I wonder how much of a woman's psychological makeup is being linked to her menstrual periods. How much of womanhood is tied with the menstrual cycle? I know some peri-menopausal women have identities crises when their menses stopped.
For the younger woman, what if it is possible to stop menstruation without any damage to your bodies? There will be no more premenstrual symptoms and the need to be suitable equipped for that time of the month.
Here is an interesting article from New Scientist Volume 21 Issue 6 Page 24
No More Periods -Period
by Glenn McGee, the director of the Alden March Bioethics Institute at Albany Medical College, where he holds the John A. Balint Endowed Chair in Medical Ethics.
The birth control pill contains hormones that stop the release of an egg, which in turn prevents the buildup of the uterine lining. Bleeding occurs on traditional oral birth control (21 days of hormone pills, 7 days of placebo) only because of the interruption of the hormones during placebo days. A newer oral contraceptive, Seasonale, reduces the period still further, with only seven placebo days every three months. But the newest, continuous low-dose contraceptive, Lybrel, stops the period entirely...
read more
Showing posts with label Sexuality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sexuality. Show all posts
Sunday, December 28, 2008
No More Menstruation for Girls and Women
I wonder how much of a woman's psychological makeup is being linked to her menstrual periods. How much of womanhood is tied with the menstrual cycle? I know some peri-menopausal women have identities crises when their menses stopped.
For the younger woman, what if it is possible to stop menstruation without any damage to your bodies? There will be no more premenstrual symptoms and the need to be suitable equipped for that time of the month.
Here is an interesting article from New Scientist Volume 21 Issue 6 Page 24
No More Periods -Period
by Glenn McGee, the director of the Alden March Bioethics Institute at Albany Medical College, where he holds the John A. Balint Endowed Chair in Medical Ethics.
The birth control pill contains hormones that stop the release of an egg, which in turn prevents the buildup of the uterine lining. Bleeding occurs on traditional oral birth control (21 days of hormone pills, 7 days of placebo) only because of the interruption of the hormones during placebo days. A newer oral contraceptive, Seasonale, reduces the period still further, with only seven placebo days every three months. But the newest, continuous low-dose contraceptive, Lybrel, stops the period entirely...
read more
For the younger woman, what if it is possible to stop menstruation without any damage to your bodies? There will be no more premenstrual symptoms and the need to be suitable equipped for that time of the month.
Here is an interesting article from New Scientist Volume 21 Issue 6 Page 24
No More Periods -Period
by Glenn McGee, the director of the Alden March Bioethics Institute at Albany Medical College, where he holds the John A. Balint Endowed Chair in Medical Ethics.
The birth control pill contains hormones that stop the release of an egg, which in turn prevents the buildup of the uterine lining. Bleeding occurs on traditional oral birth control (21 days of hormone pills, 7 days of placebo) only because of the interruption of the hormones during placebo days. A newer oral contraceptive, Seasonale, reduces the period still further, with only seven placebo days every three months. But the newest, continuous low-dose contraceptive, Lybrel, stops the period entirely...
read more
Thursday, September 4, 2008
The Theology of Sex
This is an interesting book on Theology of Sex posted on a blog. Yes, the whole book is on the blog. Written by Dr Grant C. Richison
The battle for biblical norms is a major issue in the struggle for the souls of people. In many ways, our culture determines what we believe. If a sex sated society sets the predominate condition for values then evangelical Christians–of all people–must take this challenge head-on. In the face of a society that seeks to repress the norming norms of absolutes, Christians must take a stand against legal repression of biblical norms but above all evangelicals must be true to truth. Our culture wants to believe that pagan subjective opinionism and perspective is the core of truth. Arbitrary personal desire does not prefer an absolute God with absolute norms. Preference then is the underlying presupposition of postmodern thought.
read more
The battle for biblical norms is a major issue in the struggle for the souls of people. In many ways, our culture determines what we believe. If a sex sated society sets the predominate condition for values then evangelical Christians–of all people–must take this challenge head-on. In the face of a society that seeks to repress the norming norms of absolutes, Christians must take a stand against legal repression of biblical norms but above all evangelicals must be true to truth. Our culture wants to believe that pagan subjective opinionism and perspective is the core of truth. Arbitrary personal desire does not prefer an absolute God with absolute norms. Preference then is the underlying presupposition of postmodern thought.
read more
The Theology of Sex
This is an interesting book on Theology of Sex posted on a blog. Yes, the whole book is on the blog. Written by Dr Grant C. Richison
The battle for biblical norms is a major issue in the struggle for the souls of people. In many ways, our culture determines what we believe. If a sex sated society sets the predominate condition for values then evangelical Christians–of all people–must take this challenge head-on. In the face of a society that seeks to repress the norming norms of absolutes, Christians must take a stand against legal repression of biblical norms but above all evangelicals must be true to truth. Our culture wants to believe that pagan subjective opinionism and perspective is the core of truth. Arbitrary personal desire does not prefer an absolute God with absolute norms. Preference then is the underlying presupposition of postmodern thought.
read more
The battle for biblical norms is a major issue in the struggle for the souls of people. In many ways, our culture determines what we believe. If a sex sated society sets the predominate condition for values then evangelical Christians–of all people–must take this challenge head-on. In the face of a society that seeks to repress the norming norms of absolutes, Christians must take a stand against legal repression of biblical norms but above all evangelicals must be true to truth. Our culture wants to believe that pagan subjective opinionism and perspective is the core of truth. Arbitrary personal desire does not prefer an absolute God with absolute norms. Preference then is the underlying presupposition of postmodern thought.
read more
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Designed for Sex
An interesting reminder of what sex is all about... for those who have forgotten or never known. “Designed for Sex” first appeared in the July/August, 2005 issue of Touchstone.
Designed for Sex
What We Lose When We Forget What Sex Is For
by J. Budziszewski
Midnight. Shelly is getting herself drunk so that she can bring herself to go home with the strange man seated next to her at the bar. One o’clock. Steven is busy downloading pornographic images of children from Internet bulletin boards. Two o’clock. Marjorie, who used to spend every Friday night in bed with a different man, has been binging and purging since eleven. Three o’clock. Pablo stares through the darkness at the ceiling, wondering how to convince his girlfriend to have an abortion. Four o’clock. After partying all night, Jesse takes another man home, not mentioning that he tests positive for an incurable STD. Five o’clock. Lisa is in the bathroom, cutting herself delicately with a razor. This isn’t what my generation expected when it invented the sexual revolution. The game isn’t fun anymore. Even some of the diehard proponents of that enslaving liberation have begun to show signs of fatigue and confusion. >>>more
.
