Why do some Christians deny that people can be born homosexual, while others accept this as fact?

Question

Many evangelicals deny the experience of millions and the expertise of psychologists and psychiatrists by saying that homosexuality does not exist as a personality trait, inborn experience, or as a sexual orientation.

However, the Roman Catholic bishops recently issued a statement acknowledging that people are homosexual (although they say that it remains a sin to act upon these sexual urges).

How can the evangelicals justify statements that have so many refutations in logic, experience, and scientific evidence? Doesn't denying the existence of homosexuality as an orientation make it harder to believe everything else they say?

Answer 1

Some people are smarter than others and change with the times instead of trying to change the times.

Answer 2

Before I answer you should know a little about me. I am a non-practicing evangelical. My father left my mother for a man after 27 years of marriage and I have a psychology degree with a strong background in sexual psychology.
The Bible teaches that it is wrong for a man to know a man the way he knows a woman. He isn't real keen on our sexual exploration and lifestyles (me included.. I am living with a man out of wedlock!!!). So most evangelicals tend to take the Bible more literally and that scripture is pretty key. (Leviticus 21:13).
Secondly, there isn't a study anywhere that says homosexuality is something people are born with. Many gays believe they were born that way. Not all of them do, though. Twin studies on gay men have been inconclusive. Scientists simply do not know if it is nature or nurture. There tend to be one or two ways men end up gay (with women it is totally different.. whole different ball of wax there). Men could be gay because of genetics (although this isn't likely because that would mean that a man who is gay with a twin would have a gay twin, and that is only the case 50% of the time). Men could be gay because of increased stress on the mother during pregnancy. Possible.. but how many overly stressed pregnant women are there and what amount of stress makes a baby gay? And why doesn't the same stress level make females gay? I could go on and on.
I can't speak for catholics since I'm not one, and I don't think evangelicals don't believe people can be gay.. they just don't like it.
I personally don't understand why they are so all fired upset about gay marriage. I am all for gay marriage. What the state does and what my church condones are two separate things. I would have a serious problem if my pastor starting conducting gay marriage services, though.

Answer 3

Homosexuality is not something that you are born with. See, they did this test. They took 112 identical twins, and with identical twins, everything is the same, if one has brown hair, 100% likely the other does, if one has blue eyes, 100% likely the other does. Well, they found that if one baby was homosexual, 52% likely the other one was as well, but it wasn't 100% like everything else. So, homosexuality is not -solely- genetic, but it may have some sort of inborn influence, such as the amount of testosterone, estrogen/progesterone a baby gets. I hope this helps someone.

Answer 4

only after the dsmv was changed in the 70's i think did homosexuality move from mental illness to the touchy feely thing it is now. but lets just look at it from a evolution point of view. why would you take yourself out of the gene pool? maybe it is genetic and the gene sequence is so far gone that your chemistry turns you to relationships that cannot produce children. or maybe there is a homosexuality tendancy gene like say alcoholism. and well people choose to try heroin all the time doesnt make it a genetic thing. and then on top of all that you need to look at abuse and sexual abuse survivors and see how warped the sexual image and sexual function of these people is. take a look for your self and then come back and form a real question that doesnt involve religion.

Answer 5

I personally believe that it's born into you and, Yes, you can overturn it, but you see it in young kids that usually end up the very orientation that you saw coming.

Homosexuality has been around even back to the biblical times.

While I don't condone it, I Really Do believe that you come out of the womb with certain predispositions.

Answer 6

Because some Christians take the bibles words literally, you know when it says "men shall not lie down with another man". So they read it and that's what it states so that is what needs to be recognized. And another thing, if they believe in God, its like WHY WOULD GOD have a word inspired by him state something like this if he knows that people could be born homosexual. You know, kind of like if God is in control, why would he ask something from his followers that is essentially not UNDER their control.
- It contradicts the idea that God inspired the bible-
And for the religious leaders who do accept homosexuality, they must be reading another version of the bible with some lines crossed out

Answer 7

If homosexuality is a natural condition then the Bible has to be wrong on this subject. If the Bible were to be proven wrong on even one subject then the rest of it would be suspect as well. Fundamentalist Christian theology relies on the Bible being the absolutely, one hundred percent, totally correct and perfect word of God. If the Bible is wrong, then they are wrong. Their narrow minded view absolutely can not accept even the possibility of this happening.

Answer 8

Fundies could deny the nose on their face if it suited them. Doesn't change the FACT, though, that some people are born gay. And I can't wait for the day when they have to either acknowledge it because of scientific evidence (good luck with that, eh?), or the Congress does through legislation ending discrimination against gays and the fundies are forced to EAT IT!!

Answer 9

The Vedic knowledge understands that one is born with these desires but one is not supposed to act on them because we are not these bodies, Illicit sex creates bondage to the bodily conception of life. We are not the body we are spirit soul. Bodily pleasures are due to being in illusion. They are temporary and full of misery. One should understand our constitutional position and transcend the body and mind and come to our spiritual consciousness. Contact me for a website fro more infor on this topic

Answer 10

Because God wouldn't create people a certain way, and then tell them that it's a sin to live in a way that He created them to live. God says that homosexuality is a sin, so it must be something that someone can stop doing. I've heard of people who were homosexual, became Christians, and through a lot of prayer and dependence on God have overcome their homosexual urges, it's not impossible.

Answer 11

As a heterosexual, I find my attraction to the opposite sex not a choice but a biological urge. I would assume it is the same for homosexuals.

Now as to why evangelicals deny homosexuality is not inborn, this is because they are in a state of denial. If they accept the fact that it is not a choice, they lose their self-justification for discriminating against that group of people they hate.