On Experiencing SSA

[Fauken]

Recall. It was you who called it “fighting”

I know what I said. But whether I said fighting not doesn’t change my question nor my point. You’re not answering my question.

 

[EndTimes]

But whether I said fighting not doesn’t change my question nor my point.

Yet you did – and to me…

_

 

[Emeraldlady]

Many people in our culture think that those who experience same sex attraction (SSA) should “come out” because they will love that person for who they are, that having SSA is a part of their identity. This is a warped view in my opinion because in telling people to “come out”, it gives the impression that they aren’t “fully themselves”. So how do we address this issue? As someone who experiences SSA, I have was given advice by an individual who told me to not tell anyone about it. At first, I was rather confused but this person reminded me that SSA is not something you have, it is something you experience and as a result, you “go through it” rather then “owning it”. Since I “go through it”, I am able to say that this isn’t a part of who I am, this isn’t what defines me, this isn’t my identity. Rather, what defines me is my faith and my identity is found in Christ.

I think that “going through it” is a sound expression of what you must do. It reflects the truth that all suffering will pass away eventually but also that there will come some peace through our struggles in this life. I don’t have SSA but I’ve known the struggle to stay the good course. From staying chaste before marriage, to rejecting the easy option of contraception, to wanting out of marriage to find ‘true love’ in this life. Staying the course seems so painful and soul destroying at different times. I found that the images of desolation left by the fires in Australia recently reminded me a lot of the desolation of going through seemingly unsolvable trials.

But when you ‘fight the good fight of faith’ you’ve cultivated a fruitful, resilient garden that eventually blesses you and those around you in ways that could never have been without ‘going through’ something.

 

[Thorolfr]

Fauken:

What does this have to do with addressing societal pressures for people with SSA to come out of the closet?

Why do they have to come out of anything…

• when they have the possibility of overcoming that sort of attraction - ?

that’s what!

There is a possibility of their attractions changing, however it is relatively unlikely to happen, and not something the Church requires someone with these experiences to undergo, personally, as someone who does have these experiences, while I will gladly ask the Lord that they change, I’m not going to go out of the way to try and force it.

There’s no demand.
And there are many testimonies of becoming an -ex.
And there’s no end to those who press that ‘change’ is false.
Causes of SSA have been noted by the medical profession …

There might be many testimonies of people becoming “ex-gay” but there aren’t many verified examples of men who were sexually attracted to men and had no sexual attraction to women then becomimg only sexually attracted to women. And there are no known causes of homosexuality, only speculation by some people as to what they think might have been the causes usually not supported by much evidence.

And as for “coming out of the closet,” this usually happened at least in the past when some man, for example, finally felt like he had to explain to his parents or someone else important to him why he wasn’t interested in dating or getting married to a woman. It was done so that such a person could stop being evasive when he got asked why he didn’t have a girlfriend and didn’t seem interested in having one.

 

[EndTimes]

There might be many testimonies of people becoming “ex-gay”

Not might be… There Are!

_

 

[Thorolfr]

Many testimonies, but almost no studies that show that these people are still ex-gay five or ten years later for example. And there are many known examples of men prominent in the ex-gay community eventually going back to the gay community and apparently never having been completely free of their attraction to other men.

 

[Rau]

As in Medical Doctors who’ve had patients in connection with SSA?

I doubt the general medical practitioner has too much expertise in that subject, but if they are you source, so be it. You indicated “causes of SSA have been noted by the medical profession”. I asked you if there is any unanimity of expert opinion as to the cause(s) of SSA? Is there? If, so, what is/are the broadly agreed upon causes?