If that is true (who judges who, etc), and she believed it to be true, she wouldn't have had a problem counseling anyone.
imho, the implication that being gay is a "choice", suggests that they believe being gay is an mental illness or something. Someone "seeks" out negative behavior, etc. Total twaddle.
why wouldn't he? If we're going to ask why he "would" do it, why would he chose to make people mentally retarded? or physically handicapped?
I believe she said that she would/could counsel with compassion, she just wasn't gonna be pigeon-holed into a certain line of thinking. For that matter, aren't counselors supposed to be more listeners as opposed to subjecting others to their way of thinking? I thought the best counselors helped others kind of figure things out for themselves.
When I hear choice, I take it as someone of sound mind is choosing to be gay to enjoy a 'lifestyle choice'. A mental illness is not something where choice is involved in its main diagnosis, in my opinion. Which is why when I hear things like what ABM says so often in this thread and the other, it feels like my nerves and sanity are having a cheese grater slid over them.
funny that she said that, considering she has pigeon holed herself into a certain line of thinking, and refusing to open herself up to a different opinion than her own. If she refuses to believe that being gay is an innate thing, she can't really help others "figure things out" for themselves.
Sorry to burst your bubble (or is it burst your bible) - but the bible most certainly is not clear about it - as shown with the David and Jonathan story. The bible, as it often does, contradicts itself.
If you follow the bible you already know that the bible calls God a liar. First the Jews were the chosen people, but later they are not. He either lied - or he is a flip-flopper. Again, the bible just loves to contradict itself.
I'm very sorry you feel that way, TSE. Trust me, I've had my share of living my life completely by another set of standards. I live an entirely different life now. I don't hate you. I don't hate gays. I don't hate transvestites, or anyone else for that matter. I simply believe what the Bible tells me and try and love/accept others as I'd want to be loved/accepted.
So if you treat others as you want to be treated, why do you support someone who says something as trivial as who they spend their nights with (which is absolutely none of your or my business) is a bad person?
There are different types of love related in the Bible. Theirs was (philia) "brotherly" love. Not an eros (sexual) type of love. Then, there's agape love, which is a Christ-like love. That's the type of love we should be extending to our fellow-man/women.
Political? If Politics = Power - than yes, that's exactly what I believe happened. I believe in creationism, man created god to explain whatever he could not explain otherwise - and later, man used god's name to gain power - as man does with just about anything else. If there is a god, and I have no clue if there is or is not, I have no doubts in my mind that he/she/it is nothing like what the scriptures tell us.
You might be sorry but you'll still do things that make me and other homosexuals feel this way. I don't think you understand how humiliating it can be being gay, especially as a young kid. I don't think you understand how harmful things like "well, it's a lifestyle choice" are to people. I think you, and many others, underestimate the amount of shit gay people get, how often and how soon people start dropping "fucking queer, how fucking gay, what a god damn fa-bomb". How that fucking burns you inside, and makes you feel so shamed. When we've done nothing wrong but live. Where we're told we're pushing an agenda by simply showing affection to our loved ones, and on a smaller scale than our heterosexual counterparts. When having a couple of mainstream gay characters on tv leads to fucking CNN publishing a poll asking "is there too much gay on tv?". Do you understand how that hurts? Do you understand how it rips out a part of you when even liberal states vote no on gay marriage? When that may be the most public issue, it is just one of many where we get treated as less? You can believe what the Bible teaches you, I don't mind. I come from a very religious family, I understand religion and why people follow it. I understand it helps guide people and gives them peace in their life and an inner calm. I also understand why some people of religion use all these things to deny other legal and consenting adults of their rights, and that isn't cool. I'm not trying to tell you your religion is bad, that you don't deserve rights, that your issues aren't really that big of a deal if they just make up a certain percentage of population or when you're treated bad you're just sensationalizing it. But a lot of people like you tell me those things. They tell young gay kids those things, and young gay kids don't need that shit. They don't need to be told they chose something that gets them ridiculed and beaten. They don't need to be told that not coming out is keeping something secret, as if it is something you should be ashamed of rather than the real reason most people who stay in the closet: absolute fear of losing friends, jobs, family, and their personal safety. The amount of self-hatred such things puts in a young person growing up, a young person who may not feel they have someone they can talk to, or are terrified they'll run into a counselor like this Ms. Keeton, is.. overwhelming. Overwhelming is the only word I can use, and it is not even adequate enough.
