HOMOSEXUALITY AND LESBIANISM
Part Two
From Various Writers
DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN AND THE "GAY GENE"
By Cal Thomas. Copyright, 1996. Distributed by Los Angeles Times
Syndicate. Reprinted with permission.
The "discovery" of "new evidence" of a "gay gene" was
trumpeted on the front page of the Washington Post as a
scientific breakthrough equivalent to a cure for cancer. But the
story is another exercise in the uncritical "reporting" by most
of the major media when it comes to homosexuality and an example
of the loss of credibility the press suffers when it climbs into
bed with an advocacy group.
The story quotes another "study" by Dean Hamer, a molecular
biologist at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). One might ask
why federal funds targeted for cancer research are being diverted
for another purpose, but the Post doesn't.
The Post fails to mention that Hamer's widely trumpeted 1993
"gay gene" study is under investigation for alleged fraud by the
federal "Office of Research Integrity" and that a colleague of
Homer has charged that Homer selectively reported data in ways
that enhanced the study's thesis. Nor does the press report on
Homer's own homosexuality, which might indicate to some readers
that Hamer has a bias in favor of discovering a biological cause
for homosexual behavior.
Press stories don't mention that Hamer was reassigned to
other areas of research, such as smoking and cancer, after
ethical questions arose. Or that co-researcher David Fulker told
the Chicago Tribune on June 25, "If the second study were the
first study, it wouldn't have been published. The second study is
not strong enough (statistically) to stand on its own."
The Post story tells of researchers "confirming and
(extending)...the discovery that hereditary factors apparently
predispose some men to homosexuality." But is it good science for
scientists to confirm and extend their own original findings?
Such findings must be confirmed by other scientists. Hamer, who
published his original conclusions in Science magazine, chose
another publication, "Nature Genetics," for his latest
conclusions.
The Post notes that the second study, unlike the first,
reports on a control group of heterosexual brothers, but
downplays the fact that 22% of the non-gay brothers had the same
genetic markers. If Hamer's s conclusion is that genetic makeup
determines homosexuality, why isn't this fifth of the sample of
non-gay subjects gay? Hamer also has never explained why he did
not include a heterosexual control group in his first study.
Not only is scientific integrity compromised in such
studies, journalistic credibility is, too. Hamer once told a
meeting of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, "If you tell
the press what to write about a scientific study, they'll write
it." He added that when he told the press that homosexuality is
like being left-handed, it dutifully reported his analogy.
Why has most of the press become a shill for the gay rights
movement? Fear is one answer. Most liberals don't want to be
labelled "intolerant" and shy away from any moral code that
doesn't support their political comfort level. But perhaps the
main reason is that the establishment media have developed a
relationship with the political objectives of gay rights activism
that has shamefully compromised their ability to report
objectively and fairly on the issue.
Evidence of this compromise is everywhere, from the open
recruitment of "gay journalists" to a convention of the "National
Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association" meeting in Washington
last month. A copy of the program shows that not only were
representatives of major press organizations in attendance as
participants, they also contributed substantially to the cost of
the event. Their names were listed in the program.
The Washington Post contributed $2,500 to the convention and
underwrote a National Press Club awards reception. The New York
Times kicked in $5,000 and co-sponsored (along with NBC News, an
$5,000 contributor) a luncheon with the Minority Journalism
Association presidents.
Other mainstream media underwriters included Knight-Rider
($15,000), The Gannett Foundation ($10,000), CBS News ($7,500),
the Los Angeles Times ($5,000), ABC News Washington Bureau
($3,000), and Hearst Newspapers and the Miami Herald ($2,500
each).
Would anyone imagine such press giants making contributions
to, or cavorting with the Christian Coalition? Whatever happened
to press ethics? Whatever happened to the arm's-length separation
journalists were supposed to observe between themselves and the
subjects they cover?
Never has it been more necessary for the public to analyze
the information it receives from the media in order to determine
whether it is truth or propaganda. Increasingly, when it comes to
homosexuality, the press cannot be trusted.
March 1996 ACTS magazine, a publication of the Church of God,
Seventh Day, Meridian, Idaho, USA.
..................
