Rick Santorum

All he wanted was to restore America’s former greatness by outlawing homosexuality, birth control, and cursing at a New York Times reporter. In a valiant effort to defend his explosive altercation with a New York Times reporter, Rick Santorum claimed that “If you haven't cursed out a New York Times reporter during the course of a campaign, you're not really a real Republican.” The hallmark of being a Republican presidential candidate: cursing at a New York Times reporter. Well, it’s comforting to know that our paragon of virtue has no issues with using profanity on national television while claiming to stand for conservatism; the only thing that’s more comforting is that he suspended his campaign indefinitely—we can only hope permanently.

                                                                                                                                                                             But this explosion is just the tip of the iceberg. Rick Santorum is notorious for his explosions which often result in his red face, a verbal contest with people who are clearly his superiors, and a series of articles in papers across America trying to sort out what he said, what he meant to say, and what he says he said. 

Don't take me too seriously on this post. 

"she gave me from the tree, and I ate."

I recently read a book called something like "The Public Undressing of America." It was about how women's bathing suits have gotten skimpier as the years have passed. And that brought up in my mind my mom's mentality about this subject: bikinis are immoral because they attract the wrong kind of attention from men. Well, that could very well be true. But I don't really want to talk about women tempting men today. I want to talk about men and how people often portray them.

Men are often portrayed as idiots who are ruled by their passions. I'm not sure where this portrayal came from, perhaps Hollywood, but I really don't know. Men are victims of seductive women. They don't have the power to reject a seductive woman. But the thing is, men can refuse to lust after or have sex with women. The act of letting your mind think about those things or your body do those things is a choice.

The portrayal of men as drooling idiots functions to justify men's actions which are driven by their baser instincts. And justifying sin tends to perpetuate and amplify it.

Even Christian men try to justify their misdeeds or evil thoughts by putting the blame on women. They say things to the effect that women should dress in order to make sure they aren't seducing men. Well, that effectually moves the blame from the man who lusts to the women. Sound familiar? It should. Adam blamed his wife Eve for making him sin by giving him the forbidden fruit. So I guess in that respect not much has changed since the beginning of the world.

But the big thing to remember is this: in the situation of a man lusting after a woman, that man's lusting is his fault. The woman may be at fault as well, but she didn't cause him to lust; he chose to. 

Sexuality Part 3

Before I begin discussing the subject of sexuality again, I feel it necessary to convey to the reader that I’m not an unbiased writer (even though that's probably obvious). I have preconceptions about sexuality of which I cannot rid myself.

 

The Effects

Proponents of homosexuality contend that a loving and sustaining relationship can be maintained by a same-sex couple. Let’s look at the evidence:

This article outlines how homosexual relationships are “radically different from married couples in several key respects:

relationship duration

·  monogamy vs. promiscuity

·  relationship commitment

·  number of children being raised

·  health risks

·  rates of intimate partner violence”

 

According to the article, in all these respects, homosexuality is  more dangerous than heteresexuality. Though some may argue that this source is biased towards a particular worldview, evidence is presented which bolsters the claims made. Statistics from the National Center for Health Statistics are presented in support. The end of the aricle also lists an extensive bibliography which draws on many scholarly resources. 

From another source we gather that HIV/AID affects far more homosexual men than any other demographic.  The  Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that men who have sex with men (MSM) “are the population most severely affected by HIV and are the only risk group in which new HIV infections have been increasing steadily since the early 1990s. In 2006, MSM accounted for more than half (53%) of all new HIV infections in the United States, and MSM with a history of injection drug use (MSM-IDU) accounted for an additional 4% of new infections. At the end of 2006, more than half (53%) of all people living with HIV in the United States were MSM or MSM-IDU. Since the beginning of the US epidemic, MSM have consistently represented the largest percentage of persons diagnosed with AIDS and persons with an AIDS diagnosis who have died.” 

But let’s not forget homosexual women:
 
“Homosexual Health - Lesbian Health

• Lesbians have the richest concentration of risk factors for breast cancer than any subset of women in the world.
• They have higher risks for cervical cancers.
• They are more likely to be obese.
• They use more tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs.²⁴

A study of over 1,400 lesbians found the following:

• Lesbians experience higher rates of bacterial vaginosis and hepatitis C.
• They have more than twice the number of male partners than heterosexual women (only 7 percent who identify themselves as lesbians never have sex with men).
• They are 4.5 times more likely to have fifty or more male sexual partners in a lifetime.
• They are three to four times more likely to have sex with men who are at high risk for HIV—homosexuals, bisexuals, and IV drug users.
• They are six times more likely to • abuse drugs intravenously.^25”

This is also from a blog, but it has a wealth of scholarly information on which the author drew. Feel free to read that article to make sure. The idea is that homosexual behavior with women is detrimental to their health.

The Laws of Nature

One obvious drawback to homosexuality, and one which people often gloss over,  is that homosexual relationships do not produce children. As simple a drawback as that may seem, it seems rather important. Progeny are important if you want to perpetuate the human race. One could argue that infertile couples can’t bear children. Well, that’s different because homosexual couples can never bear children, whereas heterosexual couples can and often do bear children. It’s safe to say that God wanted people to reproduce as evidenced by what he said in Genesis.

