As I explained in a previous article, I don’t think there is any contradiction in the belief that human beings are morally guilty of the sinful condition not chosen by themselves. I believe that homosexuals did not choose their sexual orientation [1], however, God can rightly judge them for violating his commandment of creation simply because they are homosexual, whether or not they act in accordance with them. your sexual orientation. As Reformed Christians, we understand this to be the very definition of original sin, namely: we enter this world as children of Adam, who was blamed for Adam’s first sin and inherited the corruption of our nature even earlier. to start. . to act on your own. Before self-awareness, moral conscience, or awareness of personal ability to choose begins to form in the early stages of life, we are already doomed and corrupt, and we are destined to reap the rewards of this doom and corruption by living in a Sinful Way to Westminster 18). Are there not enough good works, done by us, that can reverse original sin, that is why the Gospel tells us that we must be saved exclusively by justification through faith in Jesus-Christ? who forgives our sins and attributes the merit of Jesus’ justice to our history (Westminster Short Catechism 33).
I didn’t always believe the way I do homosexuals now. I used to say that homosexuality was a choice because of a perverted and uncontrolled sexual desire, what about that?Sexual orientation was just a political euphemism to eliminate any sense of responsibility for homosexuality. Moreover, knowing that the Bible condemns homosexuals, the explanation was unconvincing and, moreover, radical gay activists had adopted a reckless resolution, so the question of choice seemed solved.
- Five years ago.
- Two homosexuals moved into the apartment next to ours.
- And I tried to befriend them to share the gospel.
- Both of them were very polite and excellent neighbors.
- But we never moved on from pro forma friendship and apparently nothing.
- I was able to overcome the barrier they put in.
- Two years later.
- One of them died of AIDS-related complications.
- And I felt very bad that God had been putting in my heart for two years for me to testify to them.
- But since I did not know how to help them.
- One of them had died without.
- Perhaps.
- Having known Christ; Besides.
- The boy who died of AIDS had never said he had the virus.
- And I was uncomfortable because I was afraid to talk about his situation because I’m a Christian (maybe he imagined I’d judge him for that).
That’s why I started reading books by gay authors. I wanted to see what I could learn about “gay culture” and better understand how to interact with them. As AIDS spread around the world, their eternal destiny depended on my ability not to be as ignorant as I had been to my neighbor, I did not expect to be enlightened on any subject, in fact I hoped to be quite disgusted with what I would find, the more I read, the more convinced I was that they had not chosen to be homosexual I expected people to talk about their sexual curiosity and the experiences of their youth that would have led them by this path, or stories of sexually harassed people, resulting in sexual disorientation and self-destructive behavior.
Instead, have I read children’s reports from people who grew up in very normal circumstances in a traditional family setting?In some cases, even conservative religious families? Aware, around the age of four or five, that something in them was different. One man described memories of wanting to connect emotionally with other children in elementary school, and they did him the favor more insinuating than a simple friendship, confusing her so she could not understand what was going on. At school, always embarrassed and trying to figure out what was different, he stole from the library a book on human physiology to find out if he lacked an essential part of the male physical structure.
Another man said that all his primary school friends no longer considered girls “rare,” but himself, when he entered puberty, around age 12, was completely horrified to realize that he was dreaming of boys instead of girls, and awoke. Dirty, sick and scared of what happened.
For others who have gone through this period, he has spent a lot of time and energy trying to hide what was happening to high school friends, completely terrified of being expelled or beaten if other kids discover their feelings for the same sex. they have spent years trying to change, spent thousands of dollars on psychotherapy or hypnosis, joined fundamentalist churches in an effort to lock up their feelings, married people of the opposite sex (hoping to learn to love them), and it is not uncommon for these experiences to end in substance, drugs, street or suicide.
Last Sunday night I got a call from a gay friend who told me crying that he’d cut off his right arm if that made him straight. He didn’t want to be gay, but he felt unable to change and wanted to know if it was still worth living. All my gay friends know that I am a conservative Christian who believes in the traditional interpretation of biblical teaching about homosexuality, but they don’t seem to care. What interests you is that I hear your stories and do I believe them when they describe their attempts at change?it’s usually the point where the conversation is interrupted and we cry. For the last eighteen months, I’ve sent a lot of emails, talked on the phone, shared meals, cried with a lot of people, and talked long hours tonight. Sometimes I think my gay friends are really happy that I am a conservative Christian because in my heart they know that their homosexuality is a sin against God. They would not dare believe that God could love someone like them, but when they see that a conservative Christian loves them, he gives them hope that God will love them too.
I want to tell my gay friends that the reformed faith has answers for them. Most evangelical Christians can only offer them the Pelagian answer: every sin is a choice, and because homosexuality is a sin, it is also an option. Unless they can turn it down, they’ll perish. I say to my friends: even if they did not choose homosexuality, it is still a sin, and will they be judged by God for their problem?Which is the problem of all mankind. We are all doomed to perish not by our sinful choices, but by the imputation of Adam’s sin and corruption inherited by our nature. Is the doctrine of original sin extremely difficult for people to believe?To say that we have no choice when it comes to eternal destiny, it speaks of our helpless and lost condition before the holy God, and people do not want that, on the contrary, they want to be wrong to believe that they can choose morality.
However, homosexual is not fooled. He knows it differently, every day he feels the feeling of being completely incapable of redeeming himself (in the moral sense), and he must live every day in the misery of this condition. of justification by blaming Christ’s righteousness on their own, ingesting them to adhere to Christ by faith; and just as Abraham contemplated his own body without vitality to strengthen, that my friends look out of themselves, at the promise of the resurrection of the body (Romans 4:19-25).
By Misty Irons, wife of the Reverend Lee Irons. Original: Nicotine Theological Journal, vol. 6, non. 2 (April 2002). Translation: Rogério Portella Extract from the website: monergismo. com Permissions: You are authorized and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format, provided that you add the above information, do not modify the original content and do not use it for commercial purposes.
[1] Note EV: Certainly, there are controversies over the origin of homosexual behavior. The author argues that sexual orientation is not just an option. However, without entering into this discussion, we understand that the article presents an important meditation for a better understanding of the topic in the reformed vision.