FROM "ACTS" MAGAZINE - MARCH 1996
In the light of light of these Biblical facts, let me just
say that a feeling or a desire is not in itself sin. The battle
begins when we choose to obey the Word of God rather than giving
in to our sinful desires. We all are tempted in one way or
another, we are all human. However, we all have a choice to make:
Do we give in to our temptations or stand firmly within God's
guidelines? James 1:14 says, "Each one is tempted when he is
carried away and enticed by his own lust." But, l Corinthians
10:13 offers this encouragement to us; "No temptation has seized
you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will
not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are
tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up
under it." With God we are able to bear any temptation put before
us. We are not destined to failure if we choose Jesus as Lord.
God does not expect us to do the impossible, with Him all things
are possible.
Even if someone has previously given in to sinful desires
there is hope and forgiveness in Jesus Christ. Regardless of
whether it was a one time mistake or a full fledged lifestyle of
many years,
God is able through His Son to cleanse and make this person
whole again. However, it will take effort on their part.
One former homosexual put it this way, "All Christians
struggle with the temptation to sin. We need to realize that a
salvation experience is not a pre-frontal lobotomy or a
substitute for exercising personal discipline. God does bring
change, but not always instantaneously. And contrary to some
popular belief, godly change does not always come about without
pain or struggle" (Joe Hallett, "Walking out of Homosexuality." -
The Last Days Magazine, 1991).
God gives the opportunity but people have got to be willing
to leave their old sinful lifestyle behind. They've got to
believe God wants the best for them and trust Him with their
lives. It is never an easy task for anyone to deny themselves
fulfillment of their lusts and desires.
Joe Hallet explains it like this:
"Most of us want to be able to switch off our sinful natures like
we switch off a lightbulb - but I don't think that's a very
realistic attitude towards salvation. My desperate need for God's
strength keeps me incredibly close to Him. Like a child on a busy
city street, I know that if I let go of His hand - even for a
moment - I'll get hit by a bus. (Ibid).
Isaiah reassures us in the 43rd chapter verses 1-3: "Do not
fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are
Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and
through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk
through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame
burn you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel,
your Savior." God has promised to be there to hold Joe's hand and
anyone else's who has willingly offered theirs to Him.
You might be wondering where the church fits into all of
this. Sure there is a real battle raging daily for those who have
been involved in the homosexual lifestyle, but of what relevancy
is that to us? It is no great challenge to convince most of us in
the church that homosexuality is sin. In fact, many of us find
this to be such an abhorrent sin that we have forgotten that we
too were in need of forgiveness. Our disgust for the lifestyle
has rendered us handicapped from actually reaching out to those
groping in the darkness of sin. We're so wrapped up in our
righteous indignation that we've forgotten we're called to love.
"Relationships with Christian brothers have helped me to walk in
the light of God, and I know that will be true for others. The
need for male love lures most men into homosexuality, and only
the unconditional love of God's people will help lead them out of
that desperate loneliness" (Ibid).
Let's face it, all sin is abhorrent to God. Yes, He is
greatly displeased by those living the gay lifestyle, it is
perverse and it is sin. Committing adultery, though much less
abhorrent in our eyes, will cost you your soul just as quickly as
homosexuality.
Let's stand against homosexuality, of course, but let us be
moved with compassion by the plight of those involved in the
lifestyle.
In conclusion, there can be no doubt that God's word
condemns homosexuality. It is clearly defined as sin in the
Bible, and God instructs those desiring life to rid their lives
of all sin.
Coming out of this lifestyle will not be easy, but it is
necessary to be found acceptable to God. Those of us who are
children of God must offer the repentant homosexual the same
forgiveness and love that God has. Anything less is contrary to
the will of God. Remember God's promise, "Blessed are they whose
transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is
the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him" (Romans
4:7,8).
.................
THE TRUTH ABOUT HOMOSEXUAL CHILDREN
Until the doctrine of the Holy Bible is accepted as truth,
homosexual children will continue to leave a trail of grieving
moms and dads.
by Barbara Baumgardner
Not long ago, an advice columnist wrote about a mother who
had just learned her daughter was a lesbian. The wounded woman
had written to ask for help. The columnist told her to accept and
support her daughter's choices.
Many people familiar with gay men and lesbians would agree
that the columnist offered her readers (as well as the mother) a
single, superficial view. When this grieving mother needed
comfort and hope, she was led to believe she had no choices of
her own.
