The attempt to prove that homosexuality is determined biologically has been dealt a knockout punch. An American Psychological Association publication includes an admission that there’s no homosexual “gene” — meaning it’s not likely that homosexuals are born that way.

For decades, the APA has not considered homosexuality a psychological disorder, while other professionals in the field consider it to be a “gender-identity” problem. But the new statement, which appears in a brochure called “Answers to Your Questions for a Better Understanding of Sexual Orientation & Homosexuality,” states the following:

“There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay or lesbian orientation. Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social, and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors. Many think that nature and nurture both play complex roles….”

That contrasts with the APA’s statement in 1998: “There is considerable recent evidence to suggest that biology, including genetic or inborn hormonal factors, play a significant role in a person’s sexuality.”

Read the rest of the article…

With this admission that their former stance was wrong, will the APA respond differently to the stories of many people who have found freedom from a homosexual identity?  Hopefully this will be an open door for dialogue and respectful conversation on this topic.  The APA’s stance, whether it be embracing the gay gene theory or offering the possibility of change from a homosexual identity, has no bearing on my own beliefs.  No institution can discredit the fact that God has done a significant change in me.  He is the bearer of change in my life.  But, this is a great step in perhaps reducing the discrediting and judgmental attitudes many in the psychiatric world have against organizations such as Exodus.

It’s good to see the APA admitting the truth of our experiences.

]]> http://exodusyouth.net/2009/05/21/apa-revises-gay-gene-theory/feed/ 8 http://exodusyouth.net/2008/11/13/when-pro-gay-goes-over-the-edge/ http://exodusyouth.net/2008/11/13/when-pro-gay-goes-over-the-edge/#comments Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:47:02 +0000 Mike http://exodusyouth.net/?p=218 A large church in Michigan was the target of a Sunday-morning demonstration by gay activists which quickly got out of control:

The disruption came from a group that calls itself Bash Back, and involved demonstrations outside the church and inside the sanctuary while services were under way, said Mt. Hope Church communications director David Williams.

Members of the group inside the church shouted pro-gay slogans, threw leaflets, unfurled a banner and pulled a fire alarm, then hastily departed, Williams said. There were no injuries, he said.

Other reports note that the demonstrators threw condoms at the congregation, shouted “Jesus was gay!” and made out at the pulpit.

Stories like this can evoke a lot of responses; fear, anger, frustration, doubt–just to name a few. While this particular ‘protest’ definitely falls into a more extreme category than most, there’s no doubt that tensions are rising in the Culture War.

Many within the LGBT community were hurt and angered by the passage of marriage protection measures in California, Arizona and Florida in the 2008 election. This is no surprise, since most people with same-sex attraction have bought into the idea that “gay” is who you are–it’s your unchangeable identity. With that sort of mindset, Biblical standards concerning homosexuality can seem like hatred, and the choice of voters to uphold the Biblical definition of marriage can come across as a personal rejection (even though it’s not). Media fixation on the explosive nature of these topics as well as rhetoric from extremist groups definitely add to the tension and anger on both sides.

The election, however, only underscores a cultural tension that was already pretty strong. On the one hand, you have some in the Christian community who see homosexuals as a “threat” to the nation. Likewise, there are gays who consider Bible-believing Christians to be the source of all the hardship in their lives.

So as the culture war gets more and more heated, how are we as the Body of Christ going to respond? What is our goal, and what resolve do we have?

Standing Strong

We’ve got to realize that we can’t reject, omit or ignore Scripture’s teaching on sin of any kind.

Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves…
1st Corinthians 6:9 (NLT)

Don’t fool yourselves. It doesn’t make any sense to compromise the Gospel to make it more attractive to people–because then it’s not really the Gospel at all! But in the face of ever-intensifying opposition, many Christians think that’s the way to go. It certainly seems easier, when Biblical teachings on hot topics like homosexuality stir up the kind of anger expressed by this “Bash Back” group.

The truth is, Christ-followers have been getting into hot water for calling sin what it is and promoting an uncompromised Gospel since the very beginning:

Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John . . . John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry your brother’s wife.” So Herodias [the wife] bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. Mark 6:17-19 (NLT)

Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property… Hebrews 10:33-34 (NIV)

We haven’t really seen this kind of treatment of Christians in the USA yet. Many could probably claim the “exposed to insult” part; we are stigmatized with labels like “bigot” and “homophobe” and sometimes mocked by popular culture for believing what the Bible says about a variety of issues. Is that reason enough to shy away from Biblical truth?

The early Church, though, faced so much more persecution. Just in these short verses we see people doing jail time and having their personal property seized by the authorities. Oh, and Herodias was eventually successful in her attempts to get John killed. But look how they responded–sympathizing with others who suffered the same persecution, and even accepting it joyfully! Imagine that! Where did they get the strength to have that attitude?

You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.  So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. Hebrews 10:34-35 (NIV, emphasis added)

A truly eternal perspective will give us all the hope and confidence we need to live faithful to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Not only is the persecution we suffer minimal to what our Christian forefathers experienced, but even their trials were no match for the hope that they had in Jesus.

