Anglican Mainstream

In a very recent letter to the Church Times which I hope to put up tomorrow, Glynn Harrison, the Norah Cooke Hurle Professor of Mental Health and Consultant Psychiatrist, University of Bristol, claims that the ‘born gay’ theory is problematic.  He asserts that people are not ‘born gay’ and that there is considerable movement on the continuum of sexual orientation. Actually, there is support for his views from an unlikely source, which happens to be British gay rights activist, Peter Tatchell.  In a recent controversial article (see below) Peter breaks gay taboos by saying the unsayable.  You must hand it to him that he is willing to call things as he sees them, regardless of ideological loyalty or the criticism which will likely follow from fellow activists and allies.  And for the record, the Born Gay mantra became popular in the early 1990s because gay activists realised that the general public became far more sympathetic to gays if they were fed that line. My source? The brilliant gay handbook, After the Ball:  How America will conquer its fear and hatred of gays in the 90s by Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen. They were too optimistic on timing but otherwise their strategies have been wildly successful, implemented in country after country across the Western world. The rest of the globe is beginning to be targeted now.   

Given the huge pressure to be actively PC – or if not, then to remain silent (and thus not be seen to challenge ‘the system’) - you have to hand it to Glynn as well for his willingness to engage publicly in this battle.  Those who stay a safe distance from the fray have not a clue what it costs.  Nor, would I add, do they realise that though they may desire to keep clear of it, that is the one and only choice which will not be available to them.  The Gay Crusade – or rather, I should say, the LGBT Crusade – is coming to your city, your church,  your school, your place of employment.  It is only a matter of time.  If you doubt me, read the material!  The activists are serious and I believe them.  Of course, in certain areas it is a fait accompli; the Crusade has already been launched and now completely dominates the discourse and controls the terrain.  Unless people speak up now, it will soon be too late; in many quarters it already is. Hopefully Glynn’s example can give courage to us all.    

From Peter Tatchell (June 2008): "Homosexuality: it isn’t natural

"Ignore those researchers who claim to have discovered a ‘gay gene’", says Peter Tatchell: gay desire is not genetically determined 

…One of the main original proponents of gay gene theory, Dr Dean Hamer, now concedes that it is unlikely that something as complex as human sexuality can be explained solely in terms of genetic inheritance. He seems to accept that while genetic factors may establish a predisposition towards homosexuality, a predisposition is not the same as a causation.

Many studies suggest social factors are also important influences in the formation of sexual orientation. These include the relationship between a child and its parents, formative childhood experiences, family expectations, cultural mores and peer pressure.’  http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/5375/

Glynn goes on to insist that moral concerns are not addressed through the ‘it-is-natural’ response.  We are all saddled with various ‘natural’ impulses and desires against which we must actively contend.  Developmentally, these undesirable aspects of ourselves may be ‘blamed’ (my term, not Glynn’s) on a combination of internal and external factors, genetic, environmental and volitional.  But as Glynn emphasises, is does not mean ought.  The real issue is, to quote Francis Schaeffer, How Should We Then Live?

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