Barbara brought up some goods points in her article, and I share her sadness regarding hate crimes against any who are marginalized. However, I disagree with her conclusion that homosexual orientation is normative and unchangeable. First of all, I think she misrepresents ministries designed to help individuals come out of homosexuality. She portrays such ministires as rigid and judgemental, which I think is very unfair. I participated in a “healing for sexual and relational brokenness” ministry, and my experience was quite the opposite. While this ministry did label certain forms of sexual expression as aberrant, its tone was always one of love and grace. Many people have experienced profound healing through such ministries. Certainly some have found them unhelpful, but I think it is wrong to dismiss them carte blanche as “dangerous.”
Secondly, I take issue with the perspective of the APA on this one. Until the late 70s, the pyschological community perceived homosexuality as a disorder. The shift towards perceiving homosexuality as healthy and normative happened only as cultural values also shifted. Additionally, sexual orientation is not as simple as Ms. Z would have us believe. While some people experience homosexual desires from a young age, others turn to homoexuality later in life, sometimes after painful encounters with the opposite sex or sexual abuse. One isn’t born either a homosexual or a heterosexual and remains that way for all eternity. Rather, most people are somewhere in the middle and are socialized into polarities. I don’t remember the name of the psychologist who introduced this idea, but many psychologiests consider sexual orientation to be more of a scale (from 1 to 6) than an either/or thing. Additionally, there is empircal eviidence that orientational change happens (from heterosexual to homosexual and from homosexual to heterosexual). To be human is to change—for better or worse. Sometimes change happens in the form of maturation. Other times a new environment causes a person to take a new direction. And our choices bring about change too. Ms. Z’s perspective is way too deterministic for my liking. If change isn’t possible, then we are all screwed.
As Christians, we are all called to change. I agree with Brett that homosexual behavior is merely one symptom of a disease we all have. To suggest that people who struggle with homosexuality should just give into their struggle cheapens the transformative nature of the Gospel.
Yet, those who identify themselves as homosexuals or transgendered persons should iin no way be treated like second class (or worse) citizens. We are all God’s children. And our discrimination—whether legal or social—against homosexuals is dead wrong. In this sense, I am a supporter of gay rights. I do not believe that those who engage in homosexual behavior have the right of their behavior being considered normative. I do believe, however, that such people have the right to be treated equally and to have their dignity respected. And because we do not have an equal playing field in this regard, we should be especially sensitive to the rights of those who are often discriminated against.
Janel
Nov 19 2004
01:06 pm
Barbara brought up some goods points in her article, and I share her sadness regarding hate crimes against any who are marginalized. However, I disagree with her conclusion that homosexual orientation is normative and unchangeable. First of all, I think she misrepresents ministries designed to help individuals come out of homosexuality. She portrays such ministires as rigid and judgemental, which I think is very unfair. I participated in a “healing for sexual and relational brokenness” ministry, and my experience was quite the opposite. While this ministry did label certain forms of sexual expression as aberrant, its tone was always one of love and grace. Many people have experienced profound healing through such ministries. Certainly some have found them unhelpful, but I think it is wrong to dismiss them carte blanche as “dangerous.”
Secondly, I take issue with the perspective of the APA on this one. Until the late 70s, the pyschological community perceived homosexuality as a disorder. The shift towards perceiving homosexuality as healthy and normative happened only as cultural values also shifted. Additionally, sexual orientation is not as simple as Ms. Z would have us believe. While some people experience homosexual desires from a young age, others turn to homoexuality later in life, sometimes after painful encounters with the opposite sex or sexual abuse. One isn’t born either a homosexual or a heterosexual and remains that way for all eternity. Rather, most people are somewhere in the middle and are socialized into polarities. I don’t remember the name of the psychologist who introduced this idea, but many psychologiests consider sexual orientation to be more of a scale (from 1 to 6) than an either/or thing. Additionally, there is empircal eviidence that orientational change happens (from heterosexual to homosexual and from homosexual to heterosexual). To be human is to change—for better or worse. Sometimes change happens in the form of maturation. Other times a new environment causes a person to take a new direction. And our choices bring about change too. Ms. Z’s perspective is way too deterministic for my liking. If change isn’t possible, then we are all screwed.
As Christians, we are all called to change. I agree with Brett that homosexual behavior is merely one symptom of a disease we all have. To suggest that people who struggle with homosexuality should just give into their struggle cheapens the transformative nature of the Gospel.
Yet, those who identify themselves as homosexuals or transgendered persons should iin no way be treated like second class (or worse) citizens. We are all God’s children. And our discrimination—whether legal or social—against homosexuals is dead wrong. In this sense, I am a supporter of gay rights. I do not believe that those who engage in homosexual behavior have the right of their behavior being considered normative. I do believe, however, that such people have the right to be treated equally and to have their dignity respected. And because we do not have an equal playing field in this regard, we should be especially sensitive to the rights of those who are often discriminated against.