Response to Homosexual Orientation Presentation

presented on the topic of LGBT community and the Church. Their question was whether ho-
mosexual orientation was a sin.
They began by defining what they meant by homosexuals, homosexual orientation and homo-
sexual lifestyle; they defined homosexual orientation as being attracted to those of the same
sex and homosexual lifestyle as those who indulge in sexual relations with others of the same
sex. Second, they looked at the medical and psychological basis of homosexuality, and iden-
tified that there was greater concordance of sexual orientation between identical as compared
to fraternal twins, and suggested that though there were significant genetic realities behind
homosexuality, environment also played a huge role. Third, they looked at the stages that
people go through as they come to terms with their experience of being homosexual: realiza-
tion, exploration, denial, acceptance, and pride.
During the post-presentation questions and answers, Sam commented that both nature and
nurture, as things which influence whether one has a homosexual orientation or not, were for
the most part beyond the control of the person; I found this significant. I feel that homosexual
orientation is neither sin nor sinful.
Yannick used an illustration of a heterosexual man and a homosexual man who both tell him
that they want to sleep with someone that night. Yannick asserted that he would see the heter-
osexual man as having right desire but wrong execution, and the homosexual man as having
wrong desire and wrong execution. I feel this illustration is problematic as desire itself is not
something that can be clearly judged as sin. Following the logic of the illustration, Jesus be-
ing tempted in the desert for bread would be a good desire, and so would him being tempted
with sex with a woman, however Jesus being tempted with sex with a man would be signifi-
cantly different from the first two.