March 15th, 2007
Rev. R. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville and one of the nation’s leading evangelical theologians, stirred a hornets nets by calling the bluff of many gay rights advocates who adamantly proclaim that the origins of homosexuality are strictly biological.
Rev. Mohler recently discussed the possible “ram”-ifications of the gay sheep studies taking place at the Oregon Health and Science University and acknowledges that there may indeed be a biological basis for homosexuality. And if this does prove to be a scientific certainty, conservative Christianity would have to respond accordingly — but not in a way that gay rights advocates might have anticipated:
Given the consequences of the Fall and the effects of human sin, we should not be surprised that such a causation or link is found. After all, the human genetic structure, along with every other aspect of creation, shows the pernicious effects of the Fall and of God’s judgment.
The biblical condemnation of all homosexual behaviors would not be compromised or mitigated in the least by such a discovery. The discovery of a biological factor would not change the Bible’s moral verdict on homosexual behavior.
…If a biological basis is found, and if a prenatal test is then developed, and if a successful treatment to reverse the sexual orientation to heterosexual is ever developed, we would support its use as we should unapologetically support the use of any appropriate means to avoid sexual temptation and the inevitable effects of sin.
Well that got him into a lot of hot water around the web. Some raised comparisons to Joseph Mengele and the “Final Solution”. While the comparisons may be extreme, they certainly raise a point. Where are we prepared to go when it comes to the ethical landmines that litter the designer baby debate? Should we eliminate left-handedness, which also may have a prenatal hormone link? Some suggest that lefties have a shorter lifespan. (Others dispute this.) And what about red-heads? They have an increased risk of skin cancer. As do all Caucasians, for that matter. Would we really “do the right thing” and eliminate white skin from the gene pool if we could? From a strictly medical standpoint, all of us really would be better off if we did. Who’s with me here?
These arguments are all well and good, but on a far more practical level, I really don’t think we have a whole lot to worry about. All treatments start out experimentally, and at some point those experiments would have to move toward human experiments. Can you imagine the ethical considerations of performing medical experiments on fetuses which would involve altering the developing brain? After all, that’s what we would be talking about here. Would you subject your child to such an experiment when we don’t know what the consequences might be?
We know that the developing brain is a very delicate thing. From Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, trace amounts of mercury poisoning, and observations of the effects of lead in the atmosphere — these examples and more have shown us that it doesn’t take much to set a baby’s developing brain all akilter. I don’t see how an experimental hormone treatment for pregnant mothers could pass muster with any ethics compliance boards when we have no idea what sort of unintended consequences may come from it. Will the fetus suffer other developmental difficulties? Will the boy grow up to be abnormally aggressive, impulsive or violent? Will the “cure” induce other personality or cognitive problems? We don’t know, And in some cases, we may not know until ten to twenty years after the child is born. Many types of schizophrenia for example don’t become apparent until adolescence.
Rev. Mohler’s comments reveal a troubling trend in how conservative Christianity may incorporate biological theories on the origin of homosexuality. (His controversial views, however, are not surprising. He once called the Roman Catholic Church “a false church” that “teaches a false gospel.”) Nevertheless, the prospect of a medical “cure” is fraught with a lot of very practical difficulties. A “Final Solution” is not on the horizon, and for that we can all take a deep breath and chill a little.
But this episode does go to show how short-sighted it is, for so many reasons, for gay-rights advocates to put all of their eggs into the biological basket. The fact is, we simply don’t know what “causes” homosexuality. And what’s more, except as an exercise of pure intellectual curiosity (a curiosity that I share), we really shouldn’t care. As I said before, our Creater bestowed on us our inalienable rights not because of how we were born, but by the fact that we were born. In our Republic, that must always be the bottom line.
Latest Posts
Featured Reports
In this original BTB Investigation, we unveil the tragic story of Kirk Murphy, a four-year-old boy who was treated for “cross-gender disturbance” in 1970 by a young grad student by the name of George Rekers. This story is a stark reminder that there are severe and damaging consequences when therapists try to ensure that boys will be boys.
When we first reported on three American anti-gay activists traveling to Kampala for a three-day conference, we had no idea that it would be the first report of a long string of events leading to a proposal to institute the death penalty for LGBT people. But that is exactly what happened. In this report, we review our collection of more than 500 posts to tell the story of one nation’s embrace of hatred toward gay people. This report will be updated continuously as events continue to unfold. Check here for the latest updates.
In 2005, the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote that “[Paul] Cameron’s ‘science’ echoes Nazi Germany.” What the SPLC didn”t know was Cameron doesn’t just “echo” Nazi Germany. He quoted extensively from one of the Final Solution’s architects. This puts his fascination with quarantines, mandatory tattoos, and extermination being a “plausible idea” in a whole new and deeply disturbing light.
