A Biblical response to BBC article "I am gay, but I wasn't born this way"

“I am gay, but I wasn’t born this way” - an article on the BBC website (http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160627-i-am-gay-but-i-wasnt-born-this-way)

In 1977, just over 10% of Americans thought gayness was something you were born with, according to Gallup. That number has steadily risen over time and is currently somewhere between 42% and 50%, depending on the poll. Throughout the same period, the number of Americans who believe homosexuality is “due to someone’s upbringing/environment” fell from just under 60% to 37%.

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Take, for example, Cynthia Nixon of Sex and The City fame. In a 2012 interview with New York Times Magazine, the actress casually mentioned that homosexuality was, for her, a choice. “I understand that for many people it’s not, but for me it’s a choice, and you don’t get to define my gayness for me.”

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The question of what leads to homosexuality in the first place, however, is obscure, even to the experts. The APA, for example, while noting that most people experience little to no choice over their orientations, says this of homosexuality’s origins:

“Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social and cultural influences on sexual orientation [and have made claims to a genetic basis], no [current] findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors.”

Similarly, the American Psychiatric Association writes in a 2013 statement that while the causes of heterosexuality and homosexuality are currently unknown, they are likely “multifactorial including biological and behavioral roots which may vary between different individuals and may even vary over time.”

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So what are we to do with the Born This Way rhetoric? I would suggest that it’s time to build a more nuanced argument — regardless of how good a pop song the current one makes.

There are several reasons for this. Firstly, and most importantly, it’s just not the truth, as we currently understand it. The evidence to date offers no consensus that the Born This Way argument is the beginning and end of the story. We should stop pretending that it does.

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This findings cited in this article agree well with Scripture: people actively disregard Biblical teaching in order to choose to pursue this behavior. And as they turn their back on God, God turns his back on them, allowing them to enjoy the fruits of their choices. (See Romans 1:24-28) Western society as a whole is now losing its grip on God and the Bible in favor of what they believe to be acceptable sexual license-- "It isn't hurting anyone." "What I do in private is of no concern to you." But the rest of that Biblical passage says that when we don't say no to our passions and allow them to lead us where they want to go, it snowballs into them abandoning other areas of God's instruction to us: becoming greedy, envious, contentious, deceitful, malicious, and so on.

The God of the Bible offers a better alternative: 

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

And in context:

 6 ¶ For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.

 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

 10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

 11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

What a deal! I'm so grateful that God overcame my helplessness to work my way back to Him, sending a special Someone--Christ--to intervene and pay the penalty for my waywardness.

Whoever and wherever you are, and whatever you or I have done or left undone, if you're feeling helpless to be right with God and others in your life, take Him up on His offer. If you'll acknowledge Jesus as the rightful leader of your life, He'll take you in, not as a mere servant, but as a son or daughter. Forever.

Applying "How Things Spread" TED talk to the church

I listend to a TED Radio Hour segment “How Things Spread” (http://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/468877892/how-things-spread), featuring Seth Godin, “the Yoda of marketing”.

People ignore ordinary things. For example, if you see a cow while driving, you don’t care. Cows are boring and invisible. But if the cow was purple, you would notice it. The thing that's gonna decide what gets talked about, done, changed, purchased, built: is it remarkable—worth making a remark about. The BlendTec “Will It Blend” videos sold a lot of blenders by blending not just food, but many other things like a rake handle, an iPhone, and cubic zirconia.

Getting an idea to spread isn't an exact science. There are tricks, but they don't always work. The success of great ideas, even sliced bread, isn't just about the goodness of the idea, but also about getting the idea to spread. People who can spread ideas regardless of the goodness of the ideas win. 

It's not always the idea with the loudest voice that spreads. Instead, you have to pay the price to be in the right place at the right time often enough that people will tend to see you as the regular. Starbucks is a great example. Things spread when people you know and like are talking about them.

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Application for the church:

1. We ourselves need to recover the truth that the gospel is remarkable.

2. In order for the gospel to spread, we need to talk about spiritual things with people we know and like.