Topic : 06/06 "I'm Gay, OK?"

And in those two places, it is in the very same context of in the Book of Leviticus, chapters 18, 19, and 20. If you don't read all three of those same chapters together, you are missing the actual context of them.  

  

I see that people are posting messages here without even reading what other members of Dr. Phil's internet community are writing.  

  

Real homosexual men don't lie with another male pretending that the male is a woman. In the context of Leviticus' chapters, a heterosexual man goes to a pagan temple to make a sexual sacrifice to the Canaanite fertility goddess, Asherah (also known as Astarte or Asteroth).  

  

The purpose of the sacrifice of semen (called "seed" in the KJV) to the goddess is to "plant a 'seed' in the male holy person doing a stand-in for Asherah and that "holy" person dressed up like a woman, too. The holy person knows that he is not the goddess; but, in the spiritual/psychological mind of the heterosexual man who is a Canaanite to begin with in that context, HE IS HAVING SEX WITH A WOMAN  . . .  NOT WITH ANOTHER MAN!  

  

In those 3 chapters, the Israelites are being told not to follow certain religious practices related to the CANAANITE culture. In modern times, we refer to the CANAANITES as PHOENICIANS, but, they were actually the very same people!  

  

Oh, the residents of Sodom were not Canaanites; because Sodom was NOT in Canaan at all and any well-read student of the Bible would know that when Abram (later called Abraham) and his nephew, Lot, decided that the country of Canaan was not big enough for both of them and all of their sheep and cattle, etc., Lot moved to the east across the Jordan River out of the country of Canaan into the "Plain of Jordan" (just called Jordan in modern times). 

  

In Romans 1, where it mentions men having sex with each other, the sexual activity actually takes place in a pagan place of worship where fertility gods are honored. Roman holy men in service to pagan gods also dressed up like females as in the Canaan. And, in the Roman pagan places of worship of fertility deities, where male gods were also revered, women strapped on male sexual devices and pretended to represent the god. It was not considered a natural sex act for a woman to pretend to be a man and have anal sexual intercourse with a heterosexual man.  

Anjela, 

      I think that you are just trying to cry predjudice because people won't except your life style but I sure don't see you accepting anybody elses life style!  All homosexuals have an agenda.  They are all out there crying "poor poor me!" and want everyone to feel sorry for THEIR CHOICE in life!  And yes, it is a CHOICE.  Read your Bible and what God has to say about it and it is VERY clear!  Your sister is wrong that if you accepted Jesus that you can live any way you feel like living and you will just go to heaven.  You obviously never truly wanted to surrender your ENTIRE life to Christ because if you did you could have changed a long time ago and be heterosexual today in your actions.  You have always been heterosexual inside.  God did not make you that way.  Does He love you, Of course!  He loves me too even while I was a sinner and not saved.  I chose to trust in Christ and fully surrender my entire life to him and HE changed me once I repented of my sin and asked Him to save me and change my life.  You can turn over a new leaf  by yourself over and over but ultimately you will fail every time because you can't do it on your own.  So until you are willing to admit to God that homosexuality is a sin and nothing less just like alcoholism and stealing are sins, you will never be saved and you will never be free from this sin in your life.  Don't get me wrong, your homosexuality is no worse of a sin than any other sin that anyone has ever committed.  I would be happy to give you the numerous scriptures that I know are blatently against homosexuality.  God is a God of love but He is also a just God!  I think your father dying might have had something to do with your choices.  Maybe not.  There is usually some trauma that happened in the homosexuals life.  I do not hate homosexuals, just the sin.  I love every person that God has ever created.  But God gives us all a choice whether to choose Him and His way or to go our own way.  The Bible even says that after a certain time that He will give homosexuals over to a debased mind.  Meaning He will leave you to be in the life style you choose and He will not bother you further.  Yes, you will die in your sin and spend the rest of eternity in Hell burning for eternity.  Jesus doesn't want you there so please choose Him before it is too late!  He loves you and is waiting patiently.  

Actually there are two different versions of creation in the Bible.  

  

In Genesis chapter 1, male and female human beings, plural of each gender, were made at the very same time. And, there is says that God said "be fruitful and multiply." Humans are made after the land animals are created. In that chapter, God (plural) states, "Let us make humans in our images (literally)."  

  

But, in Genesis chapter 2, a human being (the proper translation of "adam" in context) is created and then God creates plants and also creates the garden/park known as "Eden." Then, God (the Hebrew word is actually plural, not singular) puts the human, aka the adam (the Hebrew word for "the" is used there), in the garden. 

  

When they (God) realized that the human is lonely, they said literally, "It is not good for the human to be alone; let US (plural) make a helper suitable for him."  

