Love is possibly the single most subjective word in the english language.
Possibly, don't forget that there are greek words for different types of love.
Agape: It generally refers to a "pure," ideal type of love, rather than the physical attraction suggested by eros. (Love for a spouse or Girl/Boyfriend)
Eros: A passionate love, with sensual desire and longing. (Love for a partner)
Philia: dispassionate virtuous love. It includes loyalty to friends, family, and community, and requires virtue, equality, and familiarity. (Brotherly Love)
Storge: This is natural affection, like that felt by parents for offspring. (Often Unconditional love.)
You were the most badass of the badass if you ****ed another dude. THIS.
IS.
SPARTA!!!
Yersh. They fought as they did BECAUSE they were fighting with their lovers. :cool.gif:
That's why resistance fighters (especially those when fighting along side your family and friends) were/are good fighters and never give up. Their love.
Anyway, back on topic.
Gays=Good
Straight=Good
Bisexual=Good
It's all personal choice. I don't care if you are gay or not. You're still yourself with your own personality.
I don't care what you do in the bedroom if it doesn't involve me (Hopefully nothing like that doesn't involve me for a few years now).
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So, I hear you like Minecraft? Well, good. Otherwise you might find some block like chunks missing from your base, I MEAN HOME, tonight.
I feel religions are wrong when it comes to trying to bash gays.
As stated earlier, if most religions are about love, why can't a guy and a guy or a girl and a girl love eachother?
There are two types of love.
The love you would share with your partner.
The love you would share with your family/friends.
...I disagree that would've been fine in my mind to do to either heterosexual couples or homosexual couples especially if it was a little bit more than a kiss which I suspect it is
How? It isn't done to heterosexual couples, and plenty of "kiss cam" scenes are basically "passionate" make-out scenes. And why would you suspect it was "abit more than a kiss?"
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"...But don’t worry, you’re not alone, there are many men like you left in the world, and some of them even used to be your friends. After all, this is America, and we only kill our friends." - Immortal Technique
How? It isn't done to heterosexual couples, and plenty of "kiss cam" scenes are basically "passionate" make-out scenes. And why would you suspect it was "abit more than a kiss?"
So you believe the crazy glorified security guard who tried to assert his religious views upon two other baseball fans? Of course to any sane person "grab ass" implies an actual "grabbing of the ass," but he obviously just wanted to be a ****. How would you even see them "grab ass," they were sitting in chairs, not standing up or grinding on a dance floor. Plus, have you ever sat in a stadium seat? They are uncomfortable as ****, I certainly wouldn't want anyone's hand making it even more uncomfortable, in my opinion.
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"...But don’t worry, you’re not alone, there are many men like you left in the world, and some of them even used to be your friends. After all, this is America, and we only kill our friends." - Immortal Technique
So you believe the crazy glorified security guard who tried to assert his religious views upon two other baseball fans? Of course to any sane person "grab ass" implies an actual "grabbing of the ass," but he obviously just wanted to be a ****. How would you even see them "grab ass," they were sitting in chairs, not standing up or grinding on a dance floor. Plus, have you ever sat in a stadium seat? They are uncomfortable as ****, I certainly wouldn't want anyone's hand making it even more uncomfortable, in my opinion.
I see hetero couples damn near having sex while walking, not a damn thing happens to them. I'm sorry, but when I guy is holding his GF from behind, and she can't stop moving her hips? That's worse than playing grab ass with your boyfriend. Plus, I hear people use the term grab ass for anything homosexual or romantic.
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It's hard to follow your dreams when you run from your nightmares. --
Oh boy, time for another extremist Catholic to jump into this fire :blink.gif:
The following are from the website www.Chastity.com (for Catholics) or www.Chastity.org (which is the same minus all of the church references). There is much more at these sights then questions about gays, but these I am copying and pasting directly from the website. I agree 100% with all of the following:
(If you don't feel like reading all of this, please atleast read the last couple lines)
If two people of the same sex really love each other and are willing to stay faithful for life, why can't they get married?
The reason why people of the same sex who love each other and are willing to be faithful for life cannot get married is because there is more to marriage than love and faithfulness. These are necessary ingredients, but they are not the only ones. Our modern culture finds it difficult to understand why marriage is only for heterosexuals because it does not understand the purpose and meaning of marriage and sexuality.
This difficulty exists partly because contraception has divorced procreation from sex. If a heterosexual couple can engage in sexual activity that is opposed to the transmission of life, why can’t members of the same sex do likewise?
To understand why marriage is only for the joining of a man and a woman, we need to step back from the influences of the world and define the essential characteristics of marriage and sex.
