What Would Jesus Do?

This blog is not going to be very smooth because I have so much to say on the topic that I tried to shorten it so people will actually read it. So here we go…

I have made this clear in every blog I have posted-- I am a liberal. Being a liberal, I am pro-choice, for immigrant rights, against war, for equal rights for everyone regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, etc. But being an open-minded person, I can understand why people are against abortion, are for wars, etc. But I cannot understand why anyone fights so strongly against homosexuals having the same rights as everyone else.

The only argument I ever hear is that it is a sin. It is called an “abomination” in Leviticus and is preached against by Christians on a daily basis. But do these people really understand the history of the bible?

Let us start with the word abomination. Today’s definition of abomination is “a vile, shameful, or detestable action, condition, habit, etc.” But the original meaning of the translated word was not used to show such hatred as today’s word. The original word would translate into something closer to the word taboo, rather than abomination. But I know that this will not be close to convincing.

So let’s look deeper into the history of Christianity and the history of the world. Before the 11^th century, gay people were married and no one thought it odd. In fact, in the 3^rd century, there are two saints that were married-- Saints Sergius and Bacchus. Sergius and Bacchus were soldiers who were commemorated as martyrs by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox churches.

The other argument I hear is, “it’s a choice, not genetic.” But I assure you, no one would choose to be ostracized like that. But what do I know right? I’m not an expert. So let’s look at what the experts have to say shall we?  According to http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/33:

In the March 2004, Health and Medicine Week, research findings from the study of homosexuality in rams was published. Scientists at Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine had looked at the biological foundations of a male sheep's homosexuality.They used the animals since they had been consistently and thoroughly studied in the past, and provided for a controllable experiment. They studied the oSDN, "an irregularly shaped, densely packed cluster of nerve cells in the hypothalamus of the sheep brain." The hypothalamus is an important part of the brain that regulates body temperature, blood pressure, as well as sexual behavior. Researchers found that the ovine sexually dimorphic nucleus (oSDN) was larger and contained more neurons in male- oriented rams (1). This information is important in several different ways. While it is solely a study on ram behavior, it is believed that homosexuality can be found in many different species, not limited to humans. This is also important because it is the first study to show a relationship between variations in sexual partner preference and brain structure in an animal, which could provide insight into how humans are studied and what should be looked for in humans to unlock the clues of biological causes of homosexuality.

While the rams are an interesting case study, there are also research findings directly relating to humans. The prenatal hormone theory is a provocative explanation of the link between biology and homosexual tendencies. It is based on the idea that hormones can affect a fetus in the womb and can influence brain development. Studies on the neuroendocrine function in homosexuality has shown that while levels of testosterone and estrogen do not typically vary along the lines of homo and heterosexuality, it is one's response mechanisms to these hormones that can play a role in sexual orientation. It is far too basic to attribute homosexuality with a lack of testosterone in males and a lack of estrogen in women, and many studies have negated this idea. However, the central nervous system, which mediates behavior and physiological responses, can be heavily affected by the level of hormones present (2).

It is also believed that birth order has a direct relation to whether or not one is gay. It is possible that a woman's fetus builds up certain antibodies in her first pregnancy, if it is with a male, to male antibodies, and these affect the development of male fetuses in subsequent pregnancies (4). For each older brother, humans are believed to be approximately 33% more likely to be homosexual. In other studies, it has been found that homosexuals are 39% more likely to be left- handed than heterosexuals (3).

I do not expect to be believed. Don’t believe me. But have the courage to look outside what you were told your whole life and research it for yourself. The evidence is there. If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for your religion; because Christianity will not survive if it continues the hatred. Let’s end the bigotry and return the Christian message back to love and tolerance. What would Jesus do?