Transcript New Testament, Class Five

Homosexuality &
Pastoral Response
Review of the Essentialist Position
and Objections

The Essentialist Position



Essentialists argue that present scientific understanding has
superseded the teachings of Scripture in the area of human
sexuality
This line of reasoning follows the rationale: “What is natural”
= “What is morally permissible”
Objections to the Essentialist Position


By taking this line of reasoning, the Essentialist overlooks the
Christian belief in the fallen human condition and replaces
moral reasoning with a presumed scientific mandate
Yet even if one grants the Essentialist’s approach, one finds
that the supposed scientific mandate is lacking
Previously Explored Essentialist
Arguments and Objections

Prevalence

Essentialist


The high prevalence of Homosexuality within the population (+10%)
suggests that homosexuality is a natural condition meant by God
Objection


The +10% figure is based upon the flawed 1948 Kinsey study, which
generalized the sexual practices of prison inmates and convicted sex
offenders to the larger American public
The massive National Health and Social Life Survey (1994) revealed
significantly lower figures:


2.8% of males identified themselves as gay (2.0%) or bisexual (0.8%);
2.0% reported having sex with a man in the previous year
1.4% of females identified themselves as lesbian (0.9%) or bisexual
(0.5%); 2% reported having sex with a woman in the past year
Previously Explored Essentialist
Arguments and Objections (cont’d)

Genetic Etiology

Essentialist


Homosexual orientation is genetically determined,
suggesting that it is a natural condition meant by God
Objection

Scientific studies have failed to identify direct genetic or
hormonal causes to homosexual behavior or orientation;
instead they point to an interaction between clusters of
unidentified genetic traits and environmental influences
Remaining Essentialist Arguments
Regarding Homosexuality

Non-Pathological


Homosexual orientation does not spring from
unmet emotional needs or difficulties in social
adjustment—nor does it result in the same—
therefore it is God-intended
Immutability

Homosexual orientation is fixed, suggesting it is a
gift from God, not something to be denied or
changed
Homosexuality and
Public Heath
The Essentialist Position

“In 1973, the American Psychiatric
Association removed homosexuality from
the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Psychiatric Disorders, its official list of
mental illnesses. The American
Psychological Association adopted a
similar resolution in 1975.”—Continuing the Dialogue, p.
71 (A Pastoral Study Document of the House of Bishops to the Church,
1994)
Events Leading to the 1973 Revision
of the DSM






In 1970-71, Gay Rights Activists disrupted APA conferences,
threatening further demonstrations unless the DSM designation
was changed
Activists appeared before the APA’s Committee on
Nomenclature, advocating the removal from the DSM
A Committee was created to study the proposal
The Committee consisted only of persons who believed the
DSM nomenclature should be changed
Behind closed doors, utilizing no new scientific data, Committee
members decided to change the nomenclature
When the revision was presented in 1973, objectors were given
only 15 minutes to respond to the Committee’s decision
Events Leading to the 1973 Revision
of the DSM (cont’d)


Objectors then filed a formal appeal to the APA
membership to overturn the Committee’s revision
Activists purchased the 30,000 membership list and
mass mailed a letter advocating retention of the
Committee’s change


The letter did not indicate that it was written by the activists
and gave the impression it was an authoritative APA missive
One third of the membership cast their ballots, with
the majority voting to keep the change
The result was not a conclusion based upon an
approximation of the scientific truth as dictated by
reason, but was instead an action demanded by the
ideological temper of the times—R. Bayer, Homosexuality and
American Psychiatry: The Politics of Diagnosis (1981), pp. 3-4.
The Aftermath of the
1973 Revision of the DSM


In 1975, the American Psychological Association, taking its lead
from the DSM revision, also changed its nomenclature
In 1977, the scientific journal Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality
surveyed psychiatrists on the vote:



69% disagreed with the DSM revision and still considered homosexuality
a disorder
Many of these psychiatrists went on to form the National Association for
Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH)
In 2003, the APA began debate over the removal of pedophilia
from the DSM:

“Any sexual interest can be healthy and life-enhancing . . . People with
paraphilic sexual interests suffer like homosexuals did before the 1973
decision.” (Dr. Charles Moser, May 19, 2003, APA Conference, San Francisco)
Symptoms of Condition A










