Yes, I understand – my question is this though, was his decision to end his marriage one that he WANTED or one that he felt he HAD to do? From what he wrote, I discerned that he WANTED to be married to a woman and have children and a family and did that – then he went to counseling and made the decision he could no longer stay married. It just makes me sad to think he could not have what he really wanted. In regards to him being happy now – I hope he is but question why he entered a facility for alcohol rehabilitation if all was so well.

I don’t think it was a matter of not knowing what to do, I think he was trying to be who he was – who he believed God has made him to be, and not try to change that. I believe he came to an understanding that homosexuality is not a sin, and that made all the difference for him. He also seems MUCH happier now. Personally, I think he’s a great man! 🙂

I do think a process like this can help tremendously with straight people. I think it is a very good idea to investigate one’s purpose/motivation/ideas or ideals for selecting a mate.

I must admit I’m straight but maybe a process like this could help someone struggling with SSA.

I think the term you are looking for is “conditioning”, and while conditioning is no doubt a part of the picture, the overall literature that I’ve read suggests that it is simplistic to think that conditioning is all that there is to the picture.

I’m a straight guy and back in college I took Life Drawing for several semesters. Women would disrobe and we would draw them. A few months went by and I noticed something that is probably obvious to everyone else. Female hips are remarkably different from male hips. Other than genitals they are the single biggest difference in our anatomies. Once I noticed this rather large and consistent difference I became sensitive to it and started looking for it.

For some reason my ridiculous discovery turned a shapely woman’s hips from ho-hum to extremely attractive. That feeling has never left me. I didn’t decide female hips were beautiful but somehow learning about them made them beautiful. I must admit I’m straight but maybe a process like this could help someone struggling with SSA.

I don’t think I’d use the word ‘success’ but it does demonstrate that some level of change and adjustment may be possible for some people. The problem, of course, is that there’s this other person…the one you’re ‘trying out’ heterosexuality with. LOL! If you do things ‘by the Book’, it’s mostly talk and theory all the way up to the wedding day! How’s that for a little extra wedding day pressure??

But, back to Gene’s story…I’d also like to know what changed in his thinking, beliefs, or values. Since I’ve been hanging out here in ‘open-minded land’, it’s the part of the story that intrigues me most.

That is to say that many more people may be bisexual to some degree, although their practice and identity may well be either gay or straight.

The experience of “change” is then more readily explained as a natural ability to vary one’s behaviour within the bounds of some (as yet) unquantified parameters.

For example, Bishop Robinson may well be bisexual, but slightly more towards the homosexual end of a spectrum than he is heterosexual. In a sense, we then see a certain degree of elasticity of behaviour, even though underlying attributes appear fairly fixed. (or are at least reported as such)

I assume you’re speaking specifically about the time in his life when he decided to marry. Given the children that he loves and the fact that he and his former wife have remained friends, it’s possible that he may not regret his decision to marry at the time. Or maybe he harbors some regrets. It’s hard to tell.

But I somehow doubt Bishop Robinson will appear on an Exodus billboard anytime soon. 😉