We did not invent either one. They are God’s creation, and according to his designs, when a man and woman make love, they are saying their wedding vows with their bodies. Such a concept is easy to understand when you consider the essence of marriage. For a valid marriage to take place, the union must be free, total, faithful, and designed to give life. All these characteristics are necessary. For example, imagine a couple who agree to marry and have children but refuse to be faithful to one another. This is not a marriage. Likewise, if a couple are willing to have an exclusive and lifelong relationship but are incapable of having the sexual relations designed to give life, they would be incapable of marriage.
Since their bodies cannot express the vows of a married couple, they cannot get married. Because of this, some argue that the Church is “discriminating against gays.” But realize that the Church also does not allow impotent couples to marry. Not to be confused with sterility (where a couple is able to have intercourse but unable to have kids), impotency is where a person is incapable of having intercourse. Ever since the beginning sex has been an integral part of marriage. In Genesis we read, “A man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24).
Just as an impotent couple is unable to marry because they cannot become one flesh, one reason why members of the same sex are incapable of marriage is because they are incapable of intercourse. Just because two people are engaging in some form of sexual activity, this does not make them one flesh. This inability of the bodies to unite in a sexual way expresses the deeper reality that they were not meant to give themselves to each other in marriage. Therefore the Church has no authority to marry a couple who cannot become one. This is not easily understood by a culture that separates sex from marriage. Not surprisingly, the culture that first demanded sex without marriage now demands marriage without sex.
Although same-sex temptations, like temptations in general, are not in and of themselves sinful, Scripture and Church teaching condemn homosexual actions (Rom. 1:24–27; Gen. 19:1–29; 1 Tim. 1:8–10; CCC 2357–2359). Therefore, other Christians should lovingly encourage them to practice chastity, and not give in to the widespread popular notion that the real Christian attitude is "tolerance." Jesus does not call us to merely tolerate, but to love. St. Basil the Great once said, "[T]hose who pretend to be tolerant because they wish to flatter--those who thus fail to correct sinners--actually cause them to suffer supreme loss and plot the destruction of that life which is their true life." The true life of all people is life in God, and anything less that that will not bring them the joy for which they have been created.
If two members of the same sex are mutually attracted and they love one another, they will do what is best for each other. They desire union because of their love, but love desires more than a temporary physical union; it desires the good of the other. It desires heaven for the other person and will encourage him or her to embrace the virtue of chastity.
What causes homosexuality? If it's genetic, is it okay to be gay if you're born that way?
The causes of homosexuality are not fully understood, and many people who struggle with the temptations do not choose or want them. There has been much debate over the issue of nature versus nurture, but scientists have been unable to find a genetic cause for homosexuality. Dr. Dean Hamer (who coined the phrase “gay gene” ) said, “We have not found the gene—which we don’t think exists—for sexual orientation.”[1] Another study concluded, “Critical review shows the evidence favoring a biologic (genetic) theory to be lacking.”[2] There may be genetic factors that have yet to be discovered, but the development of homosexual desires often appears rooted in an individual’s upbringing.[3]
In my research and ministry, I have frequently encountered the following three issues related to the onset of homosexual attractions.
One: Sexual abuse. If a young woman is abused by any male, she may subconsciously think, “Men must all be like you, and no man will do that to me! I don’t want to be hurt that way again.” At times homosexuality becomes a shield for the heart and a sort of haven to escape the hurt of abusive relationships. It is understandable that a person hurt in the past would want to avoid future relationships that cause pain—and pain may be all a person knows from the opposite sex. Also, a child who was sexually abused by a member of the same sex can become confused about his or her sexual orientation.
Two: Sometimes the opposite-sex parent is too enmeshed in the life of the child. For example, a mother and son can rely too exclusively on one another for needs that should be met elsewhere. This can contribute to gender identity confusion in the child.
Three: The same-sex parent may be emotionally or physically absent. In the case of a young man, the absence of a father may lead to feelings of inferiority or rejection by peers when it comes to athletic endeavors with the other guys. Other times, a father can be so critical of a son that the dad never bothers to affirm the manhood of the young man. This can cause a young man to feel an inability to relate to his own gender. It is common that as a young man matures he will seek to identify with what is masculine. Sometimes this desire to identify with a guy who is particularly masculine may be confused with the onset of homosexuality.
If a young man acts on this and begins to explore homosexuality, he may gradually come to believe that his orientation is homosexual. But the attraction may have been there simply because the other guy possessed a degree of masculinity that the young man admired and feared he lacked.
