Featured Is Christianity homophobic?

[AgnosticBoy]

@Scooter

I started a topic on the promoting of the LGBT last year or so...

Do the LGBT crowd go too far to push their lifestyle?

In another thread, the issue of pushing the LGBT lifestyle came up. One member brought up that it is pushed too much. So let's debate on this topic. For Debate: 1. Is the LGBT lifestyle being pushed too much? How or in what ways? 2. Is it right? Any harm to it?

theagnosticforum.com

 

[AgnosticBoy]

As a Christian, I follow the teaching of the Word of God. The Bible clearly and plainly states homosexuality is a sin and is not to be practiced. Period. Does that make me homophobic? Many will say yes. And that's fine by me. I've been called worse. Here is why, IMO, this topic has become so heated. The LGBTQ community seems to be pushing its agenda on others, especially children. Schools allow sexually explicit books in libraries, and even have drag queens giving lap dances to students. We don't see adulterers, for instance, pushing their lifestyle onto people. We do not see thieves, liars and prostitutes in schools promoting their way of life. I see homosexuals as sinners just as I see other sinners. I myself am a sinner who struggles with certain sins. I am no better than the homosexual, thief, liar or prostitute. But I am forgiven because I ask God to forgive me. I try not to sin, and I definitely do not brag about my sin or encourage others to join me in my sin as the LGBTQ people are doing.

Yes, I agree with you for the most part. I don't think the Bible speaks out against homosexuality but it does speak out against same-sex behavior. As a non-believer, I'm honestly not even looking to the Bible as a guide on morality, but I do care that it is represented correctly. I think too many liberal Christians and others try to look for ways to water down the Bible's message in order to make it more appealing to the modern-day cultural trends. It doesn't help to do that.

 

[Scooter]

I’m somewhat confused by your statement that the Bible does not speak out against homosexuality but it does speak against same sex behavior. What’s the difference?

 

[AgnosticBoy]

I’m somewhat confused by your statement that the Bible does not speak out against homosexuality but it does speak against same sex behavior. What’s the difference?

I don't believe the Bible speaks out against homosexuality as a sexual orientation, but it does speak out against same-sex acts. The difference is one involves the gender that one is attracted to, while the other involves acting on it in a sexual way.

 

[Scooter]

IMO, the Bible doesn’t speak about sexual orientation because God made men to be sexually attracted to women and He made women to be sexually attracted to men. I don’t believe God made people attracted to their own gender. I believe there are reasons, such as abuse and other events, that alter a person’s sexual behavior.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

IMO, the Bible doesn’t speak about sexual orientation because God made men to be sexually attracted to women and He made women to be sexually attracted to men. I don’t believe God made people attracted to their own gender. I believe there are reasons, such as abuse and other events, that alter a person’s sexual behavior.

I agree that those events can shape or influence sexual orientation. A decade or so ago, there was a big push for viewing homosexuality as being something that people are born with, but the "born this way" viewpoint has not been proven. However, the view that homosexuality is based solely on environmental/social reasons hasn't been proven either, but those factors play a role nonetheless.

Also, there are many gays that started out gay from a very young age which is no different than how many heterosexuals started out hetero at a very young age. Gays in that situation aren't gay because of sexual abuse. Then there are also animals that have been observed engaging in same-sex behavior. Because of these examples, I don't think it's reasonable to say that God designed people to be heterosexual. A more reasonable view is that it's part of His plan and purpose that they do so, but that plan is what He wants, and not something that we are hardwired to do. Otherwise, we wouldn't have animals engaging in same-sex behavior.

 

[Scooter]

Animals engaging in homosexual behavior isn’t a very reliable example. Some animals eat their young. Should humans follow animals and eat their own? God created humans higher than animals. We were created in God’s image and likeness. I believe, therefore, we should not act like animals.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

Animals engaging in homosexual behavior isn’t a very reliable example. Some animals eat their young. Should humans follow animals and eat their own? God created humans higher than animals. We were created in God’s image and likeness. I believe, therefore, we should not act like animals.

Non-human animal behavior can be used to understand human behavior. The most obvious use of that is when scientists use animals to trial a new drug just to get an idea of how the drug would affect humans. It's not a perfect comparison but comparisons can be made nonetheless when both human and animal have similar biology. The same can be said about the relation of human and animal behavior.

The strongest point I think about animal behavior in this case is that animals mostly act off of instinct (they have no thought out moral code). I wouldn't go as far as using that to say that 'homosexuality' is natural, and that's because same-sex behavior alone is not an "orientation"*. But it is one example of same-sex behavior occurring for some of the reasons that you bring up (like choice and sexual abuse, non of which applies to animals, unable to change their own behavior).

*

Despite its use in our title, terms like 'gay' or 'heterosexual’ may not be the best to use when describing sexual behaviours in animals. For one, we should be wary of over-anthropomorphising and conflating something as complex as a human sexual orientation with observed behaviours in other animals.

Additionally, in part due to a lack of concerted study in this area, such observations have always been haphazard and opportunistic. This means that they constitute merely a snapshot of what could be a vast repertoire of sexual behaviours within an animal’s lifetime, rather than something as fixed as an orientation.

Source: https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/can-animals-be-gay

 

[Scooter]

Non-human animal behavior can be used to understand human behavior. The most obvious use of that is when scientists use animals to trial a new drug just to get an idea of how the drug would affect humans.

I respectfully disagree with this statement. There is a huge difference is studying an animal's reaction to a new drug and trying to understand human behavior by looking at animal behavior. That's one of the problems I have with teaching evolution. If we teach children we are nothing more than a highly evolved animal, they grow up acting like animals. If we base our behavior on animal behavior then we lower ourselves. To say, "It's okay to do this because animals do it." is to degrade humanity. If people want to pattern their lives after dogs, cats or monkeys, that's their prerogative. I choose to believe God designed humans to be higher than the animals and I'll live that way.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

I respectfully disagree with this statement. There is a huge difference is studying an animal's reaction to a new drug and trying to understand human behavior by looking at animal behavior. That's one of the problems I have with teaching evolution. If we teach children we are nothing more than a highly evolved animal, they grow up acting like animals. If we base our behavior on animal behavior then we lower ourselves. To say, "It's okay to do this because animals do it." is to degrade humanity. If people want to pattern their lives after dogs, cats or monkeys, that's their prerogative. I choose to believe God designed humans to be higher than the animals and I'll live that way.

Btw, it's okay to disagree as that happens all the time in civil debates - no hurt feelings on my end! . Just sayin because some people take a back and forth argument like being a fight when it's not that at all when in the context of a debate.

Let me ask you this. What evidence would you need to convince you that animal behavior can be used to some degree to understand human behavior?