Designed for Sex
What We Lose When We Forget What Sex Is For
by J. Budziszewski
Midnight. Shelly is getting herself drunk so that she can bring herself to go home with the strange man seated next to her at the bar. One o’clock. Steven is busy downloading pornographic images of children from Internet bulletin boards. Two o’clock. Marjorie, who used to spend every Friday night in bed with a different man, has been binging and purging since eleven. Three o’clock. Pablo stares through the darkness at the ceiling, wondering how to convince his girlfriend to have an abortion. Four o’clock. After partying all night, Jesse takes another man home, not mentioning that he tests positive for an incurable STD. Five o’clock. Lisa is in the bathroom, cutting herself delicately with a razor. This isn’t what my generation expected when it invented the sexual revolution. The game isn’t fun anymore. Even some of the diehard proponents of that enslaving liberation have begun to show signs of fatigue and confusion. >>>more
.
Designed for Sex
An interesting reminder of what sex is all about... for those who have forgotten or never known. “Designed for Sex” first appeared in the July/August, 2005 issue of Touchstone.
Designed for Sex
What We Lose When We Forget What Sex Is For
by J. Budziszewski
Midnight. Shelly is getting herself drunk so that she can bring herself to go home with the strange man seated next to her at the bar. One o’clock. Steven is busy downloading pornographic images of children from Internet bulletin boards. Two o’clock. Marjorie, who used to spend every Friday night in bed with a different man, has been binging and purging since eleven. Three o’clock. Pablo stares through the darkness at the ceiling, wondering how to convince his girlfriend to have an abortion. Four o’clock. After partying all night, Jesse takes another man home, not mentioning that he tests positive for an incurable STD. Five o’clock. Lisa is in the bathroom, cutting herself delicately with a razor. This isn’t what my generation expected when it invented the sexual revolution. The game isn’t fun anymore. Even some of the diehard proponents of that enslaving liberation have begun to show signs of fatigue and confusion. >>>more
.
Designed for Sex
What We Lose When We Forget What Sex Is For
by J. Budziszewski
Midnight. Shelly is getting herself drunk so that she can bring herself to go home with the strange man seated next to her at the bar. One o’clock. Steven is busy downloading pornographic images of children from Internet bulletin boards. Two o’clock. Marjorie, who used to spend every Friday night in bed with a different man, has been binging and purging since eleven. Three o’clock. Pablo stares through the darkness at the ceiling, wondering how to convince his girlfriend to have an abortion. Four o’clock. After partying all night, Jesse takes another man home, not mentioning that he tests positive for an incurable STD. Five o’clock. Lisa is in the bathroom, cutting herself delicately with a razor. This isn’t what my generation expected when it invented the sexual revolution. The game isn’t fun anymore. Even some of the diehard proponents of that enslaving liberation have begun to show signs of fatigue and confusion. >>>more
.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Addiction to Cybersex
For those currently struggling with online sexual addiction, cybersex temptation, or a compulsion to view pornography, there is help available to break the cycle of addiction now. You can find more resources here:
Resources for the ensnared: Christ-centered help for those struggling with Internet pornography and sexual addiction.
Pure Intimacy: Focus on the Family's online ministry to victims of cybersex and pornography.
XXX Church: Help and resources for anyone addicted to pornography. Also provides an accountability filter allowing a partner to review the sites you've visited online.
Barnabus Christian Counseling Network: Provides sexual addiction counseling over the Web.
Stone Gate Resources: a counseling retreat center in Colorado for Christian leaders struggling with sexual addiction.
An Affair of the Mind: One Woman's Courageous Battle to Salvage Her Family from the Devastation of Pornography, by Laurie Hall.
The Porn Trap: The Essential Guide to Overcoming Problems Caused by Pornography, by Wendy Maltz and Larry Maltz.
Every Man's Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation One Victory at a Time, by Stephen Arterburn, Fred Stoeker, and Mike Yorkey.
Faithful & True: Sexual Integrity in a Fallen World, by Mark Laaser.
Before the Fall: Preventing Pastoral Sexual Abuse, by Mark Laaser and Nils C. Friberg.
Talking to Your Kids about Sex, by Mark Laaser
Don't flirt with your purity. Put relationship filters into place now, even if you don't feel you are susceptible to this temptation. We live in a sexually charged culture where sex sells everything. Every believer needs to have a strategy and a network of friends in place to keep themselves holy—both online and off.
source: Cyber Sexuality: Maintaining real purity in a virtual world by Rich Tatum
Addiction to Cybersex
For those currently struggling with online sexual addiction, cybersex temptation, or a compulsion to view pornography, there is help available to break the cycle of addiction now. You can find more resources here:
Resources for the ensnared: Christ-centered help for those struggling with Internet pornography and sexual addiction.
Pure Intimacy: Focus on the Family's online ministry to victims of cybersex and pornography.
XXX Church: Help and resources for anyone addicted to pornography. Also provides an accountability filter allowing a partner to review the sites you've visited online.
Barnabus Christian Counseling Network: Provides sexual addiction counseling over the Web.
Stone Gate Resources: a counseling retreat center in Colorado for Christian leaders struggling with sexual addiction.
An Affair of the Mind: One Woman's Courageous Battle to Salvage Her Family from the Devastation of Pornography, by Laurie Hall.
The Porn Trap: The Essential Guide to Overcoming Problems Caused by Pornography, by Wendy Maltz and Larry Maltz.
Every Man's Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation One Victory at a Time, by Stephen Arterburn, Fred Stoeker, and Mike Yorkey.
Faithful & True: Sexual Integrity in a Fallen World, by Mark Laaser.
Before the Fall: Preventing Pastoral Sexual Abuse, by Mark Laaser and Nils C. Friberg.
Talking to Your Kids about Sex, by Mark Laaser
Don't flirt with your purity. Put relationship filters into place now, even if you don't feel you are susceptible to this temptation. We live in a sexually charged culture where sex sells everything. Every believer needs to have a strategy and a network of friends in place to keep themselves holy—both online and off.
source: Cyber Sexuality: Maintaining real purity in a virtual world by Rich Tatum
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Friday, November 30, 2007
Sex in the Bible
Does the Bible contain pornographic materials?
That is a good question because the Bible does contain a lot of materials describing human sexuality and sex. However, we must first define pornography.
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines pornography as
(1) the depiction of erotic behavior (as in pictures or writing) intended to cause sexual excitement,
(2) material (as books or a photograph) that depicts erotic behavior and is intended to cause sexual excitement and
(3) the depiction of acts in a sensational manner so as to arouse a quick intense emotional reaction.
However I cannot think of any passage in the Bible that can arouse sexual excitement except possibility the Song of Songs (and that only if you are a celibate monk in a monastery with an active imagination, which I assume many of us are not). Therefore I will consider the Bible not to have any pornographic materials. Nevertheless, the Bible deals a lot with sex. The book review and book reviewed below is interesting reading.
