Reply to "Atheist and ex-gay?"
October 13, 2012 at 9:00 pm
(This post was last modified: October 14, 2012 at 10:23 am by Tiberius.)
A poster named, "Sleep" asked some questions and had some concerns I would like to address. Yet I realize the rules state that to reply to a thread that is more than 30 days old requires creating a new thread, so here it is.
Dear Sleep,
You have a right to discuss your thoughts and feelings in respectful ways, as you did without being called names & other logical fallallacies. I've noticed you have not been on this forum much since you received so many adhominem attacks, but I hope you get this note.
You have given me hope - that there are people out there that care more about truth than comfort. Very rare indeed.
You wrote:
I think these are good points & a good question.
I do agree with some who encourage you to love yourself, not in a way that accepts any harmful behavior, but to realize TRUTH HAPPENS. I believe in a mix of both free will and predetermined aspects. The free will part makes it very complicated to estimate exactly how or why things like same-sex attraction come about, but there are reasons. But more importantly, to consider some of the reasons requires a compassionate look at one's self - one's past, one's primary influential relationships & other major life influences.
I concur with science that tells us that we are not born with homosexual preferences, or any sexual preferences, for that matter. We are born with brains that are only 25% developed so we can better adapt to environmental influences. Such environmental influences can vary from what we eat (esp. food with hormones)... to... relationships to... what we think which affects e-motions, which affects physiology. Often times, especially when some type of environmental influence begins at a young age, it can feel as if it is inborn, because we are programed to adapt to environmental influences so well that our physiology is affected.
There is a illogical herd mentality emerging that denies axiomatic truths. Some try to pretend that homosexual preferences are as healthy as, or even healthier than homosexual preferences, yet basic science & common sense tells us that heterosexuality is so healthy & life-promoting that it is the basis of our existence. And as you noted, there are some homosexual practices that are not healthy. Ex gay-rights leader & ex-homosexual, Michael Glatz said, "Homosexuality is death & I choose life."
I salute you for not caving in to herd mentality that dishes out lies, as bad or worse than the lies religious herd mentality does. I also admire your strength to recognize & accept basic scientific truth, even when so many are illogically denying it.
To anwer your question, I don't know a lot about reparative therapy, but it's something you could look into on a more local level, or online...
http://narth.com/docs/repair.html
I searched & found this - I don't know how good it is, but I hope you well...
http://www.beyondexgay.com/community
Dear Sleep,
You have a right to discuss your thoughts and feelings in respectful ways, as you did without being called names & other logical fallallacies. I've noticed you have not been on this forum much since you received so many adhominem attacks, but I hope you get this note.
You have given me hope - that there are people out there that care more about truth than comfort. Very rare indeed.
You wrote:
Quote: I'm a gay male and don't want to be. It has nothing to do with religion, God, Jesus, sins, all that nonsense. I have a list of reasons...
Anyway, the ex-gay ministries out there are only religious. I don't want that. I don't care about Christ or the Bible teachings. I just want to be a straight atheist. The few friends I do have are almost all straight atheists. They're the best people I've ever met...
So, is there any way to make myself straight while still not caring about religion? I just want to fit into society better, not feel ashamed/embarassed about myself, meet and date decent people, etc. Thanks for reading.
I think these are good points & a good question.
I do agree with some who encourage you to love yourself, not in a way that accepts any harmful behavior, but to realize TRUTH HAPPENS. I believe in a mix of both free will and predetermined aspects. The free will part makes it very complicated to estimate exactly how or why things like same-sex attraction come about, but there are reasons. But more importantly, to consider some of the reasons requires a compassionate look at one's self - one's past, one's primary influential relationships & other major life influences.
I concur with science that tells us that we are not born with homosexual preferences, or any sexual preferences, for that matter. We are born with brains that are only 25% developed so we can better adapt to environmental influences. Such environmental influences can vary from what we eat (esp. food with hormones)... to... relationships to... what we think which affects e-motions, which affects physiology. Often times, especially when some type of environmental influence begins at a young age, it can feel as if it is inborn, because we are programed to adapt to environmental influences so well that our physiology is affected.
There is a illogical herd mentality emerging that denies axiomatic truths. Some try to pretend that homosexual preferences are as healthy as, or even healthier than homosexual preferences, yet basic science & common sense tells us that heterosexuality is so healthy & life-promoting that it is the basis of our existence. And as you noted, there are some homosexual practices that are not healthy. Ex gay-rights leader & ex-homosexual, Michael Glatz said, "Homosexuality is death & I choose life."
I salute you for not caving in to herd mentality that dishes out lies, as bad or worse than the lies religious herd mentality does. I also admire your strength to recognize & accept basic scientific truth, even when so many are illogically denying it.
To anwer your question, I don't know a lot about reparative therapy, but it's something you could look into on a more local level, or online...
http://narth.com/docs/repair.html
Quote:PS- I would have posted this on like an ex-gay forum... couldn't find any. Just Christian forums.It is strange that the focus is so Christian.
I searched & found this - I don't know how good it is, but I hope you well...
http://www.beyondexgay.com/community