This admiration of a member of the same sex is not uncommon during adolescence, for women as well as men. During this time young people are trying to discover their identity. They often go through a maturing process that moves them from a strong interest in same-sex friendships to a primary interest in opposite-sex relationships. It is not unusual for adolescents to feel confusion in the midst of their rapid sexual development, identity search, and maturing of interests.
Let us assume for the sake of argument that some people are born homosexual. Does this mean they should be free to indulge in homosexual behavior? Unmarried heterosexual men could easily argue that they are genetically wired to desire premarital sex. Some evidence exists that certain people are biologically more prone to alcoholism. But just because a person has certain desires or inclinations, this does not mean that it is moral to act on those urges.
People have spent decades searching for genetic clues to better understand sexual orientation. In their quest for microscopic evidence, they miss what is plainly revealed in the body. Every man’s body is designed for a woman’s, and every woman’s body is designed for a man’s. If a woman is “born homosexual,” why does she have a womb? Why is a man’s ability to reproduce dependent upon a woman?
Such questions are difficult to consider for those who feel no attraction toward the opposite sex. But their bodies reveal their calling to make gifts of themselves. They are made in the image and likeness of God, and only by loving as God loves will they find true fulfillment and meaning in their lives. By looking to the examples of unmarried people such as Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, and Jesus, a person with same-sex attractions can see that it is possible to give up certain pleasures in this life in order to experience a deeper union with God now, and in the life to come.
Considering that 10% of the population is gay, don't you think the Church just needs to get with it?
There are three things to consider here.
First, let's look at where that "10%" figure comes from. The man who proposed that statistic was named Alfred Kinsey. Back in the 1940's, when he did his "research," the general population wasn't very open to divulging their sexual lives. So he looked elsewhere to find his data.
He arrived at the 10% number by sampling 5300 white male subjects. Of these, 2800 of them were sex offenders or other criminals. He also sought out male prostitutes, and homosexual activists at gay bars. From this bunch, he came to the conclusion that ten percent of all guys are homosexual. Needless to say, those who have studied his methodologies aren't convinced with his conclusions.
Secondly, it appears that the actual numbers for homosexuality are far lower than Kinsey proposed. Paul Cameron Wrote a book called The Gay Nineties, and in it he estimates that the national average of men is 3% and for women it is 1.5%. Regardless of what percentage of the population is gay, this does not determine the morality of a person's actions, or the teaching of the Church. For example, if 10% of the population has shoplifted, this would not make the behavior ethical. So, the Church does not look to modern culture to determine her teaching. She looks to divine revelation, as found in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.
Thirdly, no matter what percentage of the world has same-sex attractions, they must all be treated with dignity, respect, and love, and called to lives of holiness.
How can people say that homosexuality isn't natural?
Many people define what's natural by whatever they feel. If they feel an attraction to something, then they assume it must be good and natural. That's our culture in a nutshell: If it feels good, do it. But, my attractions do not determine the morality of my actions. For example, a husband might be attracted to his secretary, but this "natural" feeing does not make it good to cheat on your wife.
I discussed the morality of homosexual actions in a different question, so let's just look at how "natural" the act is. When I use the term natural, I'm referring to the design that can be found within nature. For example, it's natural for a plant to live in sunlight. If it's put in the closet, it will probably die, because that is not the natural environment in which it should live. When things are put in their natural place, and follow the design with which they're made, they thrive. When this natural law is violated, things go awry.
To see how this plays out in our sexuality, examine how a man's body works with a woman's in the sexual act.
First of all, consider that a man's body really doesn't make sense without a woman's body. The same goes for her. The two compliment each other. For example, the sperm and the egg serve no purpose in isolation from each other. Yet, everyone on the planet is here because of the union of the two.
To get more technical, a man's sperm is foreign to a woman's reproductive system, and the natural response of her body is to treat them as foreign bodies that should be fought off. To do this, the woman's body would normally use lymphocytes to attack the foreign body in order to keep the womb healthy. But there's a substance in a man's sperm cells and semen that tell the woman's immune system to not attack. Also, the alkaline nature of semen buffers and converts the acidic nature of the female reproductive tract, thus allowing the sperm to travel safely to the egg in order to fertilize it. Meanwhile during the marital act, the couple is face to face, and eye to eye.
