Is Homosexuality A Choice?

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Regardless, you have to accept whatever situation God puts you in life. If you were born “gay” it is still your responsibility not to act on it. You must always put God’s will above your own. If you truly put God first in your life, it becomes very easy to follow his will.
 
Parisian said:
Regardless, you have to accept whatever situation God puts you in life. If you were born “gay” it is still your responsibility not to act on it. You must always put God’s will above your own. If you truly put God first in your life, it becomes very easy to follow his will.
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👍
 
aemcpa said:
Whether the inclination toward homosexuality is genetic, psychological, behavioral, etc. is entirely irrelevant for moral purposes. You are correct that any person is capable of resisting evil and choosing to act in accordance with divine and natural law. Your mother is incorrect - she neglects to take into account that due to the Original Sin nature itself is disfigured and wounded, and thus there exists natural evil, a distortion of the intrinsic good with which God created the universe.
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Yeah, I don’t mean to slander my mother, but she’s one of those people who thinks that she’s more Catholic than the Pope and thinks that she’s always the one who’s right when it comes to interpreting the faith and no one else is. It really irritated me when she became all judgmental about homosexuals. I was never allowed to associate with them growing up because they were “beasts” so to speak. All thorughout my childhood she would be constantly judging them and putting them down and telling me how subhuman they are and how I’m not to associate with them because I’m a good person, a servant of God and they’re not. I understood that homosexuality was wrong but I didn’t feel that I had a right to judge them or not to associate with them or treat them like normal people because we’ve all sinned and have come short of the glory of God and having this “holier than thou, more Catholic than the Pope” attitude doesn’t solve anything. In fact, it just makes you just as bad as the homosexual, murder or whoever. It is our duty to warn our neighbor of their sins and pray for them and help them overcome their sins rather than damning them to hell and rubbing your “holiness” in their faces and judging them in their situations as the Scribes and the Pharisees did.
 
I can’t help having the desire to punch the guy who cut me off in the left lane in the nose. What of it?
 
Catholic4Jesus said:
Yeah, I don’t mean to slander my mother, but she’s one of those people who thinks that she’s more Catholic than the Pope and thinks that she’s always the one who’s right when it comes to interpreting the faith and no one else is. It really irritated me when she became all judgmental about homosexuals. I was never allowed to associate with them growing up because they were “beasts” so to speak. All thorughout my childhood she would be constantly judging them and putting them down and telling me how subhuman they are and how I’m not to associate with them because I’m a good person, a servant of God and they’re not. I understood that homosexuality was wrong but I didn’t feel that I had a right to judge them or not to associate with them or treat them like normal people because we’ve all sinned and have come short of the glory of God and having this “holier than thou, more Catholic than the Pope” attitude doesn’t solve anything. In fact, it just makes you just as bad as the homosexual, murder or whoever. It is our duty to warn our neighbor of their sins and pray for them and help them overcome their sins rather than damning them to hell and rubbing your “holiness” in their faces and judging them in their situations as the Scribes and the Pharisees did.
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You should get her a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
 
I got to thinking. Is heterosexuality a choice? And here I guess I want to broaden the meaning of choice. As a man, I can choose to be a man, and that means living up to what is believed to be manly ways. While some of the so-called manly ways are displays of machisimo (unessential, some likely harmful as in aggression), some relate to courage, industriousness and sacrifice. I can choose to be courageous, industrious and generous. I can strive to be that. In so choosing, I take on responsibility. I wonder how this stands with regard to Natural Law? Anyway, I think it’s a fair question. Is heterosexuality a choice?
 
Pilosopo said:
I got to thinking. Is heterosexuality a choice? And here I guess I want to broaden the meaning of choice. As a man, I can choose to be a man, and that means living up to what is believed to be manly ways. While some of the so-called manly ways are displays of machisimo (unessential, some likely harmful as in aggression), some relate to courage, industriousness and sacrifice. I can choose to be courageous, industrious and generous. I can strive to be that. In so choosing, I take on responsibility. I wonder how this stands with regard to Natural Law? Anyway, I think it’s a fair question. Is heterosexuality a choice?
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I’m not sure what courage, generousity, or responsibility have to do with it. These are virtues anyone can choose, regardless of their sexual orientation, or lack thereof.

As for choosing heterosexuality, I think DexUK already addressed this sort of question pretty well.
DexUK said:
I can’t choose to look at a pretty girl in the street and find her to be repugnant. It simply doesn’t happen and I could no more choose to react that way to her than I could choose to change the colour of my eyes. If I compare my attraction to someone else, we will find that we are attracted to different things. Neither one of us chooses it. So let’s get past the idea of there being ‘choice’ in what we find attractive and instead concentrate simply on the choices over what we do or don’t do when someone attractive (howsoever that may be) crosses our path.
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Heterosexuality is not typically a choice - one is attracted to who they are attracted to. I didn’t choose to find my wife attractive, it was just the way it was. I don’t consciously choose to find men not attractive (in that way) - I just happen not to be sexually attracted to men.
 