Books & Culture, September/October 2007
The Joy of Texts
Sex in the Bible.
by Sam Torode
"The most interesting thing about sex in Bible," J. Harold Ellens insists, "is the fact that the Bible does not moralize sex." Now this may sound like an all-too familiar prelude to some special pleading. Taken at face value, it's obviously misleading. (Start with that injunction against adultery, for instance, and other inconvenient counter-examples readily spring to mind.) But there's a good deal more to Ellens' case than this pronouncement suggests.
The Bible resists our attempts to distill it into a universal rulebook because it's mainly a collection of stories and poems crafted over a span of centuries by many different authors, often with conflicting implications. When it comes to sexual mores, the Bible is actually full of "situational ethics." For example, Ellens notes, polygamy is the most common model of marriage in the Bible, and one can still make a strong biblical argument for polygamy in societies where women greatly outnumber men (such as in areas ravaged by war).
Driving home this point, Ellens cites the Old Testament stories where women, most notably Ruth and Esther, employ their feminine charms to seduce men for the furtherance of God's aims (and their own). Far from being condemned, these women earn nothing but praise from the biblical authors. It's ironic that Ruth is upheld as a role model for conservative Christian girls today. Instead of "waiting on God" for a husband, she spotted a good man, followed him home from a party, and jumped into bed with him—violating three "Biblical Rules for Dating" at once.
Ellens also devotes a chapter to the Song of Songs, that "uproariously successful erotic celebration of robust sexual play" between partners who are never identified as a monogamous husband and wife (another assumption we tend to bring to the text today). Ellens pokes fun at the celibate theologians over the centuries who flattened the Song into an allegory of Christ and the Church, or Christ and the celibate soul, sublimating sexuality into spirituality to the point of neurosis. Does the poem have an allegorical dimension? Yes—but that doesn't warrant a reading that treats the plain sense of the text as nothing but an elaborate code. By exorcizing earthly eroticism from the Christian life, Ellens believes, these commentators unwittingly drove people to seek sexual pleasure in harmful ways. "The church owes the world of humans an enormous apology for the centuries-long lie it perpetrated in this regard, and for the psychological and social pathology it produced."
Read complete article here
Books & Culture, September/October 2007
The Joy of Texts
Sex in the Bible.
by Sam Torode
"The most interesting thing about sex in Bible," J. Harold Ellens insists, "is the fact that the Bible does not moralize sex." Now this may sound like an all-too familiar prelude to some special pleading. Taken at face value, it's obviously misleading. (Start with that injunction against adultery, for instance, and other inconvenient counter-examples readily spring to mind.) But there's a good deal more to Ellens' case than this pronouncement suggests.
The Bible resists our attempts to distill it into a universal rulebook because it's mainly a collection of stories and poems crafted over a span of centuries by many different authors, often with conflicting implications. When it comes to sexual mores, the Bible is actually full of "situational ethics." For example, Ellens notes, polygamy is the most common model of marriage in the Bible, and one can still make a strong biblical argument for polygamy in societies where women greatly outnumber men (such as in areas ravaged by war).
Driving home this point, Ellens cites the Old Testament stories where women, most notably Ruth and Esther, employ their feminine charms to seduce men for the furtherance of God's aims (and their own). Far from being condemned, these women earn nothing but praise from the biblical authors. It's ironic that Ruth is upheld as a role model for conservative Christian girls today. Instead of "waiting on God" for a husband, she spotted a good man, followed him home from a party, and jumped into bed with him—violating three "Biblical Rules for Dating" at once.
Ellens also devotes a chapter to the Song of Songs, that "uproariously successful erotic celebration of robust sexual play" between partners who are never identified as a monogamous husband and wife (another assumption we tend to bring to the text today). Ellens pokes fun at the celibate theologians over the centuries who flattened the Song into an allegory of Christ and the Church, or Christ and the celibate soul, sublimating sexuality into spirituality to the point of neurosis. Does the poem have an allegorical dimension? Yes—but that doesn't warrant a reading that treats the plain sense of the text as nothing but an elaborate code. By exorcizing earthly eroticism from the Christian life, Ellens believes, these commentators unwittingly drove people to seek sexual pleasure in harmful ways. "The church owes the world of humans an enormous apology for the centuries-long lie it perpetrated in this regard, and for the psychological and social pathology it produced."
Read complete article here
.
Sex in the Bible
Does the Bible contain pornographic materials?
That is a good question because the Bible does contain a lot of materials describing human sexuality and sex. However, we must first define pornography.
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines pornography as
(1) the depiction of erotic behavior (as in pictures or writing) intended to cause sexual excitement,
(2) material (as books or a photograph) that depicts erotic behavior and is intended to cause sexual excitement and
(3) the depiction of acts in a sensational manner so as to arouse a quick intense emotional reaction.
However I cannot think of any passage in the Bible that can arouse sexual excitement except possibility the Song of Songs (and that only if you are a celibate monk in a monastery with an active imagination, which I assume many of us are not). Therefore I will consider the Bible not to have any pornographic materials. Nevertheless, the Bible deals a lot with sex. The book review and book reviewed below is interesting reading.
Books & Culture, September/October 2007
The Joy of Texts
Sex in the Bible.
by Sam Torode
"The most interesting thing about sex in Bible," J. Harold Ellens insists, "is the fact that the Bible does not moralize sex." Now this may sound like an all-too familiar prelude to some special pleading. Taken at face value, it's obviously misleading. (Start with that injunction against adultery, for instance, and other inconvenient counter-examples readily spring to mind.) But there's a good deal more to Ellens' case than this pronouncement suggests.
The Bible resists our attempts to distill it into a universal rulebook because it's mainly a collection of stories and poems crafted over a span of centuries by many different authors, often with conflicting implications. When it comes to sexual mores, the Bible is actually full of "situational ethics." For example, Ellens notes, polygamy is the most common model of marriage in the Bible, and one can still make a strong biblical argument for polygamy in societies where women greatly outnumber men (such as in areas ravaged by war).
Driving home this point, Ellens cites the Old Testament stories where women, most notably Ruth and Esther, employ their feminine charms to seduce men for the furtherance of God's aims (and their own). Far from being condemned, these women earn nothing but praise from the biblical authors. It's ironic that Ruth is upheld as a role model for conservative Christian girls today. Instead of "waiting on God" for a husband, she spotted a good man, followed him home from a party, and jumped into bed with him—violating three "Biblical Rules for Dating" at once.