On February 10, I attended an all-day “Love Won Out” ex-gay conference in Phoenix, put on by Focus on the Family and Exodus International. In this series of reports, I talk about what I learned there: the people who go to these conferences, the things that they hear, and what this all means for them, their families and for the rest of us.
Prologue: Why I Went To “Love Won Out”
Part 1: What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Part 2: Parents Struggle With “No Exceptions”
Part 3: A Whole New Dialect
Part 4: It Depends On How The Meaning of the Word "Change" Changes
Part 5: A Candid Explanation For "Change"
At last, the truth can now be told.
Using the same research methods employed by most anti-gay political pressure groups, we examine the statistics and the case studies that dispel many of the myths about heterosexuality. Download your copy today!
And don‘t miss our companion report, How To Write An Anti-Gay Tract In Fifteen Easy Steps.
Anti-gay activists often charge that gay men and women pose a threat to children. In this report, we explore the supposed connection between homosexuality and child sexual abuse, the conclusions reached by the most knowledgeable professionals in the field, and how anti-gay activists continue to ignore their findings. This has tremendous consequences, not just for gay men and women, but more importantly for the safety of all our children.
Anti-gay activists often cite the “Dutch Study” to claim that gay unions last only about 1½ years and that the these men have an average of eight additional partners per year outside of their steady relationship. In this report, we will take you step by step into the study to see whether the claims are true.
Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council submitted an Amicus Brief to the Maryland Court of Appeals as that court prepared to consider the issue of gay marriage. We examine just one small section of that brief to reveal the junk science and fraudulent claims of the Family “Research” Council.
The FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.
Brady
March 15th, 2007
It is like some yukky horror movie- “Dr. Mohler’s Ministry” in which the mad preacher converts fetal gays into something different. Yuck.
Emproph
March 16th, 2007
Don’t worry. There’s no such thing as the “normal” gene.
Lynn David
March 16th, 2007
There’s no such thing as a gay gene either. It’s those normal genes expressing themselves in a different way (by not shutting down the X chromosome).
What Mohler said was nothing new. I’ve heard the same reasoning from the fall, thus biology doesn’t matter scenario, from many a fundamentalist-minded Christian. It is a favorite fall-back position among fundamentalist Christians. But point out to them that Italian study which tied a possible genetic cause (gene expression, not a gene per se) for male homosexuality in with increased fertility among women (surely a good thing) and they hold their ears and start muttering a prayer.
Would Mohler care to tell me how a like situation of sexual orienation managed to occur in both sheep and humans without the use of an evolutionary link? More religous hocus-pocus? How many hoops are people like Mohler going to make their theology jump through in order to avoid a truth? And by the time a the biolgical causes are enumerated (and they are likely not just one) Mohlerites will have talked their theology truthless.
Sick fags
March 23rd, 2007
Great news for homophobs
Since homosexuals chant you cannot change the way you are born the homophobs can now come out of the closet and chant they are homophobs. They will not be able to hold hands and chant this because you know what how they feel about holding hands with other people of the same sex. But what the hell!
Hell maybe they could even have a homophob pride parade, dancing down the streets of America.
Just think even the racist can use this perverted homosexual logic of not being able to change.
Just think of all of the disgusting activities we can now accept because the fags say you cannot change what you are!
ALEXANDRE VIANA
October 5th, 2009
PENSO QUE A CIÊNCIA UM DIA ACHARà A CURA PARA HOMOSSEXUALIDADE. NÃO QUE ELA SEJA UMA DOENÇA, POIS NÃO É. NÃO Hà REGISTRO DE HOMOSSEXUALIDADE COMO DOENÇA NO CÓDIGO INTERNACIONAL DE DOENÇAS, MAS ABRIRà A POSSIBILIDADE PARA QUEM QUISER SE TORNAR HETEROSSEXUAL. ALÉM DISSO EXISTE OS HOMOSSEXUAIS EGODISTÔNICOS QUE SOFREM BASTANTE COM ESSA CONDIÇÃO, POIS ELES SOFREM COM A SUA HOMOSSEXUALIDADE, DESTA FORMA FICO FELIZ COM PESQUISAS COMO A DR. ROSELLI DA UNIVERSIDADE DE OREGON. AFINAL A CURA É PRA QUEM QUER.
[Rough translation from Portuguese via Google Translator: I think that one day science will find a cure for homosexuality. Not that it is a disease, because it is not. [There is] no record of homosexuality as disease in internatinal code of disease, but [it] opens the possibility for thse who want to become heterosexual. There are also egodystonic homosexuals suffering enough with this condition, because they suffer with their homosexuality, so happy with research like Dr. Roselli University of Oregon. All about healing for those who want it — Jim Burroway]
Leave A Comment