Why obsess over homosexuality?

Because I am not an authority nor are my ideological views in general backed by any external authority.

Indeed thus my opinion that it is all but an exercise in futility to change the mind of another... but mine is open to change thus I seek to learn from the perspective of others rather than to lecture or otherwise stand upon a soapbox.

 

I can accept those as truth statements. Very good post.

 

Yes they are, the male part being the key figure.

That's ignorance then, and character is not subjective, it's based on traits widely recognized by cultures such as assertiveness.

On the most basic level it isn't no. "It's subjective" = "I'm afraid to take a stand on anything".

They definitely are in the male sense, yes. Which is the whole point of having a father figure in the first place.

 

The Bible does not indicate that there are degrees of sin. If gayness is sin and needs to be punished by society, then so should every other manner of sin. But right wingers obsess over gayness because many of them are sexually insecure and attack gays as a means of deflecting their abhorrence over their secret same-sex sexual obsession.

 

And assertiveness is not synonymous with a "strong male role model" or one being "strong in character". I do not allow "culture" to decide for me what constitutes "strong male role model" or one being "strong in character" as I think for myself and argue that "culture" has historically been wrong on many things.

From your perspective perhaps, but I am not boxed in by your perspective. The subjectivity comes from an empirical observation of human biology and its vast amount of variances.

 

Most people are not obsessed with homosexuality. Most people as long as it is not thrown in their face really do not care. For most of us it is live you life and I live mine.

 

Yes, they actually are. They are directly and biologically linked to testosterone and the development of males not only in humans but in all species.

So if someone doesn't exhibit these traits they are not being a strong male role model. Just like a person who is... bad at baseball might be a strong role model in certain other areas, but they are not a role model for baseball players to aspire to.

"Culture" doesn't decide it - biology and objective facts due.

"Culture" decides that it's acceptable to put wild animals in zoos, but biologically it is not the environment which those animals best thrive in, and that will not change.

People who believed that the earth was flat were "thinking for themselves too", but no matter what they think it will never be true.

and argue that "culture" has historically been wrong on many things.

From objective facts, not my perspective. My perspective just happens to agree with it.

You're in denial of the truth because it disagrees with what you want to believe.

Translation - argument from ignorance.

The things which I'm referring to are objective facts. You can choose not to believe them but the facts will not change. Certain behavior is innate in all humans and not subject pseudo-"individual" preference because it exists on a sub-rational level, and individual human "preferences" don't override innate biology.

Some for example can choose to self-mutilate due to psychological disturbances, but it will never be "good" for their body according to objective biological facts regardless of how much they "want" to do it.

Fact is that "individuality" is really an illusion and often just a way for people to excuse counter-productive behaviors - but when it really boils down to it people are all members of the same species, and innately we're more the same than we are different, as we have been since the dawn of mankind. And it will never change except possibly in 10,000s of years of biological evolution.

 

I'm a Christian and I don't understand the whole anti-gay attitude. To me, it seems like many of my fellow brothers and sisters hide behind religion to express simple hatred, fear or bigotry. Hating someone else for something they can't help (sexual orientation, gender identity) is bad. It's hatred, and hatred is the biggest sin.

1 John 2:10: "Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble."
1 John 3:10: "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister."
1 John 3:11: "[ More on Love and Hatred ] For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another."
1 John 4:7:[ "God’s Love and Ours ] Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."
1 John 4:8: "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
Matthew 5:43 [ Love for Enemies ] “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
Matthew 5:44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

Just reading these words make me repent and feel guilty everytime I think about hate or saying I hate someone. How can you have Jesus Christ in your heart and be hateful and cruel to people at the same time? Don't you know discriminating against someone just because of things like sexuality is inherently bad and hateful? I think whoever says they hate someone should repent immediately. I always ask for forgiveness, and I don't want to hate. Hate makes me feel bad and makes my heart dark. So no, I don't understand all the hateful anti-gay Christians.

