Homosexuality 101 (A Class for the Misguided)

LESSON ONE: Homosexuals are a minority of human beings. We naturally experience both emotional affection and physical attraction toward others of the same sex. For a sampling of nature's messiness and unwillingness to exist in 'black and white' see How Common are Intersex Conditions?.

LESSON TWO: Homosexuals are not ideologies. We were not brainwashed into a 'lifestyle' and did not choose our sexual orientation as one might choose a career or religion. Listen to Gene Robinson discuss the issues surrounding his consecration as the first openly gay Bishop in the history of the Episcopal Church on WBUR (6/04) or NPR (12/04).

LESSON THREE: Many heterosexuals love their homosexual relatives, friends and colleagues fully without asking them to hide, deny or change their sexuality. Thus, heterosexuals who choose to vilify and ostracize homosexuals can be reformed. See Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

LESSON FOUR: Some texts in the Bible seem to explicitly condemn homosexual acts just as others seem to explicity condemn eating pork or divorce. Those who use ancient texts to support their own prejudices and opinions are no less arrogantly misguided than those who used ancient texts to support slavery and the oppression of women. See Old Mosaic Law and The Segregation of the Homosexual.

LESSON FIVE: Homosexuals will not be silenced or segregated. Unlike those who seek our destruction, we are not an ideology or teaching or interpretation. We shall not fade with time but grow ever more welcomed, respected and loved just as we are. For a national interfaith movement committed to ending spiritual violence perpetuated by religious policies and teachings against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) people see SoulForce.org.