I am wondering what you think of this. How would you respond to this woman's concerns, and to this author's responses? Please keep in mind that both the woman and the author profess to be Christians, which impacts their thinking the same way yours is impacted by certain influences too.
"I'm at my wits' end," the young woman wrote. "I've asked pastors, friends, parents, God, and message boards this question and still haven't received an intelligent answer that I can live with. Why are homosexual acts wrong? I'm a Christian and believe in the Bible, but this part always stumps me."
According to my friend, Dr. J. Budziszewski, author of the excellent new book, ASK ME ANYTHING: PROVOCATIVE ANSWERS FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS, disturbing questions like this show that church leaders aren't providing young people with the whole picture about sexuality. They may be faithfully teaching God's rules, but when asked why God made these rules, too often they say, "Take two aspirin, and wait for the questions to go away."
The good news, says Budziszewski, is that we can answer disturbing questions. Where are the answers found? In our creational design.
"People say homosexuality isn't natural," the young woman complained in her letter, "but that can't be true because it's found among animals." Budziszewski answers, "But our nature is how God designed us. What's natural for human beings isn't whatever you can find some animal doing; it's whatever fulfills our design. Men and women were plainly designed for each other -- not men for men, nor women for women." Children can be born in no other way.
"But homosexual acts don't harm anyone," said the young woman. Budziszewski answers, "The idea that homosexual acts don't harm anyone isn't even close to being true; they harm those who perform them at every level. To begin with the most obvious level -- the physical -- how could it not harm a man to suffer physical trauma because body parts are repeatedly forced into bodily openings that were designed for a radically different function?" And the rates of a long, long list of diseases are also much higher among practicing homosexuals, and contrary to popular belief, this is true for lesbians as well as for "gay" men.
At the emotional level, Budziszewski explains, the damage of homosexual acts is just as grave. God designed the male-female pair to balance each other; by contrast, same-sex mating drives them out of balance. If you want an example, think of the anonymous, no-brakes promiscuity of men who have sex with
hundreds, even thousands, of other men.
"And what about spiritual harm?" asks Budziszewski. "In homosexual acts, you're seeking union with someone who is only your own mirror image, so in a way, you're still trapped inside yourself. You haven't experienced the power of marital sexuality to take you beyond the Self; you're rejecting the challenge of union with someone who is really other. In that way, homosexual acts are less like marital intercourse than like masturbation with another body."
That's frank, even startling language, but what's happened to our culture is startling too. When young people confused by the culture ask questions, they need clear, unvarnished answers to set their thinking straight. That's why I recommend this great new book ASK ME ANYTHING: PROVOCATIVE ANSWERS FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS.
God's rules for sex are never arbitrary; they are based on how He made us. As Budziszewski rightly says, it's all in the design.
5 comments:
Chris says:
Um, I have never heard of animals in homosexual acts. Am I ignorant or is this lady crazy? When was the last time you saw any squirrel on squirrel action in the park? I mean two boy squirrels.
But also, I don't think that the author's example of a guy having sex with hundreds and thousands of other men has any relevance to balance, and it's a foolish suggestion that all homosexuals are sex fiends, or something.
I think the problem with this book is that it's one author's vision of what is right and wrong, biblical or not, which often results in error and miscommunication. Also, what happened to the answer "it's in the bible, accept it because it's clear." Is that wrong?
I seem to recall vaguely hearing of homosexual acts among animals, but that doesn't make it any less depraved even if it's true. Are we to look to animals for our cues on morality? God made us in His image, not animals.
The part where the author really loses me is this line: In homosexual acts, you're seeking union with someone who is only your own mirror image, so in a way, you're still trapped inside yourself. You haven't experienced the power of marital sexuality to take you beyond the Self; you're rejecting the challenge of union with someone who is really other. This doesn't sound like Biblical wisdom, it sounds like Freudian "wisdom." Can't the author come up with a better answer than psychobabble?
I agree with Chris. Since when does God have to explain His reasons? Can't we just accept that they're beyond our mortal understanding or on a "need to know" basis only?
About the animals: sometimes dogs will mount each other (male and females both), but it's a sign of dominance, not sexuality. Also, I saw a TV special once about one particular colony of a particular kind of monkey that practice homosexuality...at least in terms of sex for the pleasure of it. Otherwise, there really isn't much other animal evidence, certainly not in the way that people claim it's genetic and affects 10% of the population. There is no animal evidence for that.
I agree that the problem with using animals as evidence is that, creationist or evolutionist, humans are not animals, no matter how many genes we share with zebra danios (fish) or chimps. Mantises eat the male's head off during sex. Does that make it legit for people? Some animal species are monogamous, some are not. How does that inform humanity? Plain and simple, we can think abstractly and behave morally, or ethically, if you prefer. Animals--without reinforcement, training, and conditioning--can't. I'd argue that anyone who compares people to animals is looking for a way to debase humanity (and therefore themselves) to a lower level--thereby rationalizing certain behaviors (well beyond homosexuality).
The other side of me, however, thinks that it is NOT just okay if God says something is true or untrue. Yes, we should be humble and believe Him regardless, but that doesn't mean that there aren't good, natural reasons for the rules and guidelines that God has established. That's the trouble right now: there ARE reasons why sexual sin is wrong, but most people aren't interested in hearing them because they associate all those reasons with "Christians" blindly following "close-minded" doctrines that are outdated and irrelevant in our new, tolerant society. Rather than associating it with real, measurable, significant consequences and effects. This malassociation is partly the Christian's fault, for not understanding some of the real and genuine affects and consequences that come from certain behaviors. We give spiritual answers to unspiritual people, and they see them as foolishness. (I Cor 1-2)
Jessi says...I just wrote a big long thing and it wouldn't let me post it. Grrrr.
Chris says:
Patrick, that just totally schooled me. I was just commenting on the fact that the Christian woman believes in the bible but didn't understand why homosexuality is wrong, which seems contradictory, given some of the bible verses on sexual immorality.
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