Quote:
Originally Posted by BrotherEastman
Antipas, you give excuse for those that don't have a choice, I beg to differ, God is going to judge mankind based upon his choice. I do not see any reason why men couldn't make the choice to abstain from the behavior. The chemical imbalance thing isn't going to work standing before God. Just as poor behavior because of road rage isn't going to work when standing before a traffic judge; what would the judge say to the perp when he says "sorry judge, I have a chemical imbalance whenever I'm on the highway and someone does something to set me off"? Do you think the judge will let him off the hook because there was nothing he could do about the chemical imbalance? Especially if he harms or kills someone,Dude, get real.
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I think you’re misinterpreting my position. I fully agree with you, one’s biology doesn’t absolve them of the choices they make. But it does give us a context with which to aid us in how we deal with these individuals. My flesh is hardwired for sin also (though not this sin). I’m responsible to God for my choices to give into those urges. However, no one expects me to stop being who I am. I can’t just choose to be something I’m not. My point is that neither can these individuals. They have a biological or genetic (i.e. fleshly) predisposition or propensity toward this kind of behavior. Knowing that this is a condition that isn’t a “choice”, I’m led to have far more compassion on them and patience with them. I realize that without a miracle that changes their biology they will have these attractions for most of their lives. I can accept the fact that no degree of Christian pop-psychology will change them. I also understand that it would be unwise to condition them to claim to be straight and encourage them to marry to “fix” their problem, knowing that this will most likely end in broken homes as they realize that they are what they are. I won’t demand that they cease being who they are through efforts to “change” themselves. I can admit that their change can only come from a miraculous touch from Jesus. I can advocate self control. I can advocate that they not engage in these behaviors and that they accept a life of celibacy. This doesn’t mean they have to cease having these feelings (they can’t stop these feelings anyway). It does mean that they not act out on them with others. Like anyone who is called to a life without marriage we call them to purity in their current state. In the ancient world they would be admitted to the class of eunuchs and allowed to function in a single, unmarried, individuals. No one would expect them to change and be straight. All that would be expected would be a life of purity and an acceptance of living as a single human being.
I know this position might bother some of our liberal friends and brethren who might even advocate that they be allowed to dwell in monogamous civil unions. I am not yet convinced that the ancient cultural code of the Bible would allow for civil unions or binding covenants between two individuals of the same gender. Though on a political level the only value with civil unions would be in creating a culture in which intercourse, rather sanctioned by Scripture or not, is expected to be kept within the bounds of a social contract. This is what some liberals call the, “Golden Standard of Marriage.”
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