A significantly decreased likelihood of establishing or preserving a successful
marriage
A 5-10 year decrease in life-expectancy
Chronic, potentially fatal liver disease—hepatitis
Inevitably fatal esophageal cancer
Pneumonia
Internal bleeding
Serious mental disabilities, many of which are irreversible
A much higher than usual incidence of suicide
A very low likelihood that its adverse effects can be eliminated unless the
condition itself is eliminated
A 30% likelihood of being eliminated through lengthy, often costly treatment
(though a very high success rate among highly motivated sufferers)
Qualifications of Condition A




While genetically influenced, the condition is
manifested in behavior
Individuals with the condition often continue the
behavior in spite of its destructive consequences
Some people with the condition perceive it as a
problem and seek assistance, while others violently
resist all offers of help
Those who resist help tend to socialize with each other,
sometimes exclusively, and form a kind of subculture
Condition A:
Alcoholism
Symptoms of Condition B









A significantly decreased likelihood of establishing or preserving
a successful marriage
A 25-35 year decrease in life-expectancy
Chronic, potentially fatal liver disease—infectious hepatitis
Inevitably fatal immune disease
Frequently fatal rectal cancer
Multiple bowel and other infectious diseases
A much higher than usual incidence of suicide
A very low likelihood that its adverse effects can be eliminated
unless the condition itself is eliminated
A 50% likelihood of being eliminated through lengthy, often
costly treatment (though a very high success rate among highly
motivated sufferers)
Qualifications of Condition B




While genetically influenced, the condition is
manifested in behavior
Individuals with condition continue the behavior in
spite of its destructive consequences
Some people with the condition perceive it as a
problem and seek help, while others violently resist all
offers of help
Those who resist help tend to socialize with each other,
sometimes exclusively, and form a kind of subculture
Condition B:
Homosexuality
Homosexuality and Sexual Partners

The Male Couple (1984)

Surveyed 156 gay couples



Of these, 7 (4.5%) had maintained sexual fidelity
Of 100 couples that had been together for more than five years, none
had maintained sexual fidelity.
“The expectation for outside sexual activity was the rule for male
couples and the exception for heterosexuals.”


The 1994 Sex in American found 83% of heterosexual couples were
exclusively faithful
The Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (1987)


Surveyed nearly 5000 gay men
83% reported 50+ lifetime sex partners

The 1994 Sex in American found that the average number of lifetime
sex partners for heterosexuals was 4
Homosexuality and
Mutability
The Essentialist Position

“There is no convincing evidence that
homosexuals who are 5 or 6 on the Kinsey scale
[those who view themselves as exclusively or
nearly exclusively homosexual in orientation] can
be truly reoriented.”—Continuing the Dialogue, p. 74 (A Pastoral
Study Document of the House of Bishops to the Church, 1994)
“As far back as I can remember, I always had a feeling
that I was different: partly due to the fact that I was a
missionary’s kid growing up in Japan, but partly
because I carried a feeling that I was God’s mistake,
and caught in the wrong body. As far back as I can
remember, I wanted to be a boy and I delighted in
nicknames like ‘Tomboy’ . . .
. . . When I was 20, I met an Australian woman who
managed to coax me into giving up fighting the battle
that “I was going to lose anyway.” And thus, you can
say I chose the homosexual lifestyle by surrendering to
the strong urges within me to be held, and to hold.
That year, I moved to Vancouver and I entered into a
homosexual relationship that lasted 13 years. The
lifestyle felt so right . . .” —The Reverend Dawn McDonald, a
priest in the Anglican Church of Canada
Clinical Studies on the
Treatment of Homosexuality
1949-1986
Author
Method
A. Freud (1949)
Psychoanalysis
8
50
Ovesey (1969)
Psychoanalysis
3
100
Schwartz and
Masters (1984)
Psychotherapy
54
65
Mayerson (1965)
Psychotherapy
19
47
Bieber (1962)
Psychoanalysis
106
27
A. Ellis (1952)
Psychotherapy
28
64
M. Ross et al (1958)
Psychotherapy
15
73
Monroe et al (1960)
Psychotherapy
7
57
Van den Aardweg
(1986)
Psychotherapy
101
65
341
52
Composite
Number Treated
Success rate (%)
Clinically Suggested Environmental Factors
Influencing Homosexual Orientation

Emotionally distant father or mother
Child’s subjective experience of parent’s lack of
availability, rejection, or even harsh verbal or physical
attack
 For boys, often an emotionally detached father was
coupled with a close, overly protective mother



Sexual Abuse in childhood
Rejection by same sex peers
The Spitzer Study (2003)

