I view homosexuality as a physical or emotional attraction to members of your own sex. Causes? Most likely congenital, whether genetic or some environmental cause prior to birth, combined with a choice to follow one path in life rather than another.
I have known many people in homosexual relationships who have described sexuality as a spectrum, where they don't believe anyone is 100% gay or 100% straight. In contrast, most straight people strike me as straight, although I'll admit that some who are not pegged over straight may for social reasons describe themselves as 100% straight and live a 100% straight life in their actions.
I see the above as truth. Which lifestyle choice is better becomes a value judgement. In terms of marital fidelity, I believe that absolute fidelity is better for the marriage, better for the children, and better for society than an open marriage or discrete (or indiscrete) affair. The evidence for that value judgement strikes me as clear, but it's not worth debating if you disagree. I also believe that the Bible takes a clear position on marital fidelity, and that the Creator of the universe has the authority to give a commandment like "no adultery" even to those who don't like or understand the reasoning or are instinctively inclined or have preferences otherwise.
As for homosexuality, statistically there seem to be some rather dramatic health differences betwen those in faithful, heterosexual marriages and those in homosexual relationships, and that was true even before AIDS. Again, I believe that the Creator of the universe has the authority to give a command against homosexual conduct, even to those who don't like or understand the reasoning or are instinctively inclined or have preferences otherwise.
The world is made up of black and white. I'll admit that I may be wrong on which is which, but there is an absolute truth to be found.
Compassion and support? I see at least as much compassion and support in helping to meet your own father's social and emotional needs by giving him attention as there is in cheering for a new lifestyle that meets those needs without the bother of chatting with Dad, whose stories you've already heard dozens of times.
Condemnation? If God has asked that we follow a path in life, and assuming the father believes in or used to believe in the Bible, isn't it more compassionate to help him find a way to meet his needs that is consistent with God's word than to say "whatever feels good" and let him lose his relationship with God or feel guilty about living a life that seems inconsistent with much of what is in the Bible?
Homosexuality is a behavior, it is a learned behavior, it is an addictive behavior.
It amazes me that there is not more discussion of imprinting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_psychology
Again, what you accept as “truth,” as “black and white,” simply differ from what I accept as the same.
We can take this offline if you wish to discuss my spiritual views in more depth, but for the purposes of this thread, again, I will leave it at that.