It has also been found that much of the sperm and seminal fluids that do not fertilize the woman are absorbed into her womb, and actually nourish it with the prostaglandins, and prepare it to bear forth the life of the same genetic type of sperm, so that if and when a baby does later implant into her womb, it will be a healthier pregnancy. If she has multiple sexual partners, or uses barrier methods of contraception, the pregnancy is more likely to be difficult because she has a higher risk of preclampsia. There is not only a built-in design for sex to be heterosexual, but for sex to be monogamous.[1]
However, if two men have anal sex, since the sperm are designed to inhibit the immune system, it may actually increase their odds of developing anal infections, and contracting diseases such as HIV. The sperm are wasted, and serve no purpose. Overall, the body suffers great harm. For example, homosexual men are more likely to have anal cancer (from HPV),[2] which infects over 90 percent of HIV-positive gay men and 65 percent of HIV-negative gay men.[3] They are also at increased risk of hepatitis[4] and throat gonorrhea.[5] They're ten times as likely as heterosexuals to get syphilis,[6] which then makes them two to five times as likely to get HIV.[7] They may also suffer from what's commonly called "Gay Bowel Syndrome," where bacteria from fecal matter enters the digestive system, and may cause a host of health problems.[8] Homosexual men are most at risk for getting HIV,[9] and now half of all new AIDS cases were reported among young homosexuals.[10]
Lesbians are also at risk, because most of them have had sex with other males, and because they often engage in sexual activities with other women that can transmit STDs such as HPV.[11] They're also likely to have more sexual partners than heterosexual women. The Washington Blade, which is a pro-homosexual newspaper, reported that "a large proportion of 'lesbian' women reporting sex with (often high risk) men."[12] One study also reported, "the median number of lifetime male sexual partners was significantly greater for WSW (women who have sex with women) than controls (twelve partners versus six). WSW were significantly more likely to report more than fifty lifetime male sexual partners."[13]
When a woman is bisexual, she is more likely to become infected with an STD than heterosexuals.[14] The Centers for Disease control affirmed that bisexual men were a bridge for infecting women with HIV.[15] Even lesbian relationships that are "exclusive" carry a great risk of STD transmission because they "were significantly more likely to report past sexual contact with a homosexual or bisexual man and sexual contact with an IDU (intravenous drug user)."[16] The journal Sexually Transmitted Infections studied the medical records of 1,408 lesbians, and found that they were at a much higher risk of certain STDs, like "bacterial vaginosis, hepatitis C, and HIV risk behaviors in WSW as compared with controls."[17]
Now, these health risks do not prove the immorality of homosexual actions. Rather, they are an indication that this is not the way our bodies are designed to work. The exclusive use of sexual activity for heterosexual monogamous couples may sound narrow minded, but that's simply the way that our hearts and our bodies are made.
There are difinatly more I would love to add, but this text is so long I'm sure many won't read the whole thing. Now I'm not going to be on my computer tomorrow because I like to keep sundays holy and not spend time on computers or video games. I will be back on early monday morning and try to answer any arguments people have for all of this.
That is the corner-stone of the word "faith:" the willingness to believe in something you don't have proof of.
Moreover, and this is something I never fully understood, why not believe in a god?
What do you have to gain? potentially a lot if any of this is true. Eternal happiness if I remember correctly.
What do you have to lose? nothing really, being a christian isn't exactly a demanding thing to do, and if we're wrong than you really won't have time to regret it because you will just be a corpse without conscious thought.
Right... because Christianity and atheism are the only options.
I don't even have to go into the issue of what a god would think of you for *acting* like you believe merely to avoid punishment or to get the reward (as if an omniscient being could be fooled by such trickery), but there are hundreds of thousands of religious sects, and hundreds of thousands of supposed places of damnation for those who do not believe.
It is further absurd in the highest degree since there are at least 38,000 sects of Christianity alone. Since they contradict each other in almost every point of doctrine it is anyone's guess which one is correct (if any).
You lose money, time out of the one life you have, you act as a shield for the extremists by using the same label; You lose a great many things.
There's also the issue of "choosing" to believe something. I don't choose to believe anything. I am either convinced or I am unconvinced. If I am convinced then I believe it. It is not a matter of willpower.
If you are a Battletech/Mechwarrior geek you may enjoy my Timberwolf/MADCAT model (the source of my avatar) (warning: image-heavy link target) I will often edit my posts after I have posted them in an attempt to improve their clarity (I value a few high quality posts over several low quality ones; the more lengthy the post, the more time it requires to edit) so you might want to wait for a while if this post is recent and refresh to see if anything has changed before replying to it.
Let's look at it this way. There were no recorded cases of being gay 200 years ago, but now it's booming. It's obviously a choice. And gays are sickening I can't stand them. One time at Subway I saw this gay black guy and oh my ****ing God the way he spoke, I wanted to punch the wall.
Let's look at it this way. There were no recorded cases of being gay 200 years ago, but now it's booming. It's obviously a choice. And gays are sickening I can't stand them. One time at Subway I saw this gay black guy and oh my ****ing God the way he spoke, I wanted to punch the wall.
