture today. It also leads us to conclude that the survival of the gay gene is owed to the fact that many genetically gay people have submitted to oppression and had children to which they could pass the gene too. A truly absurd suggestion and a flawed line of thinking in any case. This leaves us with the idea that there is some kind of genetic mutation isolated to individual children in that makes them born gay as one would be born bipolar, or with any other genetic disorder. If this were the case it would fall into the category of a genetic defect, in essence, making a person infertile. It is also highly unlikely that such a genetic mutation would be identically replicated in so many people with no apparent risk factors or causes associated with it. Also by the rules of evolution, which opponents of my view hold onto so dearly, this makes homosexuality a genetic weakness which over time will be weeded out by the rules of natural selection and the survival of the fittest. In short, if these folks are not reproducing, the gay gene will not continue. On the other hand, it could be surmised that the gay gene is present in all of us and is simply triggered and brought out of the genetic diversity by environmental factors or intentional “breeding”, similar to the way one would breed an animal for specific traits, accessing information that may be recessive in the code of each generation. This has some validity to it, but biblically speaking, it is difficult to rationalize God programing the human code with such a dangerous genetic trait that could literally force one to sin against his law. It would require God to essentially contradict Himself when he looked at his creation and said “it is very good”. This also comes peerlessly close to the heresy of placing the impotence for our sin on God himself. Also worthy of mention is the fact that through all of our exploration of the human genome, no one has discovered such a gene anywhere in the code itself, essentially negating the gay gene argument outright. This can only lead us to the conclusion, which is supported logically and by every credible scientific study on the matter; people are not born gay, they are made gay.

It is widely thought that conditions and factors in one’s youth can nearly always contain the explanation for homosexuality in a person’s life later on. Typically, forms of extremely traumatic abuse either physically, sexually or emotionally leveled on a child by a parent or one close to the family are consistently present in those claiming to be homosexual. Now this is not to say that everyone who suffers abuse as a kid turns gay as an adult. Childhood abuse can be at the cause of a very many behavioral and emotional disorders, but the relationship between gays and abuse is irreconcilably higher than that in the remaining population, leading one to believe they are surely related. It is a conclusion often ignored by the population in general, but easy to see that deep wounds of childhood are nearly always present in those who demonstrate homosexual tendencies or behavior, as they are in any number of self destructive behaviors that one can express. I will discuss later on why this is such an un acceptable idea which is often met with strong emotion and hostile resistance.

So what do we say to those who report that they exhibited traits typically associated with homosexuality from a very early age, a phenomenon commonly sighted for those who may not have had any significant forms of abuse in childhood. Perhaps a boy who was interested in fashion and drapery rather than action figures and mud. I would answer this with another question; what do those behaviors have to do with a person’s sexual orientation. It is true that some kids have interests not typical in other children of their gender, but I see no correlation between that, and one’s sexual desires. I have no problem admitting that one can be born with any number of preferences as far as behavior, hobbies or other interest, but there is a fine dividing line between one being interested in things typically thought of as feminine, and being interested in participating in sexual acts with their same gender. I believe this to be a cultural issue at its root. Kids who are interested in things not typically though to be proper for them are often outcast and told they are “weird”. This breeds a deep desire, within a young person to fit in somewhere and feel accepted for who they are. This is the point where someone may identify themselves as homosexual because it is within the homosexual community that they find acceptance and a sense of normalcy. In modern times, a young person is quite likely to be directly told “you must be gay!”. A similar thing can happen in a great number of situations for kids. Some troubled kids and teens get into gangs, drugs, drinking, partying and all manor behavior so they can feel accepted and fit in. The homosexual community welcomes these folks into their ranks, in part, because it ads legitimacy to the argument that not all gays are abused as children. I would suggest that rather than being so eager to broadly categorize someone’s sexual orientation based on their love of interior design, we need to accept and encourage young girls and boys to pursue the things that they find interesting. What would the world be like if people like Picasso were told that his fascination with color was weird and made to feel like outcast?

But now we are confronted with a culture that has embraced an attitude of freedom, no restriction and action without consequence. People are raised to believe that feelings are the ultimate dictator and justifier of action. In other words, strong feelings can be used to justify nearly any action. This is the case with Homosexuality as well. I will never doubt that these folks have very strong, genuine feelings that, in their minds, justify a life style which in most circles of thinking would be considered unacceptable. But this is a shabby cover over something that, in peoples deep conscience, they know should not be done. Because of this, they must try even harder to cover over the guilt they feel inside.

This leads us into the topic of gay marriage and other “gay rights”. I will be honest, If I am asked to vote on the topic I will vote no on gay marriage. My reason is simple; the more confirmation a person has that their sin is in fact not sin, the harder it will be to reach someone with the gospel. The homosexual community is already very familiar with the fact that the bible speaks against homosexual activity, that is no mystery. They also know that if they were to accept Christ and follow His teaching, they would be expected to walk away from that life. The trouble is that in order to deal with the mental condition and emotional aspects of homosexuality, one must dive deep into their own minds and face the things in their past that triggered this in them. This can be a very long and painful process, dealing with incredibly destructive and terrifying secrets deeply buried in their psyche. That process can be so frightening for them to even consider, that they more commonly choose to burry it deeper and try to convince themselves that there is no problem at all. In addition to this, they seek strongly to convince the world around them that there is nothing wrong with what they do and there is no problem to deal with. How much deeper will these things be driven if we give a state sponsored, legal approval of it, in the form of a marriage license. It will be that much harder to share the word of God with a person, when the word of the state gives them justification to knowingly defy it. And on the note of rights equality, my response is simple; we already have equal rights. I can marry any woman, just as every other man can. And women can marry any man just as every woman can. The issue is not equal rights, it is that a certain group wants additional rights beyond those already given equally to all humans.

So what does this mean for the Christian trying to navigate these treacherous waters. We must remember that our purpose here is to imitate Christ and be as much like him as we can. When we do this we see that there was no one who was beyond His reach, no one unworthy of His touch, and no one outside of His ability to love. Christ would also not hesitate to correct or rebuke wrong action when He was confronted by it, but everything He did, He did in love. All humans, homosexual and hetero alike, must be told that the Good news that Christ does not condemn them but means to heal them. There is no pain, no wrong done to them, no issue buried too deep, and no struggle we face now, that Christ is not capable of moving powerfully in. Each of us has a longing within us to be right before God, and before we even entertain any conversation about the specifics of homosexuality, the causes, results and legal aspects of it, we must make sure people understand that there is a way that all can be right with God, regardless of our past or present conditions. The grace of God through the life and sacrifice of Christ is the universally sufficient redeeming factor for all of us in this world. It is only from that point that anyone can begin the difficult process of, with His power, cleaning out the closet.

So as followers of our great creator, it is our job to shine His light into a sinful world rather than isolate ourselves from it. We should live a life devoted to this directive. We need not run around and hit people over the head with bibles or some misplaced judgmental attitude. We simply need to see them for the loved and precious creation that God does, have compassion for the pains in their life and try to be as supportive of those facts as we can, while being tastefully honest about the truth we believe. No small task, and one that requires the support of fellow believers, prayer and intentionality to accomplish.

Ryan Weber

2013