The Psychological Aspect

I may be moving more into the realm of speculation, but bear with me. When God designed man, I think it quite likely that he designed with the psychological considerations in mind. It seems likely that he designed men and women not just to fit together physically (sex) but also to bond on a psychological level. If He did, then men cannot have that relationship with each other, and women cannot have that with each other either. 

If this is true, then it makes sense that homosexuals seem to have higher rates of dissatisfaction with their lives as evidenced through all the things listed in the quotes above. This seemingly would also explain the physical consequences of homosexual activity.

Sexuality Part 2

And then there are those who think homosexuality is fine.They support their position with arguments like, "well, I'm biologically attracted to individuals of the same sex as myself; that's not something I can help, so I choose to embrace it."

But there are problems with such a claim. Being biologically inclined to do something doesn't make it right or good. Let me assure you, those who commit adultery are biologically attracted to each other. What they're doing isn't right. It simply reflects that they've chosen to do something they both know is wrong. There even murderers who claim that killing is a part of who they are. This girl murdered her nine year old neighbor and claimed that it was an enjoyable experience, but that doesn't make it right. This girl also had a history of talking about how killing was one of her favorite things to do (even though, oddly, she only killed one person). All that to say, being biologically predisposed to act in a particular manner does not make it right.

Actually, claiming that your genetic predisposition  is responsible for your actions seems more like a method of shifting the blame from yourself.

I can't think of any more arguments for homosexuality right now...

Sexuality Part 1

There are people who believe that homosexuality is one of the worst sins; and then there are people who believe that you're homophobic and a bigot for disapproving of homosexuality. But there are people, like me, who are in between. I think both those positions have problems.

Let me start with the people who believe that homosexuality is one of the worst sins ( and this belief is evidenced by their hatred of gays). Those on this side argue that homosexuality is wrong because it goes against the relationship that God created between a man and a woman. This is very true. But what these people fail to consider is that God also created a perfect world. Everything was as it should be. Then man sinned. Then things were not as they should be. If they want to compare before the fall to after the fall, they need to take the part about everything being perfect and apply it to our current situation. Obviously everything is not perfect.

But they have verses to support their claim that homosexuality is so bad (I'm going to comment on several translations.):

New International Version (©1984)
"'Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable." To whom? To God? Yes, it is detestable to God because that's not what he wanted when he created man. NIV has never impressed me though.

New Living Translation (©2007)
"Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin." Isn't all sin detestable? 

English Standard Version (©2001)
"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." But I'm failing to see why this abomination is worse than the others.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
"Never have sexual intercourse with a man as with a woman. It is disgusting." Am I missing something? Men and women are too different for a man to have sexual intercourse with a man the way he has sexual intercourse with a woman. Men and woman are physically incapable of that. 

 Okay, so some of these translations are odd, but you get the idea. Men are not supposed to have sex with men and women are not supposed to have sex with women. It is sin by the Bible's (God's) standards. But the Bible also classifies many other things as sin, like gluttony. Are gluttons called out as much as gays? Do we need to start a movement for the rights of gluttons? The idea is that sin is sin, regardless of what kind it is. Certainly, choosing a sinful lifestyle is unacceptable by Biblical standards, but you have to remember that all non-Christians are living in sin apart from God and thus their behavior seems expected and fairly normal (for lack of a better word). 

 

Ideas

Well, I haven't posted in a while, mostly because I've been busy and I haven't had much inspiration. I want to post on something super interesting. So, I'm going to think about it for a while. I'd also be excited to see what anyone who happens to read this is interested in hearing about, so feel free to post a comment with a topic that interests you.

Thinking

Being a critical thinker is important. Having influences in your life encourage you to think critically is important. However, homeschooling parents don't seem to see that value in that, or perhaps they don't know what they're doing to their children. You see, I've noticed that homeschooled kids from super conservative Christian homes can't seem to think for themselves. Why? Because they have been told what to believe from and early age. They have been drowned in Christian material and opinions to the point where everything that doesn't fit into their narrow view of life is wrong. Now, I don't have a problem with people having opinions. I don't have a problem when they decide to argue their opinions. I do have a problem when these people decide to present a faulty argument for their position and end the argument by saying that God will judge me for being wrong.

What horrifies me is that all these people are convinced that what they're doing is right to the point that they can't possibly change they're position. I have seen people argue to the point where I was sure they had no choice but to admit they were wrong, but they didn't. These people have been so well trained to believe that what they've been taught is right that they can't even admit when  they're wrong.


This points to a character flaw: pride. Now, we all have pride, some more than others, and some for no reason, but we all have it. Homeschool parents elevate their children level of pride by providing all the answers and not looking into counterarguments. Their children grow up believing that they have all the answers. That's why they can't carry on a good argument. Their perspective is so limited that they can't process new ideas in a healthy way.

I was like that. I had been told a number of things about the Bible, homosexuals, government, and abortion that simply aren't true (yes, I do believe abortion is murder). When I eventually attended a government school, I had to answer questions relating to this stuff, and guess what? When I answered a question, nobody said anything for a while. I got the "you're stupid" stare from everyone including the teacher. I learned to check my facts better after a few weeks.

Unfortunately, certain brands of homeschooling don't allow children to be exposed to a wide range of ideas because parents fear that their children will be contaminated by the world.