I've spoken gay people who believe they were born that way. While I can offer what the bible says about homosexuality being a sin, and a few theories outside of this, I'm not by any means trying to say that I know what it's like, for I feel a person would have to walk a mile in another person's shoes to actually know this. I do believe that gay people really feel like they were born that way, and I think I may be able to provide a scientific theory to that, but nothing more.
While I don't believe that a person is born gay specifically, I DO believe that we are all born into sin, and it is sin in the bigger, more macro sense, that prevents us from being in the presence of the Holy God that loves us. We can read about this in Genesis chapter 3, that this was because of our own doing when man fell in the garden of Eden by direct disobedience to God. In doing so sin entered into this world by the first man and woman - Adam & Eve. As we are all offspring of these two people, we have inherited the sin that comes with them. So we are all born as sinful creatures.
In Romans chapter 7, the Apostle Paul describes his own battle with sin, and here he makes a point that there are some who are not held accountable when they die for their sin. He says in Romans 7:9, "I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died." Paul couldn't have been speaking of his physical death, for he was still alive while writing this. Paul was speaking then of his spiritual death. Paul also said he was once alive, so this also has to mean spiritually and not physically. So yes, there are those like babies, children, and those who are mentally disabled who have not come to the place that they are accountable for their sin, and therefore because God is merciful, they are not judged for it.So would this God, who is full of mercy allow some people specifically to be born into a prison of homosexuality while most others are not? Is it not bad enough that we are born into sin in the general sense?
I believe the bible has enough scriptural evidence in it to conclude that homosexuality is considered a sin just as much as any other sexual sin. This leaves questions that beg to be answered. Why do homosexual men and women feel they were born this way? I've heard this asked many times and yes, it is a very real and valid question. Does God permit people to be born gay so that He could punish them later? I personally don't think so, but I think I might have some thought on why a gay person may feel like they were born that way.
It comes down to a question of nature vs. nurture. Nature = born that way, or nurture = influenced that way. I remember one of my college instructors once speaking about personal identity in my Human Development class. She went on to say that a child doesn't develop their self awareness, or personal identity until around the age of 6. During those fragile, early years prior they are influenced by a great deal of behavioral shaping from their parents and other influences, and they will take these early developed traits into their childhood, teen years, and finally into their adulthood.
The female child who had a lot of male influences may grow into being a child who identifies more with boys, and may be called a "tomboy" - and maybe they would later begin pursuing things that are more feminine as they approach puberty; either by becoming feminine themselves, or by developing an affinity for those who are feminine, and therefore pursuing a gay lifestyle. This same theory is expressed also with the male who has had a lot of feminine influences in those early developmental years before the age of six. Being that we cannot recall a lot from those delicate, early years - it is assumed and feels like we were born as we now are.
So in conclusion I don't believe that God has predestined some people to be born "as homosexual" but rather that they had developed into that lifestyle from early childhood. Of course this has a strong hold on them as it is a significant part of their developed identity, and they would insist they were born that way. I once asked a gay friend if it were possible that they could not be with the same sex, and could instead force their self to be with the opposite sex. He told me that it would be like asking me to stop being attracted to my wife and to become gay. I told him that I didn't feel like that would be possible for me to do, and he replied, "Neither can I."
I feel like sometimes many a well-meaning Christian is being insensitive when they just blatantly tell a gay person that homosexuality is a choice. From the people I've spoken with, it certainly doesn't sound like these people have chosen to be gay. I mean who would willingly choose this lifestyle where they will be mocked, jeered at, and therefore made a minority in the world? The alternative would be to just have a heterosexual lifestyle and be deemed as "normal" by society at large. So no, I really think it goes beyond a person choosing this lifestyle - at least consciously doing so. I think it lies within the subconscious mind at a much deeper level, and it is well rooted into their identity itself. I think the Christian community acts callously towards the Gay community when they just throw bible verses at them from a distance, instead of showing empathy and love to them while sharing God's word.
The bigger issue is sin. Can any of us fight it alone? No, for if we could then Jesus' death on the cross as the payment for it would not have been necessary. We could have just each found our own salvation. The problem is though that there is no other payment for our sin except for the death of Jesus. There is no other name in which we can be saved, except for the name of Jesus. (Acts 4:12)
This being the case we should lead people to Jesus instead of heterosexuality. The truth of God's word will take it from there. The Holy Spirit will do His work, and He will do so without damaging the name of Christ as we Christians sometimes can do. I'm not advocating that the Church should accept a person for leadership within the Church if they are living a gay lifestyle, but more-so if a person is living ANY lifestyle of sin then they should not be allowed to lead within the Church. Still, the doors of the church should not be closed to the Gay community, and I commend the Churches that are reaching out to them. It saddens me to see the Church on one side of this debate having those within it who just seek to outrage the Gay community and further alienate them, but I also see that there are those doing the same toward the Church on the side of the Gay community as well. It needs to be recognized that the ones creating trouble don't always represent the whole group, whether it's the Church, the Gay community, or any other group of collective people.
I believe that one day when we stand before God there will be all kinds of people who have had to deal with all kinds of sin, and if they have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, then ALL of these sins will be blotted out, and they will wear His righteousness, and not their own. In heaven there will be former alcoholics, former drug addicts, former murderers, and yes, people who have all dealt with sexual sin in their life too. These people will be saved not because of anything they could either do or not do about their sinful condition, but because of what Jesus did to save them, and the fact that they called upon His name.