Here is an informative video by Dr Nicolosi

then
Code: 
                                           Interviews & Testimonials
Dr. Nicolosi Interviews Men and Women Who Have Left Homosexuality
Testimonials
Videos
“Political Correctness Rules, Not Science,” Says American Psychological Association Past-President in Interview with Dr. Nicolosi

“Unbiased, Open Research [on Homosexuality] Was Never Done,” Says Former A.P.A. President in Interview

For more personal stories of men and women who have moved out of homosexuality, please go to the website www.narth.com and see the section “Interviews/Testimonies.”
 
anruari said:
There is a strong narrative pressed by the “Gay Rights Lobby” that implies that sexuality is a Binary: Gay or Straight. you’re one or the other and you’re born that way.
They would like to and are constantly looking for Genetic or other biological causes. So far there is no strong evidence in their favour.

While the scientific jury is still out, a lot of evidence is emerging that sexuality and sexual attraction is not a binary.
conversely it is highly plastic (mouldable by life experiences), and can vary throughout a persons life. - this effect is stronger in women than men.
Don’t get me wrong: deliberate attempts at reparative therapy are controversial for a reason: they tend to present a high risk of causing more harm than the good they are trying to accomplish. It successfull methods of reparative therapy are developed in the future we have yet to see. but all that can be guarinteed is that they wont work for everyone.

Sexuality is not a binary: it is a multi dimensional spectrum.
Many people have a strong or dominant preference for people of the opposite sex.
some people this is less strong
for others there is strong attraction to both genders.
for yet others there is a strong or dominant attraction to the same gender.

For some people there is a strong attraction to younger people: Especially in men
For others there is a strong attraction to older people: especially in women.
Attraction based on age becomes illegal to act upon, with the laws varying by country and state. Yet there are pressure groups in many countries who would like to see various forms of this Chronophilia decriminalised. - Others pressure for the age of consent to be made more plastic, taking into account the relative ages of the people involved.

Some people like it in the dark, with silk sheets: Others prefer far more adventurous and fantastical ways of expressing themselves to the extremes of sadomasochistic depravity.

Now we live in a society which has told us you are either Gay or Straight. and some people out there would propose that if you have ever once in your lifetime relished an attraction or sexual fantasy towards a person of the same gender you must therefore be Gay. -
The truth lies somewhere quite different. For many people their sexuality is strongly ordered or dissorded towards a particular place in that spectrum, and they have little ability to force themselves to a monogamous, hetrosexual, vanilla marraige, age appropriate marriage. They simply lack the capacity in one or more areas.
For many other people however there are strong elements of deliberate or sub-concious choice in how they develop and live out their sexuality.
Anyone who is consciously bi-sexual would be very aware of having the choice.
Other people who have a stong leaning towards hetrosexual attraction, but with some significant element of SSA would also be aware of the choice

It is not having attraction to same sex sexual relationships that is sinfull - any more than it is sinfull to look a a prity, young model or actress just beginning to blossom into her womanhood and realise you are strongly attracted to someone who is under-age (It doesn’t help when the get deliberately portrayed in a sexual way by the media). (I assume the same applies for some women seeing young men all dolled up by their handlers and agents for the amusement of teenage girls and their mums)
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Do you have any scientific evidence to back up any of your statements?

Ed
 
buffalo said:
Here is an informative video by Dr Nicolosi

then
Code: 
                                           Interviews & Testimonials
Dr. Nicolosi Interviews Men and Women Who Have Left Homosexuality
Testimonials
Videos
“Political Correctness Rules, Not Science,” Says American Psychological Association Past-President in Interview with Dr. Nicolosi

“Unbiased, Open Research [on Homosexuality] Was Never Done,” Says Former A.P.A. President in Interview

For more personal stories of men and women who have moved out of homosexuality, please go to the website www.narth.com and see the section “Interviews/Testimonies.”
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Thank you,
Ed
 
Pilosopo said:
I got to thinking. Is heterosexuality a choice? And here I guess I want to broaden the meaning of choice. As a man, I can choose to be a man, and that means living up to what is believed to be manly ways. While some of the so-called manly ways are displays of machisimo (unessential, some likely harmful as in aggression), some relate to courage, industriousness and sacrifice. I can choose to be courageous, industrious and generous. I can strive to be that. In so choosing, I take on responsibility. I wonder how this stands with regard to Natural Law? Anyway, I think it’s a fair question. Is heterosexuality a choice?
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I’m a heterosexual and I didn’t choose to be that way. When I came to years and my body started changing, I began to feel attracted to the opposite sex, not because I forced myself to but it just came naturally.
 
