"BUT I WAS BORN THIS WAY"

"WHAT YOU FEEL MAY BE REAL - BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT WRONG OR RIGHT"

      The above lyrics are from a song titled, "What You Feel" by Christian artist Margaret Becker. In the context of the
song, she is referring to someone who is considering "cheating" on his wife because of attractions for another
woman.
      But how can "real" sexual desires be "wrong?" Shouldn't people just do what comes "naturally?" Or more
generally, if someone is born with a particular "sexual orientation" then isn't acting upon those desires "right?" This
article will discuss these issues. But first, a look at four possible conversations.

Four Disturbing Conversations

Girlfriend:  "Get your hands off of me! I said I wanted to wait until marriage!"
Boyfriend:  "But I can't help it. Its not my fault. I WAS BORN WITH THESE DESIRES."
Girlfriend:  "Well, if you're born with these desires, I can't expect you to restrain them and wait. I guess we will just
have to go ahead and ...."
Note:  It is because adults think it is "natural" for teenagers to have sex that
condoms are now being handed out at many of our high schools.

Wife:  "That's it! I saw you with HER last night, another woman! I'm leaving!"
Husband:  "But honey, I can't help it. It's not my fault. I WAS BORN AN ADULTERER."
Wife:  "Well, if you're born that way, I can't expect you to restrain your desires. Go ahead and cheat anytime you
want."
Note:  Recent studies indicate, "Monogamy - when it exists in animals, at least - is not a matter of choice." Instead, it
is determined by hormonal factors. How this research applies to humans is still not clear ("Valley News Dispatch"
10/7/93, A3).

The true God:  "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination" (Lev 18:22).
Homosexual:  "But God, I can't help it. It's not my fault. I WAS BORN A HOMOSEXUAL."
The new god:  "Well, if you're born that way, I can't expect you to restrain your desires. Go ahead and engage in all
the homosexual sex you want."
Note:  Recent studies indicate there MAY be an inborn predisposition to a homosexual orientation (Allman, p.8;
"Valley News Dispatch" 8/1/92, A1).

Principal:  "That's it! I saw you 'touching' that child. Get out of here!"
Teacher:  "But Sir, I can't help it. It's not my fault. I WAS BORN A PEDOPHILE."
Principal:  "Well, if you're born that way, I can't be expect you to restrain your desires. Go ahead and ...."
Note:  A pedophile is an adult who sexually "loves" children. No one (to this writer's knowledge) has YET to claim this
"orientation" is inborn. Nevertheless, the 1,000 member North American Man/ Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), "...
wants the law to allow adults to have sex with children" (Leo, p.37).

      Is the desired behavior of the boyfriend, husband, homosexual, and pedophile morally "right?" Either all four must
be accepted or all four rejected. This is so since they all give the same justification: "BUT I WAS BORN THIS WAY."
      Furthermore, "The post-Freudian homosexual ideal is NOT to go against your nature - to be true to your instincts"
(Kramer, p.20). And this "ideal" is being applied today to the other "sexual orientations" mentioned here.
      Moreover, it is appropriate to bring pedophilia into this discussion in light of an article in a recent issue of U.S.
News & World Report.

        The article was titled, "Pedophiles in the schools" and reported:
        "NAMBLA IS A MEMBER OF THE INTERNATIONAL LESBIAN AND GAY ASSOCIATION, which has called on
members 'to treat all sexual minorities with respect,' including pedophiles. Though a great many lesbians and gays
detest NAMBLA, the group has been allowed to march in gay parades in New York and San Francisco UNDER ITS
OWN BANNER" (Leo, p.37).

      So whether homosexuals like it or not, the pedophiles are marching right beside them and demanding their
"rights" also, "To the folks at NAMBLA, it's important to MAKE SEX WITH CHILDREN LOOK LEGITIMATE" (Leo,
p.37).
      The problem with all of the above is it ignores original sin.

Original Sin

      Paul the apostle writes in Ephesians 2:3, "we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the
desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath." But what does Paul mean when he says
we are "BY NATURE children of wrath?" This is where original sin comes in.