Ellens also devotes a chapter to the Song of Songs, that "uproariously successful erotic celebration of robust sexual play" between partners who are never identified as a monogamous husband and wife (another assumption we tend to bring to the text today). Ellens pokes fun at the celibate theologians over the centuries who flattened the Song into an allegory of Christ and the Church, or Christ and the celibate soul, sublimating sexuality into spirituality to the point of neurosis. Does the poem have an allegorical dimension? Yes—but that doesn't warrant a reading that treats the plain sense of the text as nothing but an elaborate code. By exorcizing earthly eroticism from the Christian life, Ellens believes, these commentators unwittingly drove people to seek sexual pleasure in harmful ways. "The church owes the world of humans an enormous apology for the centuries-long lie it perpetrated in this regard, and for the psychological and social pathology it produced."
Read complete article here
Books & Culture, September/October 2007
The Joy of Texts
Sex in the Bible.
by Sam Torode
"The most interesting thing about sex in Bible," J. Harold Ellens insists, "is the fact that the Bible does not moralize sex." Now this may sound like an all-too familiar prelude to some special pleading. Taken at face value, it's obviously misleading. (Start with that injunction against adultery, for instance, and other inconvenient counter-examples readily spring to mind.) But there's a good deal more to Ellens' case than this pronouncement suggests.
The Bible resists our attempts to distill it into a universal rulebook because it's mainly a collection of stories and poems crafted over a span of centuries by many different authors, often with conflicting implications. When it comes to sexual mores, the Bible is actually full of "situational ethics." For example, Ellens notes, polygamy is the most common model of marriage in the Bible, and one can still make a strong biblical argument for polygamy in societies where women greatly outnumber men (such as in areas ravaged by war).
Driving home this point, Ellens cites the Old Testament stories where women, most notably Ruth and Esther, employ their feminine charms to seduce men for the furtherance of God's aims (and their own). Far from being condemned, these women earn nothing but praise from the biblical authors. It's ironic that Ruth is upheld as a role model for conservative Christian girls today. Instead of "waiting on God" for a husband, she spotted a good man, followed him home from a party, and jumped into bed with him—violating three "Biblical Rules for Dating" at once.
Ellens also devotes a chapter to the Song of Songs, that "uproariously successful erotic celebration of robust sexual play" between partners who are never identified as a monogamous husband and wife (another assumption we tend to bring to the text today). Ellens pokes fun at the celibate theologians over the centuries who flattened the Song into an allegory of Christ and the Church, or Christ and the celibate soul, sublimating sexuality into spirituality to the point of neurosis. Does the poem have an allegorical dimension? Yes—but that doesn't warrant a reading that treats the plain sense of the text as nothing but an elaborate code. By exorcizing earthly eroticism from the Christian life, Ellens believes, these commentators unwittingly drove people to seek sexual pleasure in harmful ways. "The church owes the world of humans an enormous apology for the centuries-long lie it perpetrated in this regard, and for the psychological and social pathology it produced."
Read complete article here
.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
More Data on Same Sex Sexuality
Tim Stafford, senior Christanity Today staff writer reviews the Ex-Gay movement and gives some new research data on same sex orientation.
An Older, Wiser Ex-Gay Movement
The 30-year-old ministry now offers realistic hope for homosexuals.
Tim Stafford posted 9/13/2007 02:19PM
Which sums up much of ex-gay ministry today. No hype. Limited faith in techniques. No gay bashing. No detectable triumphalism, religious or political. Just serious discipleship. This may be the only group in America that realizes all the way to the bottom that when you decide to follow Jesus, you don't always get to do what you want to do.
The ex-gay movement runs against the cultural tide. Given adverse public opinion, the ambivalent support of conservative churches, and the common assertion that ex-gays condemn themselves to a life of frustration, you would think the movement would shrivel. Yet Exodus affiliates have doubled in number over the last 18 years. Many of its leaders have been in the public eye for 20 to 30 years. They show every sign of stability.
They live by radical ideas about sexuality—that we are not, as our culture would have it, defined by our desires, heterosexual or homosexual. Rather, we are defined by our Creator and Savior. Our attractions, always disordered to some extent, must be submitted to Christ, who alone can redeem us. For those who feel strong same-sex attractions, that task is especially difficult. But it is the same basic struggle every Christian must face.
read more
The Best Research Yet
Two psychologists show that homosexuals should not be discouraged from seeking change.
Tim Stafford posted 9/13/2007 02:20PM
Jones and Yarhouse address this lack of good evidence in their book, Ex-Gays?: A Continuing Study of Religiously Mediated Sexual Orientation Change in Exodus Participants. By taking a sample of people entering ex-gay programs under the Exodus umbrella and following them with detailed questionnaires over several years, Jones and Yarhouse tested the impact of ex-gay programs on participants—whether they actually experienced change, and whether the attempt to change caused additional distress. Participants are still being followed, but the findings to date clearly upset the professional consensus. A substantial minority of participants showed significant change from homosexual patterns of behavior and thought, and there was no overall evidence of additional mental distress. The change observed was generally modest, perhaps comparable to the results of therapy for alcohol and drug addiction, for troubled marriages, or for personality disorders.
read more
.
An Older, Wiser Ex-Gay Movement
The 30-year-old ministry now offers realistic hope for homosexuals.
Tim Stafford posted 9/13/2007 02:19PM
Which sums up much of ex-gay ministry today. No hype. Limited faith in techniques. No gay bashing. No detectable triumphalism, religious or political. Just serious discipleship. This may be the only group in America that realizes all the way to the bottom that when you decide to follow Jesus, you don't always get to do what you want to do.
The ex-gay movement runs against the cultural tide. Given adverse public opinion, the ambivalent support of conservative churches, and the common assertion that ex-gays condemn themselves to a life of frustration, you would think the movement would shrivel. Yet Exodus affiliates have doubled in number over the last 18 years. Many of its leaders have been in the public eye for 20 to 30 years. They show every sign of stability.
They live by radical ideas about sexuality—that we are not, as our culture would have it, defined by our desires, heterosexual or homosexual. Rather, we are defined by our Creator and Savior. Our attractions, always disordered to some extent, must be submitted to Christ, who alone can redeem us. For those who feel strong same-sex attractions, that task is especially difficult. But it is the same basic struggle every Christian must face.
read more
The Best Research Yet
Two psychologists show that homosexuals should not be discouraged from seeking change.
Tim Stafford posted 9/13/2007 02:20PM
Jones and Yarhouse address this lack of good evidence in their book, Ex-Gays?: A Continuing Study of Religiously Mediated Sexual Orientation Change in Exodus Participants. By taking a sample of people entering ex-gay programs under the Exodus umbrella and following them with detailed questionnaires over several years, Jones and Yarhouse tested the impact of ex-gay programs on participants—whether they actually experienced change, and whether the attempt to change caused additional distress. Participants are still being followed, but the findings to date clearly upset the professional consensus. A substantial minority of participants showed significant change from homosexual patterns of behavior and thought, and there was no overall evidence of additional mental distress. The change observed was generally modest, perhaps comparable to the results of therapy for alcohol and drug addiction, for troubled marriages, or for personality disorders.
read more
.
