The Non Dilemma

Wherein Mr. Meyerson raises a problem of his own making...

But once you recognize homosexuality as a genetic reality, it does create a theological dilemma for the Mohlers among us, for it means that God is making people who, in the midst of what may otherwise be morally exemplary lives, have a special and inherent predisposition to sin. Mohler's response is that since Adam's fall, sin is the condition of all humankind. That sidesteps, however, the conundrum that a gay person may follow the same God-given instincts as a straight person -- let's assume fidelity and the desire for church sanctification in both cases -- and end up damned while the straight person ends up saved. Indeed, it means that a gay person's duty is to suppress his God-given instincts while a straight person's duty is to fulfill his.

Mr. Meyerson, (article entitled god and his gays)

I read with interest your piece on God and homosexuality. I cannot concur with your opinion though. Whether or not homosexuality is genetically based really has no bearing on whether or not it is a moral act in God’s eyes. Assuming, as I am sure many do, that heterosexuality is a genetic trait, does not change the fact that God laid down many specific rules on the proper expression of that act. Having a predisposition or desire to perform an act is not always excused even in our society. You would not take the position that a child molester who is attracted to children through a genetic trait should be able to act out. Nor would you likely accept genetic traits that attract one member of a family to another (neither of these examples is an attempt to make claims as to the relative societal impact these acts present, it simply serves to detail how genetic predisposition does not equal a moral act). A person who has a genetic flaw that leads to alcohol abuse would not be held less accountable for the death of someone in a drunken driving incident. God expects us to deny the flesh and temptations of this world, not succumb to every desire.

Your complaint would be that a homosexual cannot act out on their particular impulse while a heterosexual can find a moral, defined in the Christian sense as compliance with the rules laid out in the Bible, avenue for expression. This is a secular problem, not a Christian problem. As humans we all have natural desires and traits that are not in compliance with the rules laid down by God. What is hard for one person is easy for another. For a Christian there is really no ground for dispute or problems. There really is only acceptance or failure to accept the rules we have been given. Homosexuals are no more damned to your vision of hell than any other person who has not been saved as defined in the New Testament (which by the way does not involve Church sanctification) In making this claim you are projecting an improper understanding of scripture. A Christian can struggle with homosexuality as any other sinful impulse. Struggling against the flesh is to be expected in a Christian life. It is when someone makes the argument that what is defined as sin is not sin that one could begin to question whether that person is a true Christian.

With regards to whether it is fair or right for a Christian to try and have their belief system imposed on society, I would say that all segments of society try to impose their beliefs and values. A Christian does not lose that aspect of citizenship just because their belief system comes from a religion instead of ‘modern’ culture.

I would of course not expect your understanding of the Christian faith or that you would accept or believe in those rules that people of that faith understand to have come from God. I do think it proper to say that your failure to understand or believe in these items renders you in a poor position to detail any quandary that those in the faith may have. I appreciate your time.

Regards