>mfw you could have just Googled to see more.
>mfw
There are plenty more links, I am just too lazy to keep posting them.
>mfw you think I can trust a college with an obvious liberal bias
>mfw you think I can trust a religious website with homosex facts when they're obviously biased also
CODFag be trollin'. Pay him no heed. Homosexuality has been documented in ancient Greek culture, 3000 years ago so nobody needs to worry about it being a new phenomenon.
If you are a Battletech/Mechwarrior geek you may enjoy my Timberwolf/MADCAT model (the source of my avatar) (warning: image-heavy link target) I will often edit my posts after I have posted them in an attempt to improve their clarity (I value a few high quality posts over several low quality ones; the more lengthy the post, the more time it requires to edit) so you might want to wait for a while if this post is recent and refresh to see if anything has changed before replying to it.
>mfw you think I can trust a college with an obvious liberal bias
>mfw you think I can trust a religious website with homosex facts when they're obviously biased also
>mfw I read your posts
4/10, since you actually got a rise out of someone.
"...But don’t worry, you’re not alone, there are many men like you left in the world, and some of them even used to be your friends. After all, this is America, and we only kill our friends." - Immortal Technique
Possibly, don't forget that there are greek words for different types of love.
Agape: It generally refers to a "pure," ideal type of love, rather than the physical attraction suggested by eros. (Love for a spouse or Girl/Boyfriend)
Eros: A passionate love, with sensual desire and longing. (Love for a partner)
Philia: dispassionate virtuous love. It includes loyalty to friends, family, and community, and requires virtue, equality, and familiarity. (Brotherly Love)
Storge: This is natural affection, like that felt by parents for offspring. (Often Unconditional love.)
Yersh. They fought as they did BECAUSE they were fighting with their lovers. :cool.gif:
That's why resistance fighters (especially those when fighting along side your family and friends) were/are good fighters and never give up. Their love.
Anyway, back on topic.
Gays=Good
Straight=Good
Bisexual=Good
It's all personal choice. I don't care if you are gay or not. You're still yourself with your own personality.
I don't care what you do in the bedroom if it doesn't involve me (Hopefully nothing like that doesn't involve me for a few years now).
As stated earlier, if most religions are about love, why can't a guy and a guy or a girl and a girl love eachother?
There are two types of love.
The love you would share with your partner.
The love you would share with your family/friends.
How? It isn't done to heterosexual couples, and plenty of "kiss cam" scenes are basically "passionate" make-out scenes. And why would you suspect it was "abit more than a kiss?"
The term grab ass implies more than a kiss
So you believe the crazy glorified security guard who tried to assert his religious views upon two other baseball fans? Of course to any sane person "grab ass" implies an actual "grabbing of the ass," but he obviously just wanted to be a ****. How would you even see them "grab ass," they were sitting in chairs, not standing up or grinding on a dance floor. Plus, have you ever sat in a stadium seat? They are uncomfortable as ****, I certainly wouldn't want anyone's hand making it even more uncomfortable, in my opinion.
I see hetero couples damn near having sex while walking, not a damn thing happens to them. I'm sorry, but when I guy is holding his GF from behind, and she can't stop moving her hips? That's worse than playing grab ass with your boyfriend. Plus, I hear people use the term grab ass for anything homosexual or romantic.
It's hard to follow your dreams when you run from your nightmares. --
The following are from the website www.Chastity.com (for Catholics) or www.Chastity.org (which is the same minus all of the church references). There is much more at these sights then questions about gays, but these I am copying and pasting directly from the website. I agree 100% with all of the following:
(If you don't feel like reading all of this, please atleast read the last couple lines)
If two people of the same sex really love each other and are willing to stay faithful for life, why can't they get married?
The reason why people of the same sex who love each other and are willing to be faithful for life cannot get married is because there is more to marriage than love and faithfulness. These are necessary ingredients, but they are not the only ones. Our modern culture finds it difficult to understand why marriage is only for heterosexuals because it does not understand the purpose and meaning of marriage and sexuality.
This difficulty exists partly because contraception has divorced procreation from sex. If a heterosexual couple can engage in sexual activity that is opposed to the transmission of life, why can’t members of the same sex do likewise?
To understand why marriage is only for the joining of a man and a woman, we need to step back from the influences of the world and define the essential characteristics of marriage and sex.