More Data on Same Sex Sexuality
Tim Stafford, senior Christanity Today staff writer reviews the Ex-Gay movement and gives some new research data on same sex orientation.
An Older, Wiser Ex-Gay Movement
The 30-year-old ministry now offers realistic hope for homosexuals.
Tim Stafford posted 9/13/2007 02:19PM
Which sums up much of ex-gay ministry today. No hype. Limited faith in techniques. No gay bashing. No detectable triumphalism, religious or political. Just serious discipleship. This may be the only group in America that realizes all the way to the bottom that when you decide to follow Jesus, you don't always get to do what you want to do.
The ex-gay movement runs against the cultural tide. Given adverse public opinion, the ambivalent support of conservative churches, and the common assertion that ex-gays condemn themselves to a life of frustration, you would think the movement would shrivel. Yet Exodus affiliates have doubled in number over the last 18 years. Many of its leaders have been in the public eye for 20 to 30 years. They show every sign of stability.
They live by radical ideas about sexuality—that we are not, as our culture would have it, defined by our desires, heterosexual or homosexual. Rather, we are defined by our Creator and Savior. Our attractions, always disordered to some extent, must be submitted to Christ, who alone can redeem us. For those who feel strong same-sex attractions, that task is especially difficult. But it is the same basic struggle every Christian must face.
read more
The Best Research Yet
Two psychologists show that homosexuals should not be discouraged from seeking change.
Tim Stafford posted 9/13/2007 02:20PM
Jones and Yarhouse address this lack of good evidence in their book, Ex-Gays?: A Continuing Study of Religiously Mediated Sexual Orientation Change in Exodus Participants. By taking a sample of people entering ex-gay programs under the Exodus umbrella and following them with detailed questionnaires over several years, Jones and Yarhouse tested the impact of ex-gay programs on participants—whether they actually experienced change, and whether the attempt to change caused additional distress. Participants are still being followed, but the findings to date clearly upset the professional consensus. A substantial minority of participants showed significant change from homosexual patterns of behavior and thought, and there was no overall evidence of additional mental distress. The change observed was generally modest, perhaps comparable to the results of therapy for alcohol and drug addiction, for troubled marriages, or for personality disorders.
read more
.
An Older, Wiser Ex-Gay Movement
The 30-year-old ministry now offers realistic hope for homosexuals.
Tim Stafford posted 9/13/2007 02:19PM
Which sums up much of ex-gay ministry today. No hype. Limited faith in techniques. No gay bashing. No detectable triumphalism, religious or political. Just serious discipleship. This may be the only group in America that realizes all the way to the bottom that when you decide to follow Jesus, you don't always get to do what you want to do.
The ex-gay movement runs against the cultural tide. Given adverse public opinion, the ambivalent support of conservative churches, and the common assertion that ex-gays condemn themselves to a life of frustration, you would think the movement would shrivel. Yet Exodus affiliates have doubled in number over the last 18 years. Many of its leaders have been in the public eye for 20 to 30 years. They show every sign of stability.
They live by radical ideas about sexuality—that we are not, as our culture would have it, defined by our desires, heterosexual or homosexual. Rather, we are defined by our Creator and Savior. Our attractions, always disordered to some extent, must be submitted to Christ, who alone can redeem us. For those who feel strong same-sex attractions, that task is especially difficult. But it is the same basic struggle every Christian must face.
read more
The Best Research Yet
Two psychologists show that homosexuals should not be discouraged from seeking change.
Tim Stafford posted 9/13/2007 02:20PM
Jones and Yarhouse address this lack of good evidence in their book, Ex-Gays?: A Continuing Study of Religiously Mediated Sexual Orientation Change in Exodus Participants. By taking a sample of people entering ex-gay programs under the Exodus umbrella and following them with detailed questionnaires over several years, Jones and Yarhouse tested the impact of ex-gay programs on participants—whether they actually experienced change, and whether the attempt to change caused additional distress. Participants are still being followed, but the findings to date clearly upset the professional consensus. A substantial minority of participants showed significant change from homosexual patterns of behavior and thought, and there was no overall evidence of additional mental distress. The change observed was generally modest, perhaps comparable to the results of therapy for alcohol and drug addiction, for troubled marriages, or for personality disorders.
read more
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Thursday, May 17, 2007
Former Bishop Calls for Greater Respect for Homosexuals in Singapore
Transcript of Rev Dr Yap Kim Hao's address at the Public Dialogue on Christian Perspectives on Homosexuality and Pastoral Care organised by Safehaven on May 10, 2007 in Singapore.Known to be the most outspoken gay-affirming pastor in Singapore, Rev Dr Yap Kim Hao currently serves in a voluntary capacity in the Free Community Church (www.freecomchurch.org) which counts many gays and lesbians as members. He has been a pastor of the Methodist churches in Malaysia and Singapore and served as its first Asian Bishop in 1968-73. He resigned from that position to become the General Secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia in 1973-85. It was there that he was directly involved in social justice issues and ministry to the oppressed and marginalised in the Asian region. He holds Master of Divinity and Doctor of Theology degrees from Boston University and was honoured by them with a Distinguished Alumni Award in 1988. In addition to his ministry with FCC, Rev Dr Yap continues to serve on the Council of the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) in Singapore and is committed to the promotion of inter-faith dialogue and understanding.
Let me at the outset indicate the rationale for my perspective on homosexuality.I can do no better than to quote from an official statement of The United Methodist Church in the United States that considers homosexuality as incompatible with Christian teachings and I am a Methodist. Yet it is this same Church that recognizes its "limited understanding of this complex gift and encourages the medical, theological, and social science disciplines to combine in a determined effort to understand human sexuality more completely. We call the Church to take the leadership role in bringing together these disciplines to address this most complex issue."
My approach is therefore a multi-disciplinary one.
Firstly, I will raise some general observations about the teaching of the Bible itself.I quote a former colleague of mine when I was teaching at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Victor Paul Furnish, a distinguished Professor of New Testament who wrote: "Homosexuality is not a prominent Biblical concern. The earliest ethical codes of the Hebrews makes no mention of homosexual behavior. There is nothing about it in the Ten Commandments. The four Gospels record no saying of Jesus on the subject. The texts that are discussed are few and far between and not even all of these are pertinent."
But what do we see in many Churches in different parts of the world today? Homosexuality has become a major issue, much more serious than doctrine or church order. It is projected to split the Episcopal Church in the United States as well as the world-wide Anglican Communion. The Archbishop of Canterbury who is personally gay-affirming, has to recognize the current teaching of the Anglican Communion which is against homosexuality.
