The same day I read the afore-referenced editorial, I happened upon a discussion in a gaming forum, of all places, about religion, homosexuality, and the like. In response to what I considered to be a fairly ignorant post, I wrote the following, repeated here for your morbid enjoyment, if you read my blog regularly. The dilettante philosopher rails on:
haven't seen this thread in oh, say 26 pages or so. But I feel a need to comment here. As the son of an evangelical pastor, I have seen and heard enough arguments on enough subjects to kill several horses, and then beat them. As a student of behavioral psychology, I know of and agree that there is homosexual behavior in the animal world. As the parent of a daughter with Down Syndrome, I am fully aware of the impact, variation, and social stigma of genetic variation. To use a previous example, what if baldness had been labeled as sinful, evidence of wrongdoing? My daughter, in the Old and New Testaments, would have been labeled as "demon possessed", many of her behaviors could be interpreted this way to the apprehensive, uneducated mind. Thank God that she now lives in a world that is beginning to see her as a person who belongs, not a being to be warehoused.
To make my philisophical argument more plainly, DS and perhaps homosexuality are evidence of sin on our planet, not necessarily the actions of individuals. I fully accept the reality of genetic homosexuality. I think that there is an entire spectrum of human sexuality. And I believe that God loves us all. There's more, but enough for the moment. IMHO, in the New Testament, Jesus does not address homosexuality, Paul does, and I think he takes liberties with his Savior's intentions. I think we need to look to the cliche "WWJD" rather than impose the legalistic, arbitrary judgements that Christ came here to turn out (if you believe it at all).