Personally, I feel bitter towards sexual immorality, that I interpret it to be: adultery, prostitution, multiple partners, promiscuity, raping/molesting....not respecting other people's bodies and selling your own for pleasure.
I don't understand why some other Christians condemn monogamous, committed, loving gay relationships. Personally, I don't, and I'm bisexual myself and no, it's not a choice, I can guarantee you being LGBT is not a choice or a "lifestyle".
Claiming God hates homosexuals and other LGBT people is a bad sin. How can a Christian ever think that God hates his own children just for the way they are? God doesn't even hate sinners, otherwise he wouldn't have sent his son for the atonement. Do you seriously think Jesus would discriminate against someone, or punish a believer just because of their sexual orientation? Oh, come on.
So what about Paul and Corinthians, how he mentioned "arsenokoitai"? Or Timothy? First, Paul was just a man and a sinner like everyone else, so you can't replace Jesus with him. Second, there are many interpretations, and the word homosexuality didn't even exist back then so you can't translate it that way, and arsenokoitai refers to men only.
Then, it's very clear the words in the letter to Timothy refer to idolatry and orgies, and ritual sex. These are the ones that are strongly condemned in the Bible. Pagans back then had this weird habit of having homosexual ritual orgies and the practice of ritual prostitution. Want to hear my opinion about those practices? They have nothing to do with homosexuality itself or love, they are just prostitution and selling your life to sex.
Third, some people think homosexuality is all about promiscuity and sex. Well, it's not. There is monogamy and love too. Besides, heterosexual people can be equally promiscuous, especially heterosexual men, and adulterers and all kinds of things.

 

Jesus, as you pointed out, was sent to save sinners. Granted. While Jesus was doing one of those acts of kindness, love, forgiveness, He encountered this woman who was about to be stoned by the people of the community because she was a harlot.... In some way Jesus was able to rebuke the accusers and they went their way leaving the woman there with Jesus... at the end of the story, Jesus tells the woman... 'go and sin no more.' Now, is homosexuality a sin in the eyes of God? Well, look at the other story of Sodom and Gomorrah. If memory serves me correctly, the city was full of such people as homosexuals, and abusers of the young women and young men... What was the end of that story?

 

No, Sodom was full of rapists and full of inhospitality. The idea that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of homosexuality is just another way to twist the Scripture and use it against an entire group of people. No people was loving and good in those cities. It wasn't about homosexuality. Don't forget those people wanted to rape the angels sent by God. They were rapists. And how would you judge Lot, selling his daughters to those men? Was it a moral thing to do, selling his virgin daughters to horny men? I don't think so. But I hear no one blame Lot.
4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”

6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7 and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”
(Genesis 19)

Is it homosexuality or being promiscuous rapists wanting to jump on everyone, even if they were angels sent by God?
Is it monogamous, committed homosexual love or is it homosexual gang rape what was going on in the city?

33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.”
What is this? Getting their father drunk so they could sleep with him. How sick and twisted does it sound? Yet I hear no fundie condemning these women.

Jeremiah 23:14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible: They commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that not one of them turns from their wickedness. They are all like Sodom to me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”
Adultery here.

Ezekiel 16:46 Your older sister was Samaria, who lived to the north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you with her daughters, was Sodom.
Ezekiel 16:49 “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
Can you see that? They did not help the poor and needy, and were arrogant.

Sodom and Gomorrah were not full of "homosexuals". Sodom and Gomorrah were full of arrogant people rebelling against God, not helping the poor and the needy, and people engaging in orgies, yes even homosexual ones, but how do you know those people were homosexuals and not simple promiscuous people?

If the cities sin really was homosexuality (monogamous, consensual, adult on adult) wouldn't God make sure to let us know?
And have you ever thought about translations? The word homosexuality didn't even exist. The only "homosexual act" in Sodom was those men gathering around Lot's house wanting to gang rape the angels. Does it sound like homosexuality, or does it sound like gang rape and wanting to do such a horrible, wicked act to angels and to guests?
What would you do if you had some male friends at your house and all the men of your city came to demand that they rape them? Would you consider them "homosexual" or simply immoral rapists and wicked people?

 

The only difference that could be made that you would agree with would be for Christians to agree completely with you. So, the opinions of Christians, in your mind makes no difference, as you already have passed your judgment on the scripture. As for the men of the town wanting to rape the angels... you are sadly mistaken... those men (the town people) did not recognize them as angels. They asked Lot about the two men that came into town with Lot. So, the way I see it, with you making such an oversight declaring that the town men wanted to rape the Angels when the town men declared that the two were men while at the beginning of that segment of the story, the 'Bible' plainly stated that the angels were disguised as 'men'; you have lost all credibility if you can't keep such simple facts straight regarding what is written in the 'scripture'. With the men of the town seeing two men that came in with Lot, and you declaring that the men wanted to 'rape' what they thought was men, tells the whole story.... The town was full of homosexuals wanting to rape "two men".

Have a nice evening.