As Christians refer to this common source of the Bible, those who are anti-gay are quick to say that the Bible says so and then close the Book. And the controversial issue of homosexuality is no longer discussed. The teaching of the Bible leads to the teaching of the Church which then becomes official, and obedience is demanded. The different perspectives arise from the differing interpretation of the words of the Bible and the teachings of the Church and its pronouncements change as we gain more knowledge and insights.
My view is that the different books of the Bible are time bound, historically related, culturally conditioned and contextually based. They are related to the time and place of the recorded events. They reflect the society and the culture at the time the books of the Bible were written. The revelation of God is mediated and translated by inspired human beings who are not infallible. We have to account for the relevancy of the teaching to our contemporary context.The various books of the Bible are the products of writers who claim to have received the revelation from God, and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, put it in writing. Their different interpretations resulted in the changing official teaching of the Church and the varying perspectives of Biblical scholars and theologians. This process continues and we have today come together to share our different perspectives and though we differ, we are expected to respect our differences.The teaching of the Church must necessarily be continuously changing.
Take for instance human relationships, we have moved from the predominantly patriarchal to more equality between men and women. In reference to health we are attributing disease not to spirit possession but to bacteria and viruses. In terms of geography even the flat earth has been rounded into a spherical one. Our world-view is ever changing.With this as background, the Biblical view of sexual relationships is that heterosexuals who engage in same-sex acts are sinful. The Biblical writers regard all men as heterosexual and in condemning same-sex acts, they see it as men exchanging their male role to that of an inferior role of women. At that time, they were not able to distinguish between those whom we now identify as homosexual, from the heterosexual. Their view was that of heterosexuals engaging in same-sex sexual acts.
The Biblical texts that explicitly talk about same-sex acts are few in number. The brief references are related to laws of purity, holiness, temple rituals and to the Greco-Roman culture and pagan worship. There were temple prostitutes, male prostitution and pederasty (mentoring and sex with young call-boys). Jesus did not deal with same-sex relations in His teaching although he had much to say about sex, love, marriage and divorce. Homosexuality in terms of sexual orientation and long-term committed relationships as we understand them today was not discussed and not even a term used at that time.
It was much later that the term "homosexual" was used. Homosexuality as a term was introduced in 1869. It first appeared in newer translations of the Bible – Revised Standard Version in 1946 and in New International Version in 1978. Homosexuality is not originally a Biblical word.Other terms like 'heterosexual,' 'bisexual,' and 'transgendered' presuppose an understanding of human sexuality that was possible only with modern psychology and sociological analysis. The ancient writers were operating without the faintest idea of what we have learned to call 'sexual orientation'.
Let us look more closely at some of the Biblical records related to sexuality and how they show varying perspectives.The law of Moses allowed for man to divorce his wife on account of some "indecency" in her. (Deuteronomy 24:1); Jesus categorically forbids it and will not man "put asunder" those united in marriage. (Mark 10:1-12); Jesus was also said to have sanctioned divorce on the condition of "unchastity." (Matthew 9:9). Yet many Christians, in clear violation of a command of Jesus are divorced and for other reasons.Divorced people are allowed baptism, church membership, communion, ordination and re-marriage but this has not always been the case for homosexuals.
What makes the one so much greater a sin than the other, especially considering the fact that Jesus never even mentioned homosexuality but explicitly condemned divorce? Yet we ordain divorcees. Why not homosexuals?
Take the issue of sex itself. It began with sex only for procreation which the early Christian theologians agree. When it serves to satisfy lust it is regarded as venial sin. Augustine in the fifth century said that we should mature as early as possible to the point when we can dispense with sexual intercourse.
However, the Old Testament regarded celibacy as abnormal and we are to be fruitful and multiply. And 1 Timothy 4:1-3 calls compulsory celibacy a heresy. Yet the Catholic Church has made celibacy mandatory for priests and nuns. Some Christian anti-gay demand celibacy of homosexuals, whether they have a vocation for celibacy or not. Some anti-gay people condone sexual orientation but condemn homosexual acts. Some gay and lesbians like heterosexuals have chosen to live a life of single blessedness.Leviticus 21 discussed how priests need to be morally, and even physically unblemished and must meet the requirements of the purity laws at that time. Today most of these purity laws are being ignored.
Far from being a Book full of bad news for gays and lesbians, I believe the Bible is indeed full of good news of God's love for all of creation - gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and straight alike. The Bible has no clear and consistent sex ethic and only knows a love ethic, which is constantly being brought to bear on whatever sexual mores, moral codes or church teachings are dominant in any given country, culture, or period. There is also the emphasis on grace rather than on law.
The medical sciences today acknowledge homosexuality as a sexual orientation, not a medical, psychological or psychiatric condition that can be changed therapeutically.It is on record that the American Psychological Association removed homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychological Disorders in 1973. In 1975 it then released a public statement that homosexuality is not a mental disorder. In 1994, two decades later, the APA categorically said, "... homosexuality is neither a mental illness nor a moral depravity. It is the way a portion of the population expresses human love and sexuality".
The American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, and other major groups of medical, educational, and counseling professionals have concluded that there exists, as yet, no scientific basis for the contention that so-called reparative, reorientation, or conversion therapies can successfully change a person's orientation from homosexual to heterosexual. The prevailing view among therapists is that gay and lesbian patients should be helped to improve their self-esteem and to overcome the continuing stigmatization of homosexuality in many societies. However reparative therapies are being endorsed by the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, which represents a minority of psychoanalysts, psychiatrists, psychologists, and other practitioners, and by some religions.
Recently MM Lee Kuan Yew was widely quoted on this issue: "If in fact it is true, and I have asked doctors this, that you are genetically born a homosexual -- because that's the nature of the genetic random transmission of genes -- you can't help it," he said in remarks published by The Straits Times."So why should we criminalize it?" Lee asked."But there is such a strong inhibition, in all societies -- Christianity, Islam, even the Hindu (and) Chinese societies. And we are now confronted with a persisting aberration. But is it an aberration? It's a genetic variation."
Homosexuality is not an aberration, tendency, or inclination. It is a genetic or biological variation. It is an orientation.We must admit that we do not know for certain the causes of homosexuality. This concluding statement in an article of causes best summarizes the situation:"Perhaps there is no one answer, that sexual orientation, whether homosexual or heterosexual; gay, straight, lesbian, or bisexual, all are a cause of a complex interaction between environmental, cognitive, and anatomical factors, shaping the individual at an early age."
Given this medical perspective on homosexuality how do I minister to GLBT people? Within the larger framework of my understanding of the love of God for all of God's people and my reading of Christian ethics relating to justice and concern for the marginalized and minorities, I can only affirm and accept the GLBT community and render my service to them in whatever way that is helpful.
