Letter to the Editor
April 29, 2022
Dear Editor:
As state legislatures across the nation consider — and adopt — new laws targeting members of the LGBTQ community, there are two inconvenient truths evangelical Christians ought to consider:
First, the preponderance of evidence in regard to sexual orientation is that it is an issue of birth and biology, not an issue of choice. No one decides to be a heterosexual or homosexual, straight, gay or lesbian. We are born with chemical and hormonal determinants of our sexual identity.
Second, a powerfully significant majority of people with gay, lesbian or bisexual orientations are not sexually active.
If Christians are going to consider it abusive for parents to support the sexual orientation of their own children, especially out of fear of inappropriate or irresponsible sexual behavior, then the same standard should apply to parents of heterosexual youth. The incidence of illicit sexual behavior among heterosexual young people (92% of the population) is rampant — certainly compared to any sexual activity among the small homosexual population.
And if so-called “conversion therapy” is actually a wise way to control and reverse inappropriate sexual choice and behavior, then it should most effectively be employed with young heterosexuals as well — in order to control and reverse their irresponsible sexual behavior. I wonder: Can a sexually active single heterosexual be rendered a eunuch with conversion therapy?
Seriously, are we perhaps focusing on the smaller group we have labeled as inappropriately sexually active without careful further investigation, since it is easier to see the speck in someone else’s eye than the beam in our own?
I’ve been a pastor and pastoral counselor “across the street” from two universities for more than 27 years and a professor at a seminary for more than 26 years. I’ve sat across the desk from many young people struggling with their sexual and personal identities. They all needed care, clarity and understanding — not misunderstanding.
Daniel G. Bagby, Richmond, Va.