tall73 said: ↑
However, do you think it being biological means that God designed these desires to be there?
It is related to what we are talking about here for a few reasons. And the way you have correctly spoken of it here points out some reasons why.
Same sex attraction is not a "good" thing. And it is not a "neutral" thing. It is a "bad" thing that has happened to some, because it is an attraction to something that God forbids.
And you have rightly said the action is forbidden. It is forbidden and declared to be contrary to nature in Romans 1. It is an attraction to something outside of God's design.
In this regard it is similar to an attraction to stealing, to envy, etc. It is a desire to do something God does not want us to do.
Now the phrase bad thing happening to good people notes that in the world where sin is present bad things can still befall people, even if they did not bring it about. And that is exactly what is happening here. As
@The Liturgist put it, the homosexual Christian has an additional cross to bear.
It is not because their nature is worse than other people. All people in a world with sin have a sinful nature, the flesh, a selfish nature that bears fruit to death. So homosexual sin is in the same category as stealing, envy, fits of rage etc. We all are tempted to something in those lists of things that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. And we all have committed sins that would condemn us.
When Christ comes in we are washed, sanctified and justified. We are forgiven and we have a new means of living out the righteous requirements of God through the Spirit of God.
The homosexual Christian has an additional cross to bear because the particular attraction to something God does not want is at the intersection of so many aspects of our life. So while it is true that the heterosexual and the homosexual deal with lust, there is an additional element. A straight person upon being born again has the option to marry, and to have an application of the attraction that is felt in a way that God designed, within the one flesh relationship between husband and wife. A gay person does not have that same option, and that is painful.
This pain of trying to reconcile why God allowed this to happen IS related to abuse for the following reason. The very people who should understand most the difficulty that the homosexual believer is in--the church--instead have often shamed them for the temptations they face. But Christians should know, through His word, that those confronted with homosexual attraction are in the big picture struggling with the flesh as are all of us, that our flesh is opposed to the Spirit of God, that our flesh desires things God doesn't want us to do. We should have empathy with them, and even more so because their particular temptation is so disruptive to their life.
The Christian who is tempted to same sex activity, but who through Christ has been forgiven and infilled with the Spirit is still every bit as much a Christian as any other. And when they are treated poorly by those who should be helping them, that is what results in this abuse.
But ministry such as
@The Liturgist or
@Carl Emerson is not in fact shaming homosexual Christians. In fact no one could read
@The Liturgist 's account of his compassion for the people he ministers to who are tempted by this and not realize he cares deeply for them. He is not giving the abusive messages being warned about in the testimonies of those who received incorrect messages.
But beyond that he is actually giving the correct message. We are all sinners, we all have a sinful nature, and the person who is dealing with same sex attraction is no more a sinner, and has an even more difficult struggle, which needs support from fellow believers.
That is not abuse. That is ministry.
And it is in that context, that something bad has happened to them, the fall of humankind, sin entering the world, and that God has made a solution to that, through His plan of salvation. That plan will mean everyone who trusts in Him will be delivered from this fallen nature, when He sets all things right. But in the meantime He gives us His Spirit to put to death the sinful nature. And yes, that often means refraining from sinful actions though we are still tempted. But it can also look like God working in us to will and to do according to His good pleasure, and that as we spend more time with Him some things no longer tempt us the same way. And it can even mean that He takes some particular temptation away from us completely, miraculously. How He keeps His promise that we will not be tempted beyond what we can endure, but will with the temptation give a way of escape is up to Him.
Because we are to carry one another's burdens (Gal 6) we are to watch out not just for ourselves, but others, and help them to trust in God in this sinful world. And we are to realize we too are subject to temptation. We are not ministering to them as superior, but as sinners who are only washed, sanctified and justified by Christ.
And if we take the time to actually teach this to our church and to those struggling with same sex attraction as well it helps prevent abuse by church members who should be helping. Those who understand that this is the result of the fall, that God will restore all things, that we in the meantime must depend on His Spirit, don't condemn those who have a difficult road.