  

The KJV has "help meet" (note TWO words) for "helper suitable." "Helper" in the Hebrew text is "ezer" which is masculine (that's male in sex/gender). Some people think that "meet" means "mate" when "ezer" is another word for "mate." A helper who is a woman would be an "ezerah," which is the female form of "ezer." "Neged" is the word translated as "meet" or "suitable." A "neged" can be an identical copy of an original. Or it can be a copy of something with everything reversed as far as viewing is concerned.  

  

So the first adam had an identical copy of himself made (by God) which would have been a mirror image of himself if he were to look into a mirror.  

  

If you properly read the text, it was not God who said that the 2nd human being was an "eshah" (meaning taken from an "eesh") or was a "woman" because the 2nd person was taken from a "man," it was the 1st human who said that.  

  

Not even one time in Genesis chapter 2 does God tell those two humans they created to "be fruitful and multiply." Nothing is related to sexual reproduction until Genesis chapter 2 after the two humans eat of the fruit of the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil." That was the only thing the humans were told not to do. 

  

In chapter 3, when God (plural) asks, "Adam, where are you?" The verb in that question is plural and "adam," being a colletive noun, has the same spelling in Hebrew in both the singular and plural. "Adam" is like our words, "sheep" or "deer," which are spelled the same in singular or plural usage.  

  

Also, God NEVER calls/names the 2nd person "Eve." It is the first human who gives "her" that name. In Genesis 5, it is stated that God called both male and female human beings "adam."  

Do you honestly believe that being gay gives you AIDS? Please, please learn more about AIDS before you put yourself and others at risk. I did a quick google search and found this site http://www.avert.org/ I'm sure there are hundreds of other sites like it where you can find good information. 

  

AIDS is not a gay disease. In fact one of the lowest 'at risk' groups there are is the lesbian population.  

  

Maybe this help help... 

  

"HIV is a virus and is found in the blood and the sexual fluids of an infected person, and in the breast milk of an infected woman. HIV transmission occurs when sufficient of these fluids get inside someone else's body. There are various ways a person can become infected with HIV. 

Ways in which you can be infected with HIV :

• Unprotected sexual intercourse with an infected person
  Sexual intercourse without a condom is risky, because the virus, which is present in an infected person's sexual fluids, can pass directly into the body of their partner. This is true for unprotected vaginal and anal sex. Oral sex carries a lower risk, but again HIV transmission can occur here if a condom is not used - for example, if one partner has bleeding gums or an open cut, however small, in their mouth.
• Contact with an infected person's blood
  If sufficient blood from an infected person enters the body of an uninfected person then it can pass on the virus.
• From mother to child
  HIV can be transmitted from an infected woman to her baby during pregnancy, delivery and breastfeeding. There are special drugs that can greatly reduce the chances of this happening, but they are unavailable in much of the developing world.
• Use of infected blood products
  Many people in the past have been infected with HIV by the use of blood transfusions and blood products which were contaminated with the virus - in hospitals, for example. In much of the world this is no longer a risk, as blood donations are routinely tested.
• Injecting drugs
  People who use illegal injected drugs are also vulnerable to HIV infection. In many parts of the world, often because it is illegal to possess them, injecting equipment or works are shared. A tiny amount of blood can transmit HIV, and can be injected directly into the bloodstream with the drugs.

It is not possible to become infected with HIV through :

• sharing crockery and cutlery
• insect / animal bites
• touching, hugging or shaking hands
• eating food prepared by someone with HIV
• toilet seats 

Thirty-six percent of HIV positive women who had not yet developed AIDS in 1995 were infected through heterosexual contact; 26% were infected through injecting drug use. Current trends show that the number of women acquiring HIV through heterosexual contact has risen dramatically because it is easer for a man to transmit HIV to a woman than vice versa since a greater amount of semen has contact with the woman's genital tract than do vaginal secretions with a man's genital tract.

I just logged in to see if anyone had anything to say about yesterday's show, and was astonished that there are over 153 pages worth of posts! Of course I couldn't read through them all, but the first 30 or so pages I think caught me up enough to respond to the topic.  

  

I myself am a lesbian. I am Civil Unioned to my WIFE. We are 100% faithful and loving people and we treat each other with the utmost respect and love. We raise her 10 year old son together and is a happy, well adjusted child. He also has something most kids don't - appreciation and respect for diversity.  