We did not invent either one. They are God’s creation, and according to his designs, when a man and woman make love, they are saying their wedding vows with their bodies. Such a concept is easy to understand when you consider the essence of marriage. For a valid marriage to take place, the union must be free, total, faithful, and designed to give life. All these characteristics are necessary. For example, imagine a couple who agree to marry and have children but refuse to be faithful to one another. This is not a marriage. Likewise, if a couple are willing to have an exclusive and lifelong relationship but are incapable of having the sexual relations designed to give life, they would be incapable of marriage.
Since their bodies cannot express the vows of a married couple, they cannot get married. Because of this, some argue that the Church is “discriminating against gays.” But realize that the Church also does not allow impotent couples to marry. Not to be confused with sterility (where a couple is able to have intercourse but unable to have kids), impotency is where a person is incapable of having intercourse. Ever since the beginning sex has been an integral part of marriage. In Genesis we read, “A man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24).
Just as an impotent couple is unable to marry because they cannot become one flesh, one reason why members of the same sex are incapable of marriage is because they are incapable of intercourse. Just because two people are engaging in some form of sexual activity, this does not make them one flesh. This inability of the bodies to unite in a sexual way expresses the deeper reality that they were not meant to give themselves to each other in marriage. Therefore the Church has no authority to marry a couple who cannot become one. This is not easily understood by a culture that separates sex from marriage. Not surprisingly, the culture that first demanded sex without marriage now demands marriage without sex.
Although same-sex temptations, like temptations in general, are not in and of themselves sinful, Scripture and Church teaching condemn homosexual actions (Rom. 1:24–27; Gen. 19:1–29; 1 Tim. 1:8–10; CCC 2357–2359). Therefore, other Christians should lovingly encourage them to practice chastity, and not give in to the widespread popular notion that the real Christian attitude is "tolerance." Jesus does not call us to merely tolerate, but to love. St. Basil the Great once said, "[T]hose who pretend to be tolerant because they wish to flatter--those who thus fail to correct sinners--actually cause them to suffer supreme loss and plot the destruction of that life which is their true life." The true life of all people is life in God, and anything less that that will not bring them the joy for which they have been created.
If two members of the same sex are mutually attracted and they love one another, they will do what is best for each other. They desire union because of their love, but love desires more than a temporary physical union; it desires the good of the other. It desires heaven for the other person and will encourage him or her to embrace the virtue of chastity.
What causes homosexuality? If it's genetic, is it okay to be gay if you're born that way?
The causes of homosexuality are not fully understood, and many people who struggle with the temptations do not choose or want them. There has been much debate over the issue of nature versus nurture, but scientists have been unable to find a genetic cause for homosexuality. Dr. Dean Hamer (who coined the phrase “gay gene” ) said, “We have not found the gene—which we don’t think exists—for sexual orientation.”[1] Another study concluded, “Critical review shows the evidence favoring a biologic (genetic) theory to be lacking.”[2] There may be genetic factors that have yet to be discovered, but the development of homosexual desires often appears rooted in an individual’s upbringing.[3]
In my research and ministry, I have frequently encountered the following three issues related to the onset of homosexual attractions.
One: Sexual abuse. If a young woman is abused by any male, she may subconsciously think, “Men must all be like you, and no man will do that to me! I don’t want to be hurt that way again.” At times homosexuality becomes a shield for the heart and a sort of haven to escape the hurt of abusive relationships. It is understandable that a person hurt in the past would want to avoid future relationships that cause pain—and pain may be all a person knows from the opposite sex. Also, a child who was sexually abused by a member of the same sex can become confused about his or her sexual orientation.
Two: Sometimes the opposite-sex parent is too enmeshed in the life of the child. For example, a mother and son can rely too exclusively on one another for needs that should be met elsewhere. This can contribute to gender identity confusion in the child.
Three: The same-sex parent may be emotionally or physically absent. In the case of a young man, the absence of a father may lead to feelings of inferiority or rejection by peers when it comes to athletic endeavors with the other guys. Other times, a father can be so critical of a son that the dad never bothers to affirm the manhood of the young man. This can cause a young man to feel an inability to relate to his own gender. It is common that as a young man matures he will seek to identify with what is masculine. Sometimes this desire to identify with a guy who is particularly masculine may be confused with the onset of homosexuality.
If a young man acts on this and begins to explore homosexuality, he may gradually come to believe that his orientation is homosexual. But the attraction may have been there simply because the other guy possessed a degree of masculinity that the young man admired and feared he lacked.
This admiration of a member of the same sex is not uncommon during adolescence, for women as well as men. During this time young people are trying to discover their identity. They often go through a maturing process that moves them from a strong interest in same-sex friendships to a primary interest in opposite-sex relationships. It is not unusual for adolescents to feel confusion in the midst of their rapid sexual development, identity search, and maturing of interests.
