Why was I 44 years old before I looked to science for an answer to my same-sex attraction questions?

Celsus was a pagan writer in the 2nd century AD. His writing would have been lost forever when the Roman Empire became Christian because they set out to eradicate everything pagan and in the process destroyed all of Celsus' writing. Ironically, one of the Greek Fathers quoted and paraphrased much of Celsus' arguments as a preliminary to attacking them, thus reconstructing virtually all of his lost works.

In light of this, the following is a priceless quote:

"Christians usually flee headlong from cultured people, who are not prepared to be deceived; but they trap illiterate folk...Their injunctions are like this. 'Let no one educated, no one wise, no one sensible draw near. For these abilities are thought by us [Christians] to be evils. But as for anyone ignorant, anyone stupid, anyone uneducated, anyone who is a child, let him come boldly [to embrace Christianity].'...Some of the [Christians] do not even want to give or receive a reason for what they believe, and use such expressions as 'Do not ask questions; just believe', and 'Thy faith will save thee.' And they say, 'The wisdom in the world is an evil, and foolishness a good thing'...But why is it bad to have been educated and to have studied the best doctrines, and both to be and to appear intelligent?...However, there are among the Christians some moderate, reasonable, and intelligent people, who readily interpret allegorically."

I guess Celsus made room for my son Peter in that last line, but the whole quote pretty much sums up the Mormon (and fundamentalist Christian) mentality to homosexuality. When I read this the first time I kept getting an image of that wild-haired woman at the McCain rally who said in her halting, fearful voice..."I don't trust Obama! He's an Arab!" How did Celsus put it? "But as for anyone ignorant, anyone stupid, anyone uneducated...let [her] come boldly [and join the Republican Party]."

As for medical professionals and scientists...if it wasn't for the 'purple Kool-Aid' they were given as toddlers, I just don't get how they could be Christianists and Mormons. The following is copied from the NARTH web page. NARTH is the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality and virtually every Mormon psychologist is trained through NARTH workshops. When the APA (American Psychological Association and/or American Psychiatric Association) came out with various statements that recommend among other things "that schools censor all ex-gay materials", NARTH issued the following statement:

"And when homosexuality is discussed [in public schools], it must not cross the line into lifestyle advocacy. Ultimately, sexual lifestyle decisions hinge on matters of deeply held values. Schools should respect the right of families to convey their own social values to their children."

Hello! Is anybody home in the head of a NARTH therapist? It isn't 1973 anymore, and homosexuality is fully understood now as a trait at birth. NARTH leaders have been trying to recussitate the "lifestyle choice" argument at every annual APA conference and want every therapist to treat homosexuality as an "addiction" or something that can be overcome by just changing your mind about who you are attracted to. Every few years, NARTH and so-called professionals from organizations like Exodus show up with revised wording for the handbooks that will reverse the 1973 ruling that homosexuality was no longer to be treated as a "mental illness".

It isn't just homosexuality that is the target of Christianists and Mormons. They would prefer that any discussion of evolution be banned, and that the only conversation about sex would be the idea that you will go to hell if you aren't married to the person with whom you are intimate.

If any of the above does not answer all your questions, just put that thought on "the shelf" and wait until you are dead, at which point your god will answer all those questions.