Goal of Study


“Study the self-reported experiences of individuals who claim to have
achieved a change from homosexual to heterosexual attraction that has
lasted at least five years”
Study Design & Subject Criteria



The researcher interviewed 200 respondents (143 males, 57 females) who
reported changes from homosexual to heterosexual orientation lasting 5
years or more.
Respondents must have had a predominantly homosexual attraction for
many years, including the year before starting therapy (at least 60 on a
scale of sexual attraction, with 1 as exclusively heterosexual and 100
exclusively homosexual).
After therapy they had to have experienced a change of no less than 10
points, lasting at least 5 years, toward the heterosexual end of the scale of
sexual attraction.
Changes in Average Sexual Attraction
(100 = only attracted to the same sex,
0 = only attracted to the opposite sex)
12 months
before
efforts to
change
12 months
prior to
interview
Males
91
23
Females
88
8
Heterosexual Functioning

All Subjects


66% of the male subjects and 44% of the female subjects
had good heterosexual functioning in the 12 months prior to
the interview.
Definition of “Good Heterosexual Functioning”:





In a loving heterosexual relationship in the last year
Satisfaction from the emotional relationship with their
partner is 7 or more (scale of 1-10)
Heterosexual sex at least monthly
Physical satisfaction from sex with their partner is at least 7
(scale of 1-10)
Never, or rarely (<20%), have same-sex thoughts while
having sex with their partner.
Heterosexual Functioning
(cont’d)

Those Extreme on Homosexual Indicators

Criteria





No teenage opposite-sex attraction
No heterosexual sex before change effort
No heterosexual fantasies in the 12 months prior to change effort
Attraction was 95 or greater (scale of 1-100, 100 = exclusively
homosexual)
Findings

22 of these 33 men (67%) and 3 of these 6 women (50%)
had good heterosexual functioning in the 12 months prior to
the interview
Changes in Feelings of Depression
12 months
before
efforts to
change
12 months
prior to
interview
Males
43%
1%
Females
47%
4%
“I’m convinced from people I have interviewed, that
for many of them they have made substantial changes
toward becoming heterosexual. I came to this study
skeptical. . . . No one on the side of those who are
skeptical has taken the time to try to interview these
people and see what changes are present. That’s what’s
unique about my study. All the critics have not been
honest and taken the time to do the research because
it’s just politics.” —Dr. Robert Spitzer
What Would Jesus Do?
The scribes and the Pharisees brought a man who had been
caught lying with another man; and making him stand before all
of them, they said to Jesus, “Teacher, this man was caught in
the very act of lying with another man. Now in the law, Moses
commanded us to stone such men. Now what do you say?”
They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge
to bring against him.
Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and
said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the
first to throw a stone at him” . . .
And once again he bent down and wrote on the
ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by
one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone
with the man standing before him.
Jesus straightened up and said to him, “Man, where are
they? Has no one condemned you?” He said, “No one,
sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go
your way, and from now on do not sin again.”
(Based upon John 8:3-11)
“. . . I went to an Anglican church for the first time in
14 years. During the sermon, my mind wondered, and
I started to see different scenes of my life flash in
front of me . . . Scenes of me telling my father that I
hated him, that hell would be heavenly if he wasn’t
going to be there. Scenes of me with a woman, of me
in the gay bars, of my selfish acts . . . In agony, I cried
out, ‘Lord, I know I’ve been sinful. Please STOP!;’ and
the waves of scenes stopped immediately . . .
When Communion started, there was a ‘knowledge’ in
my heart that Christ had died for me, for those very
scenes that I had just seen. And as I received the body
and blood of Christ, an electrifying warmth covered
me, and swept through my body from my head to toes.
It was an awesome feeling! I had NEVER felt so loved
as I did that moment. And when I returned to my seat,
I realized that for the first time in my whole life, I was
feeling TOTALLY accepted and clean! Everything was
behind me, and I was now being given a new life in
Christ! . . .
That day, during Communion, God did much more in me. He
didn’t stop at washing my sins away and making me clean. He
gave me much more. He totally took away the urges and
attractions toward other women, and He started me off on a
process of inner healing. Not only did God reconcile me to
Himself through the blood of Christ, He has also brought
reconciliation to my father and me.
Today, God continues to reveal the scars and reasons that I
chose the life that I did, and He continues the work and healing
process within me. Today, I know I am not a ‘mistake,’ and I am
happily married to a wonderfully loving man. Wonderful are the
works of the Lord! ” —The Reverend Dawn McDonald, a priest in the
Anglican Church of Canada