Let us assume for the sake of argument that some people are born homosexual. Does this mean they should be free to indulge in homosexual behavior? Unmarried heterosexual men could easily argue that they are genetically wired to desire premarital sex. Some evidence exists that certain people are biologically more prone to alcoholism. But just because a person has certain desires or inclinations, this does not mean that it is moral to act on those urges.
People have spent decades searching for genetic clues to better understand sexual orientation. In their quest for microscopic evidence, they miss what is plainly revealed in the body. Every man’s body is designed for a woman’s, and every woman’s body is designed for a man’s. If a woman is “born homosexual,” why does she have a womb? Why is a man’s ability to reproduce dependent upon a woman?
Such questions are difficult to consider for those who feel no attraction toward the opposite sex. But their bodies reveal their calling to make gifts of themselves. They are made in the image and likeness of God, and only by loving as God loves will they find true fulfillment and meaning in their lives. By looking to the examples of unmarried people such as Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, and Jesus, a person with same-sex attractions can see that it is possible to give up certain pleasures in this life in order to experience a deeper union with God now, and in the life to come.
Considering that 10% of the population is gay, don't you think the Church just needs to get with it?
There are three things to consider here.
First, let's look at where that "10%" figure comes from. The man who proposed that statistic was named Alfred Kinsey. Back in the 1940's, when he did his "research," the general population wasn't very open to divulging their sexual lives. So he looked elsewhere to find his data.
He arrived at the 10% number by sampling 5300 white male subjects. Of these, 2800 of them were sex offenders or other criminals. He also sought out male prostitutes, and homosexual activists at gay bars. From this bunch, he came to the conclusion that ten percent of all guys are homosexual. Needless to say, those who have studied his methodologies aren't convinced with his conclusions.
Secondly, it appears that the actual numbers for homosexuality are far lower than Kinsey proposed. Paul Cameron Wrote a book called The Gay Nineties, and in it he estimates that the national average of men is 3% and for women it is 1.5%. Regardless of what percentage of the population is gay, this does not determine the morality of a person's actions, or the teaching of the Church. For example, if 10% of the population has shoplifted, this would not make the behavior ethical. So, the Church does not look to modern culture to determine her teaching. She looks to divine revelation, as found in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.
Thirdly, no matter what percentage of the world has same-sex attractions, they must all be treated with dignity, respect, and love, and called to lives of holiness.
How can people say that homosexuality isn't natural?
Many people define what's natural by whatever they feel. If they feel an attraction to something, then they assume it must be good and natural. That's our culture in a nutshell: If it feels good, do it. But, my attractions do not determine the morality of my actions. For example, a husband might be attracted to his secretary, but this "natural" feeing does not make it good to cheat on your wife.
I discussed the morality of homosexual actions in a different question, so let's just look at how "natural" the act is. When I use the term natural, I'm referring to the design that can be found within nature. For example, it's natural for a plant to live in sunlight. If it's put in the closet, it will probably die, because that is not the natural environment in which it should live. When things are put in their natural place, and follow the design with which they're made, they thrive. When this natural law is violated, things go awry.
To see how this plays out in our sexuality, examine how a man's body works with a woman's in the sexual act.
First of all, consider that a man's body really doesn't make sense without a woman's body. The same goes for her. The two compliment each other. For example, the sperm and the egg serve no purpose in isolation from each other. Yet, everyone on the planet is here because of the union of the two.
To get more technical, a man's sperm is foreign to a woman's reproductive system, and the natural response of her body is to treat them as foreign bodies that should be fought off. To do this, the woman's body would normally use lymphocytes to attack the foreign body in order to keep the womb healthy. But there's a substance in a man's sperm cells and semen that tell the woman's immune system to not attack. Also, the alkaline nature of semen buffers and converts the acidic nature of the female reproductive tract, thus allowing the sperm to travel safely to the egg in order to fertilize it. Meanwhile during the marital act, the couple is face to face, and eye to eye.