  

People are going back and forth on whether or not you are born gay. As a gay person I can say I DEFINATELY was BORN this way! Anyone who says they are straight and also says you can't be born gay is either 1) in the closet themselves, or 2) at least bisexual. I say this because I cannot change (nor would I want to change) my sexuality any more than a straight person can. I didn't wake up one day and say, "Gee, I think I'll be gay today!" I have been attracted to females since I was 6. My parents, brothers and sister are all straight, and have never treated me badly. My father and mother are still married so I am not the product of a broken home. I played with dolls, barbies, dresses and all that jazz when I was little, so you can't say my environment or playthings made me this way.  

  

I was brought up in a Christian home, and the only thing I was forced to do is go to church where I watched people dance around and pretend to "speak in tongues". We moved away from that church when I was 8 (it was my uncle's church) and the new church was better but I still didn't like going because even back then I knew something wasn't right about it. The one thing that all the Christians on this board (and in real life too) seem to do is speak like they are reciting something. Either from the bible or not. They all say things like "To be holy is to be with God. To give yourself to God," Blah blah blah.  

  

If you are not a brainwashed Christian you look at all these posts and think "holy cow!" These people are insanely crazy about something they can not PROVE. There is no evidence anywhere that says the Bible is anything but made up stories from people that lived a very, very long time ago. A homophobic people, yes, but that is all the Bible is - STORIES! I have no problem with people who are religious, but please don't sit there and tell me you are righteous because you read and believe a book of stories. Think for yourselves instead of just reciting what you were taught a Bible school! Sorry to get a bit off topic there, but this is an issue that should be closed by now. If we are to believe what the Bible says, than I was made in HIS image. And if he is perfect, then how could anyone not be perfect if they are made just like him?  

  

I love being gay! It is the most wonderful gift nature has ever given me! And even if I COULD choose, I wouldn't choose to be anything other than what I truly am inside - A woman who loves women.  

  

And why should we have to surpress our feelings just because you don't like it? How would you like it if we told you to surpress being straight and date the same sex....think about that the next time you expect a gay person to change! You would be miserable, depressed and sucidal...just like all those so-called ex-gays. 

  

One more thing, that priest on the show is NOT AN EX-GAY. He is not dating ANYONE. Therefore, he makes it seem possible, when really he is just choosing to be celibate. He still has feelings towards men. 

  

  

Hey, rlanthier!  I thought I’d add to your comments by reposting one of my earlier messages (I make it sound like the show was aired three months ago…ha!) ;) 

  

  

  

I am taking a Behavioral Neuroscience class, and I wanted to include an insert of what this psychology book says on homosexuality.  Keep in mind that authors of scholarly textbooks go through a lot of research before they make any statements…so this isn’t “just one research” leaning towards a biological basis for homosexuality. 

  

“…The brains of heterosexual women, heterosexual men, and homosexual men may have been exposed to different patterns of hormones prenatally.  The real difference – if indeed sexual orientation is determined by prenatal exposure to androgens – may lie elsewhere in the brain, but at least we have an indication that differences [of brain anatomy] do exist and that exposure to prenatal hormones has a profound effect on the nature of a person’s sexuality. 

 

 

 

Another factor that may play a role in sexual orientation is heredity.  Bailey and Pillard (1991) studied pairs of male twins in which at least one member identified himself as homosexual.  If both twins are homosexual, they are said to be concordant for this trait.  If only one is homosexual, the twins are said to be discordant.  Thus, if homosexuality has a genetic basis, the percentage of monozygotic [identical; share exactly the same genes] twins who are concordant for homosexuality [both gay] should be higher that that for dizygotic twins [fraternal; share 50% of same genes].  This is exactly what Bailey and Pillard found:  The concordance rate was 52 percent for identical twins and only 22 percent for fraternal twins. 

  

To summarize, evidence suggests that two biological factors – prenatal hormonal exposure and heredity – may affect a person’s sexual orientation.  These research findings certainly contradict the suggestion that a person’s sexual orientation is a moral issue.  It appears that homosexuals are no more responsible for their sexual orientation than heterosexuals are.  Ernulf, Innala, and Whitman (1989) found that people who believed that homosexuals were ‘born that way’ expressed more positive attitudes toward them than did people who believed that they ‘chose to be’ or ‘learned to be’ that way.  Thus we can hope that research on the origins of homosexuality will reduce prejudice based on a person’s sexual orientation.  The question ‘Why does someone become homosexual?’ will probably be answered when we find out why someone becomes heterosexual.”  

  

Carlson, Neil R.  Foundations of Physiological Psychology, 6th Edition. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 2005. 279-280. 

  

Thought I’d share! (again) 

 

 

 

 

Also...because I actually am a young, gay male, I feel like I have a little credibility in saying that I did not chose my sexual orientation.  I'm pretty confident that I am intelligent enough to recognize when I am and when I am not choosing to do something!