Comments on: More on the church and homosexuality https://wthrockmorton.com/2006/11/22/more-on-the-church-and-homosexuality/ A [retired] college psychology professor's observations about public policy, mental health, sexual identity, and religious issues Thu, 21 Jun 2007 02:53:19 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 By: Jayhuck https://wthrockmorton.com/2006/11/22/more-on-the-church-and-homosexuality/#comment-2876 Thu, 21 Jun 2007 02:53:19 +0000 https://www.wthrockmorton.com//2006/11/22/more-on-the-church-and-homosexuality/#comment-2876 Warren,

I think your conclusion hinges on whether or not they are interpreting the use of the word “eunuchs” correctly!

J

]]> By: John https://wthrockmorton.com/2006/11/22/more-on-the-church-and-homosexuality/#comment-2875 Thu, 30 Nov 2006 02:51:04 +0000 https://www.wthrockmorton.com//2006/11/22/more-on-the-church-and-homosexuality/#comment-2875 I think that society will gradually evolve into a more authentically spiritual stage of development, where human diversity of all kinds, whether inborn or not (ie religious diversity), will be recognized and appreciated; where individuals will be nurtured and supported from the earliest days of their lives to become confident seekers of the truth by which they will live their lives, whether that be in the context of the faith they grew up in or another set of beliefs; and where the highly personal, sacred, nature of one’s human or spiritual (or sexual or relational intimacy) development, and matters of conscience and belief and identity, will be recognized as such, and freed from the weights of judgment, preachiness, pressure, recrimination, and shame. In this kind of environment, which is already taking root, I believe, all kinds of journeys in life can be shared with others without fear — benefitting both the speaker and the listener.

]]> By: Michael Bussee https://wthrockmorton.com/2006/11/22/more-on-the-church-and-homosexuality/#comment-2874 Fri, 24 Nov 2006 19:02:46 +0000 https://www.wthrockmorton.com//2006/11/22/more-on-the-church-and-homosexuality/#comment-2874 The implications would be huge. The church would have to reverse centuries of persecution against gays, apologize and admit that (for some at least) it IS inborn. There would be NO scriptural basis for denying these “eunuchs” equal rights under the law or equal status in the church..

Parents would have to be trained to recognize and embrace these natural variations in their children and help their eunuch kids deal with the sense of “cosmic injustice” that they cannot live as “normal” people live. For example, I have NEVER had heterosexual attractions and I cannot imagine what it would be like to be forced into a life of celibacy — to never give myself to someone, set up a household, make love to my spouse, etc.. What if I went through all of that pain and then found that the person labeling me a “eunuch from birth” were wrong?.

Ex-gay ministries would have to STOP trying to change such eunushs. They couldn’t refer to “Ex-eunuch” or “formerly eunuch identified”. NARTH and EXODUS would have to admit publicly that they were wrong all along and would have to do some major revisions in their philosophies and “treatment” approach. They would owe the world BIG apologies for harassing, rejecting, judging, pressuring “eunuchs”. After all, In ACTS, the eunuch said: “See? Here is water. What prevents ME from being baptized”? If they can be baptized, could they also be ordained as eunuchs or would Old testament prohibitions still apply?

All efforts would have to focus (chruch, government, society and family ) on fully accepting these “from birth” eunuchs and assiting them to accept that they cannot form “homosexual bonds” — as Gagnon puts it. Society and the church would have to make up for centuries of mistreatment of these people. The church would need to BEG forgiveness. If Jesus does not condemn them, how could we?

]]> By: Warren Throckmorton https://wthrockmorton.com/2006/11/22/more-on-the-church-and-homosexuality/#comment-2873 Fri, 24 Nov 2006 05:46:53 +0000 https://www.wthrockmorton.com//2006/11/22/more-on-the-church-and-homosexuality/#comment-2873 Michael: Interesting angle on the article. I think if this perspective became widely accepted then there would be some differences in how Christians responded to children attracted to the same sex. The article is certainly not the last word on the subject and I am learning more all the time but I do think the article raises some difficult issues and does so in the context of Jesus’s teaching. I am still thinking through the implications.

]]> By: Michael Bussee https://wthrockmorton.com/2006/11/22/more-on-the-church-and-homosexuality/#comment-2872 Thu, 23 Nov 2006 17:49:53 +0000 https://www.wthrockmorton.com//2006/11/22/more-on-the-church-and-homosexuality/#comment-2872 This is all very puzzling to me. Wouldn’t the parents also have to be able to tell which of their kids were (as Jesus put it) “eunuchs because they were born that way” — and which were “gender variant” or which were just displaying atypical emotional and behavioral traits for their age and gender — attibutes which might very well change over time? Even expert reparative therapists seem unable able to make these fine distinctions, still squabbling over labels. So how would your average parent do it?

One other thing: IF Jesus IS suggesting that gays like me WERE born that way, has anyone alerted the ex-gay ministries that they need to change their tune? They have insisted for decades that we are NOT.

How is you typical parent supposed to make ANY sense of this?

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