Don’t Forget About the Love

In a culture that seems addicted to polarized debate and rivalry, we can’t forget that a big part of following Jesus is learning to love when it’s the hardest thing to do. We have to really care about and seek to serve those who might be considered our enemies (Matthew 5:44).

Some people won’t acknowledge or receive our love if we refuse to compromise our faith in Scripture. They will probably even accuse us of hate. We have to be okay with that, and keep on loving them anyway.

Love is about telling the hard truths sometimes, but even more than that it’s about caring for the needs of others. Do you have gay neighbors, classmates or friends? Be thinking about practical, kind things you could do for them. As much as we tend to think about preserving and promoting Biblical truth about sexuality, let’s try to think twice as much about how to show Christ’s love in simple, everyday ways. Jesus, after all, made a priority of healing the sick, helping the needy and defending the abused. He didn’t grill them about how they got sick, needy or abused; he just helped.

There are lots of ways we can help those who identify as LGBTQ without compromising Scripture. Stick up for them when they’re being picked on; speak up when people talk demeaningly or abusively and ask them to stop. Reach out to those who are hurting–for whatever reason. Do these things regardless of whether they are acknowledged or appreciated.

Above all, pray for the gay-identified people in your life–all the more for those who really push your buttons!

I’ve had my share of run-ins with radical gay activists. To be honest, they can make me pretty angry. There’s nothing wrong with feeling that way, but you can’t let that anger pollute the way you think and how you treat people. And you can’t let it steal your own personal peace!

Prayer is a great way to overcome offended feelings. Hope in God’s power to change hearts keeps negativity at bay. Just think how great it would be for the most hard-core, Christian-hating person to experience the kind of transformation that the Apostle Paul did. Did you know he was a vicious persecutor of Christians before he himself became one? (Galatians 1:13) It’s amazing to think that this man who killed Christians in his religious zeal went on to write a big chunk of the New Testament!

I pray for that day that we can say of the most extreme gay activist, “The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!” (Galatians 1:23)

Carrying signs bearing the words “I’m Gay and It’s OK” and “Christ Taught Love Not Hate,” the protesters lined both sides of San Jacinto Street in front of the downtown church.

They sang “Jesus Loves Me” and cheered when passing motorists honked their horns and waved in support.

“Most of the people here are Christians, and they’re taking offense at the Baptist Church trying to say how Christ’s love should be interpreted,” said Patrick Hancock, who attended the peaceful protest. It was organized earlier this week when someone noticed the sermon topic on the church marquee.

While I don’t know the exact content of the sermon, the statements of the protesters reveal some of the fundamental misunderstandings people in modern America have about the Gospel of Jesus–especially when it comes to this issue.

It’s pretty common that I hear attitudes like Mr. Hancock’s expressed; people believe that to say homosexuality is sinful is the same thing as saying that God doesn’t love people who struggle with it or embrace it.

What people seem to forget is that Jesus consistently reminded people that we are all sinners in need of saving.

“So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.” Matthew 7:11 NLT (emphasis added)

“…And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God.” Luke 13:3 NLT

Remember the story of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11)? Jesus defended her from the people who wanted to condemn her to death (and revealed that they were really no better than she was). The scene ends, though, with Jesus telling the woman to leave her life of sin (verse 11).

Imagine if she had then brushed Jesus off and accused him of hate! Sadly, that’s what a lot of people did in Jesus’ time when they heard the meat of his message, and they’re still doing it today.

The Gospel is about God’s unconditional love for every person in the world, and that because of this unconditional love we have the opportunity to be forgiven of our sins and make–with God’s help–a radical change of direction in our lives; in essence, to go from self-serving to God-serving. A gospel that’s just about “acceptance” and good feelings and ignores the call to repent and obey God is not the Gospel at all.

Like I said, I don’t know the exact content of the sermon, but from the article it seems like the preacher got the basics right.

He said Sunday’s sermon was part of the “Politically Incorrect” series he’s preaching that explores seven of the most controversial beliefs that Christians can articulate in today’s culture.

Of those, “homosexuality is probably the most culturally explosive issue,” he acknowledged. “Even though culture changes, God’s word doesn’t change.”

Dr. Jeffress said the purpose of his sermon was to “let Christians know what the Bible says about this important topic, and to reaffirm that any and every sin can be forgiven.”

A couple of days ago, Tony Woodlief’s WoW post, “Anti-homosexual Christianity,” stirred quite a conversation. Tony looked at a piece of the book UnChristian, whose authors observe of the church that “outsiders say our hostility toward gays – not just opposition to homosexual politics and behaviors but disdain for gay individuals – has become virtually synonymous with the Christian faith.”

The post interested me greatly because I spent quite a bit of time this week talking with former homosexuals, and with Catholic, Jewish, evangelical, and secular counselors and psychologists who help people walk away from unwanted same-sex attraction. Two trends emerged:

First, it appears that the cultural liberation of homosexuality is also liberating those seeking to escape it.

Second, the cultural mainstreaming of homosexuality is awakening some churches to more compassionate ways of dealing with homosexuality – without endorsing the behavior.

Read the whole article >>