Defending my "Ignorance"...

My last post ruffled some feathers. It seems like the biggest beef people had with my post was when I said “being gay, lesbian, or bisexual is a choice.” After being called ignorant for that stance, I thought about the definition of “ignorant”. It’s thrown around a lot these days (especially when discussing hot-button topics), but what does it really mean? According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, it means “lacking knowledge or awareness in general or about something in particular, uneducated or unsophisticated, discourteous or rude, or easily angered.” After thinking about it some more, I thought that the only way I could really be called ignorant is if I blindly believed something without any reasoning behind it. If my answer to “why do you believe that” was “because I do,” then some might consider that ignorant. With this in mind, I would like to explain the “why” behind my stance on this topic.

I firmly believe that nobody has ever been or will ever be born gay. I believe it is a sinful lifestyle. Granted, my beliefs are grounded in The Bible which means some would label me ignorant for believing in a book written thousands of years ago. But I do and that book governs my beliefs. So, if homosexuality is a sinful lifestyle, God would not make someone gay any more than he would make them a thief or a murderer. I don’t think I can explain it any better than controversial blogger Matt Walsh said in his recent article for TheBlaze.com:

“Your race, your sex, your species -- these are categories of being. They can’t be altered of modified. They are given to you, they are you... The same cannot be said of homosexuality. What a homosexual is experiencing is a compulsion, a temptation, a proclivity.”  

You can’t be born gay, but you can be born with and/or develop a predilection to being attracted to or wanting to be intimate with members of the same sex. It’s similar to if someone struggled with the urge to steal or lie. It’s nothing more than a temptation, albeit, a very strong temptation for some. And a temptation that can be overcome. 

What is really sad in our society is that giving into this particular temptation is not just accepted; it’s celebrated. It’s trendy to be gay. You get called “brave” for coming out of the closet and you become part of a loving community of people living a similar lifestyle. It would be interesting to see how prevalent homosexuality is in third world countries where there is no media to celebrate being gay and there’s no TV or movies to portray gay couples. Since this particular sin is so accepted and celebrated, someone with homosexual urges that may have tried to repress them because they’re sinful gives up and embraces that lifestyle because they are embraced by the LGBT community for doing so. And people base their entire identity on it. Looking at it through my belief system, it would be similar to someone wrapping their entire identity around being a liar, thief, cheating spouse, fornicator, or murderer. 

I know that some will be offended by my calling homosexuality a sin. And some may think I’m being judgmental and throwing stones. I am not. I’m not anywhere near perfect. I have my own sins I struggle with just like anyone else. And it’s not my place to judge anyone or your place to judge me. I’m just sharing the “why” behind me beliefs so nobody thinks I am just blindly following something I was told when I was a child with nothing to back it up. I’m not trying to shape your beliefs because I’m sure you feel just as strongly about what you believe as I do about what I believe. Ultimately, though, it doesn’t matter what I think about it or what you think about it. It matters what God thinks about it.

If you’re reading this and don’t believe the same thing as I do, that’s okay. I’m not going to disrespect you or cut you down. I won’t even belittle you like so many have done to me for my beliefs. All I can do is defend my beliefs and ask that you respect them as I respect yours. I can still accept, love, and even befriend someone with whom I disagree. I don’t have to love or celebrate their lifestyle to love them. So call me what you want but I’m not an ignorant or hateful person. I am just a guy whose beliefs are quickly becoming the minority and wants to be respected the same way everyone wants to be respected. I don’t deserve being called names any more than a homosexual does. So let’s expand #LoveWins to include people who share my point of view, not just the politically correct point of view.

That’s all for now...