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From: sdyer@bbncca.ARPA (Steve Dyer)
Newsgroups: net.religion,net.flame
Subject: Flame: Sargent's theory of homosexuality
Message-ID: <1132@bbncca.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 12-Nov-84 15:11:52 EST
Article-I.D.: bbncca.1132
Posted: Mon Nov 12 15:11:52 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 13-Nov-84 01:14:22 EST
References: <283@haddock.UUCP> <1464@pucc-h>
Organization: Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Cambridge, Ma.
Lines: 40

[net.religioners, pardon this flaming digression.  This article appeared here,
 so I have chosen to address it here.]

>In a sense, an individual's sexuality is indeed a matter of choice.  But the
>choice is between believing that the other sex is a friend or an enemy.  There
>may be variants on this; one time when I had to battle some strong homosexual
>feelings was a time when I felt that God would (for reasons of His own) never
>allow me to have an intimate relationship with a woman -- the result of which
>would be that if I tried, God would ensure that I got badly hurt; so a woman
>would be, in a way, an enemy.  (Mind you, this is one of several aspects of my
>view of God that have been mellowed out in the last couple of years.)  My
>thesis is that confirmed homosexuals became convinced very early on -- in early
>childhood, perhaps -- that the other sex was somehow an enemy, and that being
>intimate with an other-sex person would be extremely threatening.  However, the
>mere fact that their belief is very deep-seated, and probably based on very deep
>wounds, does not mean that it can't be changed.  Having God's love and power to
>assist helps a lot.

Lissen, Sargent, we had this discussion a loong time ago, in a newsgroup
far far away (I think it was net.singles.)

STOP SUPERIMPOSING YOUR OWN NEUROSES ON GAY PEOPLE, OK?

It is bad enough that we have to suffer through his ruminations on
childhood, divorce and his own sexual orientation, given that he dismisses
serious counseling as a valid option.  But it is outrageous that he should
take these peculiar, private explanations for his neuroses and paint gay people
with the same color.

DON'T TRY TO MAKE STATEMENTS ABOUT WHAT "GAY PEOPLE" ARE LIKE, GIVEN YOUR
ADMITTED LACK OF EXPERTISE IN THE AREA.

The mindless presumption of this guy seems endless.  Worst of all, you'll
take him to task for it, he'll allow that maybe he did overreach things a
bit, but it sure won't prevent him from making the same kind of statement
a few months later.
-- 
/Steve Dyer
{decvax,linus,ima,ihnp4}!bbncca!sdyer
sdyer@bbncca.ARPA