The same newspaper columnist repeatedly recommends a support
group called Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (Parents
FLAG). But the content of the FLAG newsletter mostly promotes,
encourages,and supports homosexuality. The message of the
articles clearly says, "My child is gay, and that's just fine
with me. If this is what my child is or chooses to be, I cannot
hope for change. Therefore, I will support his or her lifestyle
by participating in dinners, parades, and publicity that give my
child the rights and attention he or she desires and deserves. My
child's homosexuality isn't hurting me!"
This message is garbage! It is always shocking and hurtful
when heterosexual parents learn their child is gay. It is a time
when the child disappoints them and breaks their hearts. It is a
time for them to grieve.
One mother told how she coped when she heard her daughter
was a lesbian. "Talking to my daughter about her chosen lifestyle
has helped me know her better. It has given me opportunity to let
her know that, while I don't agree with her sexual preference, I
do care about her as a person and as my daughter."
This mother receives a monthly newsletter and other
literature from groups like "Love in Action," "Exodus
International," and "Spatula Ministries". These materials are
filled with encouragement and testimonies from previously gay men
and lesbians who have been changed through the power of Jesus
Christ.
Armed with truth about homosexuality from this free
literature, parents can support each other and pray wisely for
their gay children.
Another frequent error is the assertion that God made
homosexuals. This is not true. It would be the same as saying
that God made alcoholics. He made the people, not the behavior.
God does not make something and then condemn it in His Word. In
the Bible, God condemns homosexuality, calling it "sin." God did
not make sin; man chose to sin.
Romans 1:26b,27 describes, in unmistakable terms, God's
attitude toward the sin of homosexuality:
"Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.
In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with
women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed
indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due
penalty for their perversion."
When perversion is mentioned in the New Testament, it is
listed with the worst behaviors. Far example, Paul wrote in 1
Corinthians 6:9,10:
"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of
God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor
idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual
offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers
nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."
Rarely do researchers accept the Bible as documentation of
the truth they seek. Intensive studies are underway to determine
hereditary factors in genes that might predispose some people to
homosexual tendencies. Suppose researchers find that, as with
alcoholics or over-eaters, homosexuals can be convinced to change
by seeking counsel, attending support groups, or accepting
Christianity as their standard for living. Is it possible for gay
men and lesbians to learn to live with choices that would no
longer leave them feeling deprived? Until the doctrine of the
Holy Bible is accepted as truth, homosexual children will
continue to leave a trail of grieving moms and dads.
No doubt the mother who wrote to the advice columnist was
brokenhearted. She may also have been dealing with denial,
bitterness, anger, and guilt. Her daughter may feel vindicated
if Mom would give in to support her lifestyle, but parents can't
keep picking up the pieces of their child's wrong decisions, or
their own hearts will be broken daily.
Children are made in the image of God, and their
homosexuality, as any other sin, is forgivable. But forgiveness
is not support. Forgiveness should not encourage children to
continue to do what does not comply with God's standards.
There will always be grieving parents looking for ways to
survive the fall of high hopes for their kids. These parents must
be armed with a shield of faith, not with bad advice. The day may
come when they must let go and let God do the work in the hearts
and lives of their children.
God wants to restore the family. When we pray, He can lift
the burden of grief, remove the thirst for perversion, and set
the captives free.
Barbara Baumgardner is a Christian writer living in Bend, OR.
Scripture quotations were taken from the New International
Version.
...................
MY STRUGGLE TO ACCEPT MY LESBIAN DAUGHTER
Name Withheld
In the beginning, I wasn't sure I even wanted to try dealing
with a homosexual daughter. Pamela was a middle child, born
between two beautiful sisters. An opposite of her sisters in many
ways, Pamela was the tomboy of our family. Having been a tomboy
myself, I approvingly accepted her role as the boy in our family.
I shared her love for working outdoors, hunting deer, and
constantly whittling with a pocketknife. But where as boys and
proms and being kissed at sweet sixteen made me discard my sturdy
leather hiking boots and slingshot, this didn't happen to Pamela.
Pamela insisted on dressing in the mode of the hippie movement!
Whenever possible, I avoided introducing my masculine-mannered
daughter to my women friends.
While I yearned for her to date and begged her to wear
lacetrimmed party dresses, Pamela was non-receptive. Her curly,
dark brown hair hung in unkempt strings to her shoulders, and her
uneven bangs hid eyes I wanted to search for answers.
I reluctantly gave in to the leather-fringed jacket that
Pamela wore daily. I was grateful that it seemed to partially
hide the illfitting bra she wore under faded peasant blouses
tucked in dirndl skirts or men's pants.