From my perspective, homosexuality is within the purpose of God in creation. There is a continuum of sexual relationships from heterosexualilty to homosexuality. God has made it possible for each individual to be unique and different and I affirm the diversity in God's creation. Homosexuality is a given and not a choice.
In my experience of pastoral care to the gay community, I feel their pain and agony when they first became aware of their attraction to people of the same sex. Their experience is that it is not a phase that will go away. In the solitariness of their closets they struggle and pray. Most gay people know from painful personal experience that their homosexual inclination is definitely not a deliberate choice. Who would in their right mind choose to be gay when they know they will be relegated to a despised minority. On the contrary, they choose to wear masks and pretend to be straight. Yet opponents of gay rights choose to disregard these personal experiences and continue to portray homosexuality as a sinful choice that should be criminalised.
We are aware that the gay community has the responsibility to change the perception that the gay lifestyle is hedonistic and promiscuous. The straights have the problem of pursuing a hedonistic and promiscuous lifestyle as well. The distinctive difference rests on having sexual intercourse with the same or opposite sex.
As I come alongside them, I sense their silent pain, I see their falling tears, I hear their aching hearts. Today I feel their rising hope for they are receiving affirmation, recovering dignity and restoring pride to be gay.They are hearing and believing what Victor Paul Furnish said: "It accords with the most fundamental witness of Scripture that one's sexuality is to be received as a good gift of God. Moreover, this gift is to be expressed in ways that manifest the grace of God - for there is not variance in the reality of God's love, which graces and claims us, whatever the particularities of our own time and place. As for sexual relationships, God's love can find clear expression only where the partners are fully committed and faithful to one another."
Homosexuality is therefore a gift from God to be accepted. It is not a result of human sin or the fallen nature because of Adam. We all have, by the grace of God, to live out the purposes of God, straight or gay, for we are all created by God.
Other panelists are Dr Tan Kim Huat, Chen Su Lan Professor of New Testament at Trinity Theological College; Anthony Yeo, Clinical Director of Counselling And Care Centre; and Edmund Smith, Pastor of Real Love (ex-gay) Ministry which operates in Singapore and Malaysia.
Watch the video of the conference here
What do you think?
.
Former Bishop Calls for Greater Respect for Homosexuals in Singapore
Transcript of Rev Dr Yap Kim Hao's address at the Public Dialogue on Christian Perspectives on Homosexuality and Pastoral Care organised by Safehaven on May 10, 2007 in Singapore.Known to be the most outspoken gay-affirming pastor in Singapore, Rev Dr Yap Kim Hao currently serves in a voluntary capacity in the Free Community Church (www.freecomchurch.org) which counts many gays and lesbians as members. He has been a pastor of the Methodist churches in Malaysia and Singapore and served as its first Asian Bishop in 1968-73. He resigned from that position to become the General Secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia in 1973-85. It was there that he was directly involved in social justice issues and ministry to the oppressed and marginalised in the Asian region. He holds Master of Divinity and Doctor of Theology degrees from Boston University and was honoured by them with a Distinguished Alumni Award in 1988. In addition to his ministry with FCC, Rev Dr Yap continues to serve on the Council of the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) in Singapore and is committed to the promotion of inter-faith dialogue and understanding.
Let me at the outset indicate the rationale for my perspective on homosexuality.I can do no better than to quote from an official statement of The United Methodist Church in the United States that considers homosexuality as incompatible with Christian teachings and I am a Methodist. Yet it is this same Church that recognizes its "limited understanding of this complex gift and encourages the medical, theological, and social science disciplines to combine in a determined effort to understand human sexuality more completely. We call the Church to take the leadership role in bringing together these disciplines to address this most complex issue."
My approach is therefore a multi-disciplinary one.
Firstly, I will raise some general observations about the teaching of the Bible itself.I quote a former colleague of mine when I was teaching at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Victor Paul Furnish, a distinguished Professor of New Testament who wrote: "Homosexuality is not a prominent Biblical concern. The earliest ethical codes of the Hebrews makes no mention of homosexual behavior. There is nothing about it in the Ten Commandments. The four Gospels record no saying of Jesus on the subject. The texts that are discussed are few and far between and not even all of these are pertinent."
But what do we see in many Churches in different parts of the world today? Homosexuality has become a major issue, much more serious than doctrine or church order. It is projected to split the Episcopal Church in the United States as well as the world-wide Anglican Communion. The Archbishop of Canterbury who is personally gay-affirming, has to recognize the current teaching of the Anglican Communion which is against homosexuality.
As Christians refer to this common source of the Bible, those who are anti-gay are quick to say that the Bible says so and then close the Book. And the controversial issue of homosexuality is no longer discussed. The teaching of the Bible leads to the teaching of the Church which then becomes official, and obedience is demanded. The different perspectives arise from the differing interpretation of the words of the Bible and the teachings of the Church and its pronouncements change as we gain more knowledge and insights.
My view is that the different books of the Bible are time bound, historically related, culturally conditioned and contextually based. They are related to the time and place of the recorded events. They reflect the society and the culture at the time the books of the Bible were written. The revelation of God is mediated and translated by inspired human beings who are not infallible. We have to account for the relevancy of the teaching to our contemporary context.The various books of the Bible are the products of writers who claim to have received the revelation from God, and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, put it in writing. Their different interpretations resulted in the changing official teaching of the Church and the varying perspectives of Biblical scholars and theologians. This process continues and we have today come together to share our different perspectives and though we differ, we are expected to respect our differences.The teaching of the Church must necessarily be continuously changing.
Take for instance human relationships, we have moved from the predominantly patriarchal to more equality between men and women. In reference to health we are attributing disease not to spirit possession but to bacteria and viruses. In terms of geography even the flat earth has been rounded into a spherical one. Our world-view is ever changing.With this as background, the Biblical view of sexual relationships is that heterosexuals who engage in same-sex acts are sinful. The Biblical writers regard all men as heterosexual and in condemning same-sex acts, they see it as men exchanging their male role to that of an inferior role of women. At that time, they were not able to distinguish between those whom we now identify as homosexual, from the heterosexual. Their view was that of heterosexuals engaging in same-sex sexual acts.
The Biblical texts that explicitly talk about same-sex acts are few in number. The brief references are related to laws of purity, holiness, temple rituals and to the Greco-Roman culture and pagan worship. There were temple prostitutes, male prostitution and pederasty (mentoring and sex with young call-boys). Jesus did not deal with same-sex relations in His teaching although he had much to say about sex, love, marriage and divorce. Homosexuality in terms of sexual orientation and long-term committed relationships as we understand them today was not discussed and not even a term used at that time.
