LOL! When I took a minute to actually digest your instructions this morning, it looks so easy to do. I can’t wait to hit ‘submit’ and see if I get ‘digest’ in italics and easy in bold . Victory dance to follow if it works. I’ve had a block against HTML for years! Oh, cool, I don’t have to hit submit…it’s there in the preview! A thousand thanks! I think I’ll still have plenty of occasions for my single quotes and the dot-dot-dots.

Now to the meatier stuff.

Timothy

Is there a separate word for ‘environmental’ as I described it or would that simply be ‘post-natal environmental’ or something to that effect?

JAG and Jayhuck

Sound reasoning from both of you. Consider my understanding now enhanced. I think I’ll even be able to read animal studies now without wincing!

Jayhuck

Wound up singing two Roy Orbison songs and my new favorite, “Volare”–complete with Italian verses, instead last night. If weather permits, I’ll karaoke again tonight and slip in at least one Van Morrison. Our snow started earlier than expected and they’re talking up to a foot!

Okay, I’m off for a second cup of coffee and playing around with HTML codes. I’ll victory dance the whole way to the kitchen.

Parents and siblings, for example, would be a part of our environment. Is this a common consensus here?

I would agree with Timothy on this and my answer would be no as well. I think he did a good job of trying to help us understand what researchers might be saying when they use the word.

I wonder sometimes just how important things like parents or siblings might be considering the wide variety of parents and siblings that gay people have.

We do need to be mindful though of the important distinction that we have soul, spirit and an awareness of our creator as we evaluate how the animals experience may relate to our own.

I agree that this is an important distinction, but I also think we need to be made aware of the lack of Biblical guidance surrounding animals – we don’t really know to what extent they may be aware or have a soul. God created everything, including animals and us – did he create living creatures without souls? I’ve been wondering that for quite some time.

I’m a HUGE Van Morrison fan – FYI 😉

I followed the genetics link from your post 68696 and found very little information. The only science was the twins studies and it, as we already know, is inconclusive. The article seems to allow as much, or more room for environmental factors. LOL! I can actually envision using that one to support my pov.

Wow – that was a Stanford Geneticist talking about the science that shows a somewhat strong genetic basis for homosexuality – It also supports my POV. Perhaps we will need to differentiate?