She loved to shop at the "Salvation Army Thrift Store" for
discarded pinstriped suit jackets two sizes too large.
Where were the giggly phone calls, the class ring displayed
on a gold chain or wrapped with yards of adhesive tape to fit a
slender, feminine hand?
Where were the fad diets, lipstick on the towels, and
electric curlers left plugged in when she went to school?
I longed for the girl talk I shared freely with my other two
daughter. But Pamela was a loner.
My mind became filled with questions about things I didn't
want answers to. Shivers of shame crept up my back, preventing me
from sharing my suspicions with anyone. Often, I'd ask myself
where I had failed or, worse yet, my husband and I would silently
blame each other for our misfit child.
Pamela's decision to move out of town after graduation came
as a welcome relief to me. When she came home to visit
us,bringing her roommate, I tried to be accepting and
unconcerned. Yet I found myself curious and strained my ears to
catch snatches of their conversation.
Their sweet talk offended me, I would bristle when I caught
sight of a lovesick embrace or an amorous caress. Once l heard
them talking about exchanging rings. My stomach churned.
One Valentine's Day, Pamela came home alone to visit us, but
not without wiring a dozen roses to the friend she had left
behind.
The exchange of gifts between my daughter and her women
friends was extravagant and shocking to me.
Torn between bitter resentment and a mother's natural
attachment to her child, I suffered an internal nightmare each
time Pamela visited. I did not wish to provoke my child to anger.
Neither did I want to offend her and cause a break in our already
strained relationship.
Yet her unconventional life-style created a skeleton in my
closet that was growing into a monster preying on my tormented
mind. Swallowing my pride, I went to my pastor. "The Bible says I
must not judge her," I told him, "yet how can I tell her I don't
want her female lovers in my home and in my beds? How can I
condone their relationship? How can I overlook their
self-inflicted espousal?"
My pastor's answer was simple, gentle, and to-the-point.
"You don't need to judge her; God has already done
that. Your job is to love her and pray for her."
He quoted 1 Corinthians 6:9, which states that we are not to
be fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate,
nor homosexuals. I left this wise man's office relieved: The
burden was not mine to carry.
Years passed with Pamela bringing home different women as
guests. There were times when she would share bits and pieces of
her strange lifestyle with me.
I learned to answer her by saying, "I cannot condone your
mode of living, but it doesn't change my love for you. I
disagree, I don't approve, I don't understand, but I love you
anyhow."
One time, she told me that her homosexual status was her
choice. "I can be gay or I can be straight ... I wasn't born this
way; it is my choice. Maybe someday, I'll choose to be straight,
but not now."
That was the first time I felt free to hope. I began to pray
for a change in my daughter. For many years, God chose not to
answer my prayer with a "yes," but I had no reason to think He
was saying "no." I continued to pray and hope.
I tried so hard to muddle through the perplexity of knowing
what fed and nourished the seedbeds of my daughter's emotional
and sexual feelings, undoubtedly planted in the earliest years of
life.
I believe that a person's most important sex organ is his or
her brain. Yet my extremely intelligent daughter, although she
had been brought up in the same environment as her sisters, had
purposely chosen a sexually abnormal status.
It was during a visit seven years later that Pamela asked me
to sit down. "I want to talk, Mom. I suspect this is something
you've been praying about, so I want you to be the first to know.
I've decided to be straight. I've given my roommate a month's
notice to move. Mom, I want to learn to live in your world."
I asked the reason for her decision. All she would answer
was, "I really don't know. All of a sudden, my friends make me
want to puke. I'm embarrassed to be around them. The way they
look and the way they act makes me sick."
I could relate to that! She went on "For years, I was satisfied
with who I was. I could stand before you or anyone and say, This
is what I am and who I am. I built my life on the foundation of
being homosexual. My job, my hair, my clothes, and my car all
represented who I was. Now something, and I don't know what, has
demolished my stability and broken away the foundation from my
secure house."
I asked her if she felt God could have been the force that
broke her foundation because He wanted to be her security. She
answered, "I don't know yet."
I'm content with this answer for now. My ex-lesbian daughter
isn't a Christian yet, but I still have hope and am still
praying. The rest is up to God. He has already shown me one
miracle; I believe He's setting up the next one.
...............
BIBLE ADVOCATE, 1994
A publication of the Church of God, Seventh Day, Denver, Colorado
|