It was much later that the term "homosexual" was used. Homosexuality as a term was introduced in 1869. It first appeared in newer translations of the Bible – Revised Standard Version in 1946 and in New International Version in 1978. Homosexuality is not originally a Biblical word.Other terms like 'heterosexual,' 'bisexual,' and 'transgendered' presuppose an understanding of human sexuality that was possible only with modern psychology and sociological analysis. The ancient writers were operating without the faintest idea of what we have learned to call 'sexual orientation'.
Let us look more closely at some of the Biblical records related to sexuality and how they show varying perspectives.The law of Moses allowed for man to divorce his wife on account of some "indecency" in her. (Deuteronomy 24:1); Jesus categorically forbids it and will not man "put asunder" those united in marriage. (Mark 10:1-12); Jesus was also said to have sanctioned divorce on the condition of "unchastity." (Matthew 9:9). Yet many Christians, in clear violation of a command of Jesus are divorced and for other reasons.Divorced people are allowed baptism, church membership, communion, ordination and re-marriage but this has not always been the case for homosexuals.
What makes the one so much greater a sin than the other, especially considering the fact that Jesus never even mentioned homosexuality but explicitly condemned divorce? Yet we ordain divorcees. Why not homosexuals?
Take the issue of sex itself. It began with sex only for procreation which the early Christian theologians agree. When it serves to satisfy lust it is regarded as venial sin. Augustine in the fifth century said that we should mature as early as possible to the point when we can dispense with sexual intercourse.
However, the Old Testament regarded celibacy as abnormal and we are to be fruitful and multiply. And 1 Timothy 4:1-3 calls compulsory celibacy a heresy. Yet the Catholic Church has made celibacy mandatory for priests and nuns. Some Christian anti-gay demand celibacy of homosexuals, whether they have a vocation for celibacy or not. Some anti-gay people condone sexual orientation but condemn homosexual acts. Some gay and lesbians like heterosexuals have chosen to live a life of single blessedness.Leviticus 21 discussed how priests need to be morally, and even physically unblemished and must meet the requirements of the purity laws at that time. Today most of these purity laws are being ignored.
Far from being a Book full of bad news for gays and lesbians, I believe the Bible is indeed full of good news of God's love for all of creation - gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and straight alike. The Bible has no clear and consistent sex ethic and only knows a love ethic, which is constantly being brought to bear on whatever sexual mores, moral codes or church teachings are dominant in any given country, culture, or period. There is also the emphasis on grace rather than on law.
The medical sciences today acknowledge homosexuality as a sexual orientation, not a medical, psychological or psychiatric condition that can be changed therapeutically.It is on record that the American Psychological Association removed homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychological Disorders in 1973. In 1975 it then released a public statement that homosexuality is not a mental disorder. In 1994, two decades later, the APA categorically said, "... homosexuality is neither a mental illness nor a moral depravity. It is the way a portion of the population expresses human love and sexuality".
The American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, and other major groups of medical, educational, and counseling professionals have concluded that there exists, as yet, no scientific basis for the contention that so-called reparative, reorientation, or conversion therapies can successfully change a person's orientation from homosexual to heterosexual. The prevailing view among therapists is that gay and lesbian patients should be helped to improve their self-esteem and to overcome the continuing stigmatization of homosexuality in many societies. However reparative therapies are being endorsed by the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, which represents a minority of psychoanalysts, psychiatrists, psychologists, and other practitioners, and by some religions.
Recently MM Lee Kuan Yew was widely quoted on this issue: "If in fact it is true, and I have asked doctors this, that you are genetically born a homosexual -- because that's the nature of the genetic random transmission of genes -- you can't help it," he said in remarks published by The Straits Times."So why should we criminalize it?" Lee asked."But there is such a strong inhibition, in all societies -- Christianity, Islam, even the Hindu (and) Chinese societies. And we are now confronted with a persisting aberration. But is it an aberration? It's a genetic variation."
Homosexuality is not an aberration, tendency, or inclination. It is a genetic or biological variation. It is an orientation.We must admit that we do not know for certain the causes of homosexuality. This concluding statement in an article of causes best summarizes the situation:"Perhaps there is no one answer, that sexual orientation, whether homosexual or heterosexual; gay, straight, lesbian, or bisexual, all are a cause of a complex interaction between environmental, cognitive, and anatomical factors, shaping the individual at an early age."
Given this medical perspective on homosexuality how do I minister to GLBT people? Within the larger framework of my understanding of the love of God for all of God's people and my reading of Christian ethics relating to justice and concern for the marginalized and minorities, I can only affirm and accept the GLBT community and render my service to them in whatever way that is helpful.
From my perspective, homosexuality is within the purpose of God in creation. There is a continuum of sexual relationships from heterosexualilty to homosexuality. God has made it possible for each individual to be unique and different and I affirm the diversity in God's creation. Homosexuality is a given and not a choice.
In my experience of pastoral care to the gay community, I feel their pain and agony when they first became aware of their attraction to people of the same sex. Their experience is that it is not a phase that will go away. In the solitariness of their closets they struggle and pray. Most gay people know from painful personal experience that their homosexual inclination is definitely not a deliberate choice. Who would in their right mind choose to be gay when they know they will be relegated to a despised minority. On the contrary, they choose to wear masks and pretend to be straight. Yet opponents of gay rights choose to disregard these personal experiences and continue to portray homosexuality as a sinful choice that should be criminalised.
We are aware that the gay community has the responsibility to change the perception that the gay lifestyle is hedonistic and promiscuous. The straights have the problem of pursuing a hedonistic and promiscuous lifestyle as well. The distinctive difference rests on having sexual intercourse with the same or opposite sex.
As I come alongside them, I sense their silent pain, I see their falling tears, I hear their aching hearts. Today I feel their rising hope for they are receiving affirmation, recovering dignity and restoring pride to be gay.They are hearing and believing what Victor Paul Furnish said: "It accords with the most fundamental witness of Scripture that one's sexuality is to be received as a good gift of God. Moreover, this gift is to be expressed in ways that manifest the grace of God - for there is not variance in the reality of God's love, which graces and claims us, whatever the particularities of our own time and place. As for sexual relationships, God's love can find clear expression only where the partners are fully committed and faithful to one another."
Homosexuality is therefore a gift from God to be accepted. It is not a result of human sin or the fallen nature because of Adam. We all have, by the grace of God, to live out the purposes of God, straight or gay, for we are all created by God.
Other panelists are Dr Tan Kim Huat, Chen Su Lan Professor of New Testament at Trinity Theological College; Anthony Yeo, Clinical Director of Counselling And Care Centre; and Edmund Smith, Pastor of Real Love (ex-gay) Ministry which operates in Singapore and Malaysia.
Watch the video of the conference here
What do you think?
.
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