I write this article as an Undergraduate Student of Social Science, as a practicing Anglican, and as a person who like many others in the Body of Christ is struggling with the issue of how to properly respond to the current move, by some, away from the traditional Christian teaching regarding homosexuality. But I also write as someone who has a very personal perspective to bring to the discussion in that until mid 1998 I had practiced a homosexual lifestyle, over a period of twenty eight years. I eventually chose to end this way of life because it was a disastrous way to live. I would therefore like to spare others the grief of finding this out for themselves. But – is it simply a matter of choice?

It has recently been argued that ‘most medical authorities believe that sexual preference is established by genes and hormonal imprinting prior to birth’. This is simply not true and to make this assertion is misguided at best and deliberately misleading at worst. Either way, it is an assertion which only adds to the confusion surrounding a very complex issue and it simply does not accord with the known facts.

In a scientific article written by William Byne and Bruce Parsons from Columbia University, reviewing 135 research studies, prior reviews, academic summaries, books, and chapters of books – in essence the entire literature, of which only a small portion is actual research, the researchers summarize their findings by stating that

Recent studies postulate biologic factors [genetic, hormonal] as the primary basis for sexual orientation. However, there is no evidence at present to substantiate a biologic theory, just as there is no evidence to support any singular psychosocial explanation.. Critical review shows the evidence favoring a biologic theory to be lacking.

Put simply, there is no evidence to support the ‘Gay Gene’ theory and as another Psychiatrist suggests, “The desire to shift to a biologic basis for explaining homosexuality appeals primarily to those who seek to undercut the vast amount of clinical experience confirming that homosexuality is significantly changeable.

The lack of evidence for a genetic ’cause’ of homosexuality is now even acknowledged by certain elements of the homosexual community. Professor Graham Willett who is himself a homosexual and author of ‘Living out Loud – A short history of US’ – a history of homosexual activism in Australia has said,

I think the idea that sexuality is genetic is crap. There is absolutely no evidence for it at the moment, and I think it is unhealthy that people want to embrace this idea. It does reflect a desire to say, “it’s not our fault”, as a way of deflecting our critics. We have achieved what we have achieved by defiance, not by concessions. I think we should be recruiting people to homosexuality.. If you believe it’s genetic, how are you going to make the effort [to recruit]?

For someone who acted out in response to homosexual inclinations from a very early age, then later struggled to understand how God could have ‘made’ me like this when I suddenly became aware of apparent biblical condemnation of such behaviour, but ultimately was left utterly confused by the diverging opinions and emotive responses from both ends of the spectrum in the Church’ s debate on the issue, this recent scientific evidence which debunks the claims of a genetic cause of homosexuality, was of great assistance in moving me towards an acceptance that change is possible and that perhaps God did not intend for me to live like this after all. All things considered, I don’t believe He does intend for me (or anyone else) to live as a homosexual.

But apart from the theological debates on this issue, which often tend to be very legalistic, there are some practical indicators to suggest the homosexual lifestyle is not one that is in our best interests as a species – and we know God always has our best interests at heart.

At the risk of stating the obvious, it should be immediately apparent that the human body was not really created with homosexuality in mind. The physical construct of our bodies is very much heterosexual in terms of its ‘user friendly’ design and any variation to this becomes both contrived and somewhat forced. Indeed, homosexuality is potentially very dangerous to one’ s health, with studies revealing that typical homosexual behaviours can lead to

a.. A twenty-five to thirty-year decrease in life expectancy

b.. Chronic, potentially fatal, liver disease – infectious hepatitis, which increases the risk of liver cancer

c.. Inevitably fatal immune diseases including associated cancers; and

d.. A much higher than usual incidence of suicide

Typically, homosexuals are notoriously promiscuous, as one of the most carefully researched studies of the most stable homosexual pairs reveals. The research, which was conducted by a homosexual couple – a psychiatrist and a psychologist, found that

Of the 156 couples studied, only seven had maintained sexual fidelity; of the hundred couples that had been together for more than five years, none had been able to maintain sexual fidelity. The authors noted that “The expectation for outside sexual activity was the rule for male couples and the exception for heterosexuals.”

It is therefore not surprising, based on the preceding statistics, that “.epidemiologists [in America] estimate that 30 percent of all twenty-year-old homosexual males will be HIV-positive or dead of AIDS by the time they are thirty. This means that the incidence of AIDS among twenty-to thirty-year-old homosexual men is roughly 430 times greater than among the heterosexual population at large. Is this really a lifestyle that we as Christians, or the Church as a moral influence within society should be condoning?

Debra Hirsch is a Minister at South Melbourne Restoration Community and a Director of Purple Heart Ministries, a ministry for those struggling with homosexuality and she suggests that “Those who are endorsing homosexual practice and identity need to ask themselves, ‘Am I really loving these individuals or am I leaving them in a lifestyle that is ultimately doing more harm than good?’ It’s a good question and one that needs to be asked at the same time that we examine the Word of God and its suggested implications for such a lifestyle.

I personally do not believe that homosexual inclination is a matter of choice per se, but neither do I believe that we are ‘born that way’! Science has shown that there are very complex and diverse factors which impact upon an individual’s developing sexuality and that converging influences may give rise to homosexual propensity, but these factors are never absolutely clear. What is clear however is that we have a choice as to whether we act upon such inclinations! Such choices are surely at the very heart of the Christian journey.

Empirical studies and a host of testimonies attest to the fact that recovery from homosexuality is possible. It is never easy however. Such inclinations did not manifest overnight and therefore neither does the recovery, but there are both biblical and scientific precedents for such a change. I for one am keen to pursue such change in my own life and in this sense at least – it is a matter of choice.

For anyone who is interested in studying this issue further, I recommend “Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth” by Jeffrey Satinover (see footnotes) and “What some of you were: Stories about Christians and Homosexuality”, edited by Christopher Keane – Matthias Media, 2001.

[Name withheld]

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