While I don't believe that a person is born gay specifically, I DO believe that we are all born into sin, and it is sin in the bigger, more macro sense, that prevents us from being in the presence of the Holy God that loves us. We can read about this in Genesis chapter 3, that this was because of our own doing when man fell in the garden of Eden by direct disobedience to God. In doing so sin entered into this world by the first man and woman - Adam & Eve. As we are all offspring of these two people, we have inherited the sin that comes with them. So we are all born as sinful creatures.
In Romans chapter 7, the Apostle Paul describes his own battle with sin, and here he makes a point that there are some who are not held accountable when they die for their sin. He says in Romans 7:9, "I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died." Paul couldn't have been speaking of his physical death, for he was still alive while writing this. Paul was speaking then of his spiritual death. Paul also said he was once alive, so this also has to mean spiritually and not physically. So yes, there are those like babies, children, and those who are mentally disabled who have not come to the place that they are accountable for their sin, and therefore because God is merciful, they are not judged for it.So would this God, who is full of mercy allow some people specifically to be born into a prison of homosexuality while most others are not? Is it not bad enough that we are born into sin in the general sense?
I believe the bible has enough scriptural evidence in it to conclude that homosexuality is considered a sin just as much as any other sexual sin. This leaves questions that beg to be answered. Why do homosexual men and women feel they were born this way? I've heard this asked many times and yes, it is a very real and valid question. Does God permit people to be born gay so that He could punish them later? I personally don't think so, but I think I might have some thought on why a gay person may feel like they were born that way.
It comes down to a question of nature vs. nurture. Nature = born that way, or nurture = influenced that way. I remember one of my college instructors once speaking about personal identity in my Human Development class. She went on to say that a child doesn't develop their self awareness, or personal identity until around the age of 6. During those fragile, early years prior they are influenced by a great deal of behavioral shaping from their parents and other influences, and they will take these early developed traits into their childhood, teen years, and finally into their adulthood.
The female child who had a lot of male influences may grow into being a child who identifies more with boys, and may be called a "tomboy" - and maybe they would later begin pursuing things that are more feminine as they approach puberty; either by becoming feminine themselves, or by developing an affinity for those who are feminine, and therefore pursuing a gay lifestyle. This same theory is expressed also with the male who has had a lot of feminine influences in those early developmental years before the age of six. Being that we cannot recall a lot from those delicate, early years - it is assumed and feels like we were born as we now are.
So in conclusion I don't believe that God has predestined some people to be born "as homosexual" but rather that they had developed into that lifestyle from early childhood. Of course this has a strong hold on them as it is a significant part of their developed identity, and they would insist they were born that way. I once asked a gay friend if it were possible that they could not be with the same sex, and could instead force their self to be with the opposite sex. He told me that it would be like asking me to stop being attracted to my wife and to become gay. I told him that I didn't feel like that would be possible for me to do, and he replied, "Neither can I."
I feel like sometimes many a well-meaning Christian is being insensitive when they just blatantly tell a gay person that homosexuality is a choice. From the people I've spoken with, it certainly doesn't sound like these people have chosen to be gay. I mean who would willingly choose this lifestyle where they will be mocked, jeered at, and therefore made a minority in the world? The alternative would be to just have a heterosexual lifestyle and be deemed as "normal" by society at large. So no, I really think it goes beyond a person choosing this lifestyle - at least consciously doing so. I think it lies within the subconscious mind at a much deeper level, and it is well rooted into their identity itself. I think the Christian community acts callously towards the Gay community when they just throw bible verses at them from a distance, instead of showing empathy and love to them while sharing God's word.
The bigger issue is sin. Can any of us fight it alone? No, for if we could then Jesus' death on the cross as the payment for it would not have been necessary. We could have just each found our own salvation. The problem is though that there is no other payment for our sin except for the death of Jesus. There is no other name in which we can be saved, except for the name of Jesus. (Acts 4:12)
This being the case we should lead people to Jesus instead of heterosexuality. The truth of God's word will take it from there. The Holy Spirit will do His work, and He will do so without damaging the name of Christ as we Christians sometimes can do. I'm not advocating that the Church should accept a person for leadership within the Church if they are living a gay lifestyle, but more-so if a person is living ANY lifestyle of sin then they should not be allowed to lead within the Church. Still, the doors of the church should not be closed to the Gay community, and I commend the Churches that are reaching out to them. It saddens me to see the Church on one side of this debate having those within it who just seek to outrage the Gay community and further alienate them, but I also see that there are those doing the same toward the Church on the side of the Gay community as well. It needs to be recognized that the ones creating trouble don't always represent the whole group, whether it's the Church, the Gay community, or any other group of collective people.
I believe that one day when we stand before God there will be all kinds of people who have had to deal with all kinds of sin, and if they have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, then ALL of these sins will be blotted out, and they will wear His righteousness, and not their own. In heaven there will be former alcoholics, former drug addicts, former murderers, and yes, people who have all dealt with sexual sin in their life too. These people will be saved not because of anything they could either do or not do about their sinful condition, but because of what Jesus did to save them, and the fact that they called upon His name.