DexUK said:
No problem with that.

My instinct is not to judge those who act in a homosexual way. For all I know, it’s possible that they can’t see the world any differently and are incapable of understanding the sinfulness of their actions because it simply doesn’t make sense to them.

So, I pose this question… it is deliberately designed to provoke thought and I offer it up for debate, not necessarily as indicative of my own opinions…

For homosexual people, while their actions are objectively wrong and no heterosexual person would ever be able to justify them, for the homosexual person perhaps one could suggest that their culpability is mitigated by a condition over which they they have no control - in other words, if a person is not wilfully acting in a homosexual way (i.e. by deliberately acting against heterosexual behaviour out of malice and in contravention of what they knew to be their orientation) then can they said to be mortally sinning even?

Remember, mortal sin requires a grave act, knowledge that it’s grave and full consent to it. Can full consent really be given if one has no practical ability to understand one’s actions as sinful or rebellious, especially if they’ve tried and failed to change that situation?

Please treat this question in isolation… obviously all persons are held to chaste behaviour no matter what gender they prefer, but I’m interested in exploring how a person might be less culpable in this based on the position they find themselves in.
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You know, I think this is indeed an interesting question.

I think that for many there is insufficient knowledge of the gravitas, due to society basically encouraging it. An example of someone understanding the attractions as immoral to act upon would be Henri Nouwen, a brilliant theologian, but we should also note the immense toll it took upon him according to his friends. For some though they can’t understand why it is wrong there is still the fact that sex outside of marriage is immoral and that is basically all the reason they have (which can feel rather unsatisfactory an answer.
 
Heterosexuals could choose to have intercourse with their own gender, and that would be wrong too. It is the choice of the inappropriate action that we are held responsible for. The inclination is frankly irrelevant as far as the subsequent actions go.

There are days when I want to punch my dog and cats. I didn’t choose to have a temper, but I do choose not wail on the animals.
 
Frank_Drebin said:
Heterosexuals could choose to have intercourse with their own gender, and that would be wrong too. It is the choice of the inappropriate action that we are held responsible for. The inclination is frankly irrelevant as far as the subsequent actions go.

There are days when I want to punch my dog and cats. I didn’t choose to have a temper, but I do choose not wail on the animals.
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Those things are rather difference from this.
 
Attraction-is not much of a choice
Acting on sexual attraction-is much of a choice
 
Anastasia13 said:
Attraction-is not much of a choice
Acting on sexual attraction-is much of a choice
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Dakota_Roberts said:
As is hunger
As is eating

In other words what you just said is meaningless.
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I’m confused. Are you saying that I have no choice but to eat if I feel hungry?

Because not only is that idea silly, it often leads to ill health, eventually ill psychological health, and a cycle of self-destruction.

I’m attracted to every pretty girl with a nice figure that I see. I am also married and act appropriately despite my genetic disposition.

Hopefully, I misread your intention.
 
aemcpa said:
Whether the inclination toward homosexuality is genetic, psychological, behavioral, etc. is entirely irrelevant for moral purposes…
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I agree. Lets imagine this:

Scientists discovers a gene that make the person super-angry… if that person beats someone extremely aggressively, is he/she justified because of that gene? No. Same thing as if homosexuality is a genetic condition.
 
Frank_Drebin said:
Heterosexuals could choose to have intercourse with their own gender, and that would be wrong too. It is the choice of the inappropriate action that we are held responsible for. The inclination is frankly irrelevant as far as the subsequent actions go.

There are days when I want to punch my dog and cats. I didn’t choose to have a temper, but I do choose not wail on the animals.
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Dakota_Roberts said:
Those things are rather difference from this.
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How so?

We are not mindless animals. Urges do not automatically translate into action.

I have the urge to go home tonight, put on my jammies, and lay on the couch playing X-Box for 7 hours. However, I have three daughters and a wife, so I will instead CHOOSE to suppress my urge and instead give my time, attention and love to my family.

Instictual reactions (like a momentary inappropriate thought upon visual stimulation) are not sinful. However, deciding to follow through is a sin. One doesn’t even have to be successful. It’s the decision that matters.
 
anruari said:
Anyone who is consciously bi-sexual would be very aware of having the choice.
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I didn’t choose to be bisexual. If I could choose, I wouldn’t choose to be attracted sexually to women knowing the horror, revulsion and rejection I was going to get and did get from my family.
 
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