Posted on 12/04/2004 5:17:59 PM PST by Mr. Silverback
Note: The following commentary includes graphic descriptions. This is not suitable for children.
“I’m at my wits’ end,” the young woman wrote. “I’ve asked pastors, friends, parents, God, and message boards this question and still haven’t received an intelligent answer that I can live with. Why are homosexual acts wrong? I’m a Christian and believe in the Bible, but this part always stumps me.”
According to my friend, Dr. J. Budziszewski, author of the excellent new book, Ask Me Anything: Provocative Answers for College Students, disturbing questions like this show that church leaders aren’t providing young people with the whole picture about sexuality. They may be faithfully teaching God’s rules, but when asked why God made these rules, too often they say, “Take two aspirin, and wait for the questions to go away.”
The good news, says Budziszewski, is that we can answer disturbing questions. Where are the answers found? In our creational design.
“People say homosexuality isn’t natural,” the young woman complained in her letter, “but that can’t be true because it’s found among animals.” Budziszewski answers, “But our nature is how God designed us. What’s natural for human beings isn’t whatever you can find some animal doing; it’s whatever fulfills our design. Men and women were plainly designed for each other—not men for men, nor women for women.” Children can be born in no other way.
“But homosexual acts don’t harm anyone,” said the young woman. Budziszewski answers, “The idea that homosexual acts don’t harm anyone isn’t even close to being true; they harm those who perform them at every level. To begin with the most obvious level—the physical—how could it not harm a man to suffer physical trauma because body parts are repeatedly forced into bodily openings that were designed for a radically different function?” And the rates of a long, long list of diseases are also much higher among practicing homosexuals, and contrary to popular belief, this is true for lesbians as well as for “gay” men.
At the emotional level, Budziszewski explains, the damage of homosexual acts is just as grave. God designed the male-female pair to balance each other; by contrast, same-sex mating drives them out of balance. If you want an example, think of the anonymous, no-brakes promiscuity of men who have sex with hundreds, even thousands, of other men.
“And what about spiritual harm?” asks Budziszewski. “In homosexual acts, you’re seeking union with someone who is only your own mirror image, so in a way, you’re still trapped inside yourself. You haven’t experienced the power of marital sexuality to take you beyond the Self; you’re rejecting the challenge of union with someone who is really other. In that way, homosexual acts are less like marital intercourse than like masturbation with another body.”
That’s frank, even startling language, but what’s happened to our culture is startling too. When young people confused by the culture ask questions, they need clear, unvarnished answers to set their thinking straight. That’s why I recommend this great new book Ask Me Anything: Provocative Answers for College Students.
God’s rules for sex are never arbitrary; they are based on how He made us. As Budziszewski rightly says, it’s all in the design.
I can't believe that no one could answer her question. She probably couldn't comprehend because she didn't like the answer.
What about clothing with thread from different sources? What about dairy with meat? Or shellfish? Or pork? Why is it OK to eat a locust but not a beetle?
Just in case anyone misunderstands:
/sarcasm
My personal observation.
Homosexuals in their senior years are usually bitter, selfish, anti-social, lonely and resentful. I see no glory or joy in the lives of older homos, compared to married senior citizens, that is, male/female couples, who are usually, to some degree, content, loving, and loyal.
To me, in the long-run, after many years of the "gay" lifestyle, these folks are not a happy lot. That's proof enough for me that it is not God's will.
snip...I can't get excited about a Protestant Evangelical scholar who goes back to Natural Law and reasoning, when scripture is plain in and of itself, and cannot be argued against.
While what you say is true, it's also true that Budziszewski is following in CS Lewis's footsteps in that like Lewis, he's learning to frame responses, reasoning, etc. in secular language and not in Biblical language. This is because so very many Americans today have never been to church and have never read the Bible. Therefore, if you base your responses and/or arguments upon the Bible and the authority of God to these sorts of people it is to them as though you've just said...."Because Superman said so in his Superman comic book."
It could be therefore that Budziszewski hasn't fully reasoned out every Biblical issue into secular terms. Also, he was an atheist, so he no doubt is still journeying towards the Truth.
right - it IS found among animals --- un-natural deformed animals only.
thankfully, homosexuals CANNOT reproduce naturally - But the scumbag lawyers/judges/politicians have allowed the deviants to reproduce through very un-natural means.
I supposed this is someones answer to reduce the human population as their diseases spread unchecked.
I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, ...
sorry, couldn't resist
Not a bad argument, but a bit metaphysical for people looking for a logical reason "why not?"
The reasons "why not" are straightforward: diseases that spread in almost no other way, greatly increased risk of sex act-incurred physical damage to one or both homosexual partners, the impossibility of reproduction in such relationships, the confusing and unhappy role models for children that homosexuals inevitably become, and the societal damage caused by the promiscuity inherent to the lifestyle. Every single one of these objections is logical, reasonable, intellectually sound, and applicable whether one is religious or not (though gay advocates will fight them all to the death - mostly with lies and false statistics aimed at distorting the truth).
And not one of them depends on the existence of some mean guy with a white beard up in the clouds who is going to smite homosexuals with lighting bolts unless they give up their practices. ;)
Seems nothing wrong with backing up the Word of God with reasoning. All truth is God's truth. Why not base what we believe on the Bible, then explain it with reasoning? Reasoning is just drawing conclusions from evidence.
It seems obvious that men and women were designed for each other, just at we sometimes speak of the "male" part of an electric cord and the "female" plug. Two men together cannot by definition experience sex because there is no coupling of organs.
LOL! Good one.
I think your tin foil hat's on a little too tight.
Yes, but that's all under the "Old Testament" dispensation, and is no longer valid for Christians. You need the appropriate "New Testament" condemnation.
That is interesting. Food for thought.
According to one questionairre, a very large percentage of homosexual men (something like 35%) had indicated that they had had "well over 500" sexual partners.
"Morality always requires a leap of faith"
I would disagree with this view.
Our recent experience here in New Jersey with Gov McGreavy validates the long-standing wisdom of keeping people with these proclivities out of positions ot trust. As C.S. Lewis pointed out in his book, The Abolition of Man, morality is objectivity itself.
"Morality always requires a leap of faith"
I would disagree with this view.
Our recent experience here in New Jersey with Gov McGreavy validates the long-standing wisdom of keeping people with these proclivities out of positions ot trust. As C.S. Lewis pointed out in his book, The Abolition of Man, morality is objectivity itself.
God's perfect timing ping!
John the Baptist ate locust beans, IOW, carob pods. He did not eat insects.
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