It has also been found that much of the sperm and seminal fluids that do not fertilize the woman are absorbed into her womb, and actually nourish it with the prostaglandins, and prepare it to bear forth the life of the same genetic type of sperm, so that if and when a baby does later implant into her womb, it will be a healthier pregnancy. If she has multiple sexual partners, or uses barrier methods of contraception, the pregnancy is more likely to be difficult because she has a higher risk of preclampsia. There is not only a built-in design for sex to be heterosexual, but for sex to be monogamous.[1]
However, if two men have anal sex, since the sperm are designed to inhibit the immune system, it may actually increase their odds of developing anal infections, and contracting diseases such as HIV. The sperm are wasted, and serve no purpose. Overall, the body suffers great harm. For example, homosexual men are more likely to have anal cancer (from HPV),[2] which infects over 90 percent of HIV-positive gay men and 65 percent of HIV-negative gay men.[3] They are also at increased risk of hepatitis[4] and throat gonorrhea.[5] They're ten times as likely as heterosexuals to get syphilis,[6] which then makes them two to five times as likely to get HIV.[7] They may also suffer from what's commonly called "Gay Bowel Syndrome," where bacteria from fecal matter enters the digestive system, and may cause a host of health problems.[8] Homosexual men are most at risk for getting HIV,[9] and now half of all new AIDS cases were reported among young homosexuals.[10]
Lesbians are also at risk, because most of them have had sex with other males, and because they often engage in sexual activities with other women that can transmit STDs such as HPV.[11] They're also likely to have more sexual partners than heterosexual women. The Washington Blade, which is a pro-homosexual newspaper, reported that "a large proportion of 'lesbian' women reporting sex with (often high risk) men."[12] One study also reported, "the median number of lifetime male sexual partners was significantly greater for WSW (women who have sex with women) than controls (twelve partners versus six). WSW were significantly more likely to report more than fifty lifetime male sexual partners."[13]
When a woman is bisexual, she is more likely to become infected with an STD than heterosexuals.[14] The Centers for Disease control affirmed that bisexual men were a bridge for infecting women with HIV.[15] Even lesbian relationships that are "exclusive" carry a great risk of STD transmission because they "were significantly more likely to report past sexual contact with a homosexual or bisexual man and sexual contact with an IDU (intravenous drug user)."[16] The journal Sexually Transmitted Infections studied the medical records of 1,408 lesbians, and found that they were at a much higher risk of certain STDs, like "bacterial vaginosis, hepatitis C, and HIV risk behaviors in WSW as compared with controls."[17]
Now, these health risks do not prove the immorality of homosexual actions. Rather, they are an indication that this is not the way our bodies are designed to work. The exclusive use of sexual activity for heterosexual monogamous couples may sound narrow minded, but that's simply the way that our hearts and our bodies are made.
There are difinatly more I would love to add, but this text is so long I'm sure many won't read the whole thing. Now I'm not going to be on my computer tomorrow because I like to keep sundays holy and not spend time on computers or video games. I will be back on early monday morning and try to answer any arguments people have for all of this.
Right... because Christianity and atheism are the only options.
I don't even have to go into the issue of what a god would think of you for *acting* like you believe merely to avoid punishment or to get the reward (as if an omniscient being could be fooled by such trickery), but there are hundreds of thousands of religious sects, and hundreds of thousands of supposed places of damnation for those who do not believe.
It is further absurd in the highest degree since there are at least 38,000 sects of Christianity alone. Since they contradict each other in almost every point of doctrine it is anyone's guess which one is correct (if any).
You lose money, time out of the one life you have, you act as a shield for the extremists by using the same label; You lose a great many things.
There's also the issue of "choosing" to believe something. I don't choose to believe anything. I am either convinced or I am unconvinced. If I am convinced then I believe it. It is not a matter of willpower.
I will often edit my posts after I have posted them in an attempt to improve their clarity (I value a few high quality posts over several low quality ones; the more lengthy the post, the more time it requires to edit) so you might want to wait for a while if this post is recent and refresh to see if anything has changed before replying to it.
I can honestly say I don't care, either way, what people think. :happy.gif:
inb4 link to wikipedia.
Link to wikipedia.
It's hard to follow your dreams when you run from your nightmares. --
>implying you can trust wikipedia when anyone can edit it.
>mfw
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/homosexuality/
http://www.religionfacts.com/homosexuality/ancient_greeks.htm
>mfw you could have just Googled to see more.
>mfw
There are plenty more links, I am just too lazy to keep posting them.
It's hard to follow your dreams when you run from your nightmares. --
>mfw you think I can trust a college with an obvious liberal bias
>mfw you think I can trust a religious website with homosex facts when they're obviously biased also
I will often edit my posts after I have posted them in an attempt to improve their clarity (I value a few high quality posts over several low quality ones; the more lengthy the post, the more time it requires to edit) so you might want to wait for a while if this post is recent and refresh to see if anything has changed before replying to it.
>mfw I read your posts
4/10, since you actually got a rise out of someone.
If the rise was out of me, I was just bored at one AM. Needed something to do and this was mildly annoying.
It's hard to follow your dreams when you run from your nightmares. --