Sexuality & Orientation: A question.

[marketandchurch]

This is a question I am very curious about, vis-a-vis the Christian/Muslim/Jew crowd. But atheists are welcome to chime in as well. Do you think sexuality is fixed?

If you think sexuality is fixed, what is your own personal explanation for the existence of other sexualities? Are there several possibilities vis-a-vis orientation, for the human creature? And by fixed nature, what do you believe is the strength of that rigidity?

Do you think it is somewhat of a spectrum wherein there are most of us, who have a fixed heterosexual orientation, a small group who have a fixed homosexual orientation, and an even tinier portion who are "confused," have multiple sexual identities, or no sexual identity at all?

In other words, please explain your view of the matter in full, and I would love to just get a cross-section of where Christians/Muslim/Jew are on the matter. It is incredibly helpful, because the premise we hold will frame the way we approach the issue of same-sex marriage.

Feel free to expand this to the greater Gay-Marriage debate if you wish, so long as it relates to gender, sexual orientation, and its affects on the society at large.

[bluethread]

[Replying to post 417 by bluethread] There is evidence that he drank heavily (Matt 11:19) and no evidence that he didn't. A heavy regular drinker regards their drinking habits as normal, whereas an occasional drinker will regard them as abnormally excessive.

That is not evidence, that is accusation. There are many reasons why people make false accusations. Not only does the heavy drinker regard their drinking habits as normal, but so does the normal drinker. Also, the person with an ax to grind, like yourself, would consider the normal drinkers habits to be excessive.

The story of the wedding booze-up supports this (John 2). Obviously the wedding guests, including Jesus & his fellow guests, drank excessively and guzzled down all the grog that was catered for viz "Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now" (John 2:10).

This is out right guilt by association. There is no indication that Yeshua got drunk at the wedding. I do not doubt that there were many who did, but there is no indication that He did.

If he was at all responsible, then he wouldn't have brought out the good wine which he'd previously hidden in the water barrels and suggested the already drunk guests drink water instead. And if you actually believe the absurdity that he transmuted 600 litres of water into wine, then the criticism of his irresponsible attitude about alcohol is even more profound.

As I pointed out there is no command against getting drunk in HaTorah, it is merely presented as unwise. Do you think that Yeshua was promoting gluttony when He feed the 5000 so that all were satisfied with 12 baskets full remaining? If you think that these stories are absurd, why are you inferring things into them and then drawing conclusions from those inferences? That is intellectually dishonest to the extreme.

[mitty]

[quote="bluethread"]
[quote][quote="mitty"]
[Replying to post 417 by bluethread] There's no evidence that those were false accusations about his observed excessive drinking habits.
There's no evidence that he wasn't drunk at the wedding like his fellow guests, and particularly given his irresponsibility in providing more grog to already drunk guests instead of just water.
And if there is no command against getting drunk in HaTorah, why are you even bothering to pretend that Jesus didn't drink more than the average person and became intoxicated if drunkenness was merely regarded as unwise?
Do you seriously believe that Jesus transmuted 600 litres of water into quality wine when John 2 doesn't say that he did, and if so, why?

[DanieltheDragon]

Woohoo looks like its time for me to beat a dead horse but I feel like chiming in anyways

so since I haven't read the 42 pages of this dead horse I am just going to contribute what I believe.

I voted yes and no.

there is certainly a genetic component to sexual orientation this much most scientists will agree upon. However there can still be environmental causes that can change a persons sexual orientation.

I.E. extreme sexual trauma like the rape of an infant or toddler, severe brain damage there was a gay man that had a partner for more than 10 years who got into a severe accident that damaged part of his brain after he came out of his coma he was no longer attracted to his partner but now towards women.

now here is the real kicker gene switch technology. within the next 50 years we will be able to switch certain genes on and off by isolating the sexual orientation genes we will be able to decide orientation before and after birth.

now currently with all that being said excluding gene switch research orientation is not a choice. Environmental factors related to trauma are not a choice people don't choose to be homosexual and to suggest as much is unfair and ignorant(meaning lack of information and evidence this is not to say stupid)