        John Calvin explains:
        ... the Lord entrusted to Adam those gifts which he willed to be conferred upon human nature. Hence
Adam, when he lost the gifts received, lost them not only for himself but for us all....
        There is nothing absurd, then, in supposing that, when Adam was despoiled, human nature was left
naked and destitute, or that when he was infected with sin, contagion crept into human nature....
        Hence, as Augustine says, whether a man is a guilty unbeliever or an innocent believer, he begets not
innocent but guilty children, for he begets them from a corrupted nature....
        ORIGINAL SIN, therefore, seems to be A HEREDITARY DEPRAVITY AND CORRUPTION OF OUR
NATURE, diffused into all parts of the soul, which first makes us liable to God's wrath, then also brings forth
in us those works which Scripture calls "works of the flesh" [Gal 5:19]. And that is what properly Paul calls
sin (Calvin, pp. 250,251; see also Gen 3:1-20; 6:5; 8:21; Ps 51:5; 58:3; Jer 17:9; Rom 5:12-21; 1John 3:4).

"And Such WERE Some of You"

      So being born with a certain "orientation" doesn't necessarily make engaging in that behavior morally right. But
still, can such people change? The homosexual community claims it is not possible. But what does God have to say
on the subject?

        The Holy Spirit speaking through the apostle Paul declares:
        Do not be deceived. Neither FORNICATORS nor idolaters, nor ADULTERERS, nor HOMOSEXUALS, nor
SODOMITES, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom
of God.
        AND SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God (1Cor 6:9-11).

      A few comments on this important passage. First, fornication is, "Sexual intercourse between a man and woman
who are not married to each other" (American, p.526). So the Bible clearly teaches pre-marital sex is wrong.
      Moreover, pedophilia would also come under this injunction. The pedophiles are pushing to make it legal to have
sex with children, not to marry them.
      Second, "homosexual" here "refers to the active male partner in homosexual intercourse" and "sodomite" to "the
passive partner" (Louw, p.772). So in no uncertain terms God is declaring all forms of homosexual behavior to be
wrong.
      And most importantly, be sure to notice the word "were" emphasized in the quote. Among the Corinthian saints
were some who USED TO BE fornicators, adulterers and homosexuals. But they no longer are. So God says
homosexuals and people with other immoral "sexual orientations" CAN change.
      Furthermore, God also says "drunkards" can change. And people today generally agree. When someone makes
the admission, "I am an alcoholic" - it is considered the first step to recovery. So why is the declaration, "I am a
homosexual" the beginning of a life of open homosexual behavior? Why can not this admission also be the first step
in finding help to turn from this sinful behavior?
      In fact, there is now many Christian ministries which provide this help to homosexuals. And, "Many alumni have
married and had children - not as a subterfuge, they say, but as a true expression of their newfound heterosexuality"
(Ybarra, p.A1).
      And finally, it is not just people with the above mentioned "orientations" who are "by nature children of wrath." We
are all sinners deserving of God's wrath. And only faith in Christ can deliver us. As God proclaims in John 3:36:

"HE WHO BELIEVES IN THE SON HAS EVERLASTING LIFE; AND HE WHO DOES NOT
BELIEVE THE SON SHALL NOT SEE LIFE, BUT THE WRATH OF GOD ABIDES ON HIM."


Note: This article was taken from "Darkness to Light" - a hard copy newsletter
of which I am editor. The newsletter discusses Christian theology, apologetics,
cults, ethics, and related issues. If anyone wishes a free subscription, E-mail
me your name and address and I will place you on my mailing list.


Final note: For more information on Christian ministries to homosexuals, write to:
Cornerstone   939 West Wilson Ave.   Chicago, IL 60640

Bibliography:  Note: All emphases in quotes have been added.
All Scripture references from: The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
Allman, William. "The biology-behavior conundrum." U.S. News and World Report, July 26, 1993, 6-7.
American Heritage Dictionary. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1985.
Becker, Margaret. "Never for Nothing." The Sparrow Corporation, 1987.
Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Vol. 1. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1960.
Kramer, Yale. "Angels on Broadway." The American Spectator, July 1993, 18-25.
Leo, John. "Pedophiles in the Schools." U.S. News and World Report. October 11, 1993, 37.
Louw, Johannes & Eugene Nida. Greek-English Lexicon. Vol. 1. New York: United Bible Societies, 1988.
Ybarra, Michael. "Going Straight." The Wall Street Journal. April 21, 1993, A1, A6.