THEOLOGY OF SEXUALITY, PART I ALAIN NICOLIER 2008
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Readings: Deuteronomy 23:17-18: "There shall be no ritual harlot of the daughters of Israel, or a perverted one [one practicing sodomy] of the sons of Israel. You shall not bring the wages of a harlot or the price of a dog to the house of the LORD your God for any vowed offering, for both of these are an abomination to the LORD your God."
Romans 1:27: "Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due."
True Christian Religion 31: (iv) THE INFINITY OF GOD AS PREDICATED OF SPACE IS CALLED IMMENSITY, AND AS PREDICATED OF TIME IS CALLED ETERNITY. DESPITE THESE PREDICATIONS HIS IMMENSITY IS TOTALLY DEVOID OF SPACE AND HIS ETERNITY IS TOTALLY DEVOID OF TIME. The reason why the infinity of God predicated of space is called immensity, is that the term 'immense' is used of what is great and large, and also what is extensive and in this respect spacious. But the reason why the infinity of God predicated of time is called eternity is that 'for eternity' is used of progressive stages, which are measured by time, without end. For example: the globe with its land and sea surfaces is in itself what enables objects to be regarded as spatial; and its rotation and motion in orbit is what enables them to be regarded as temporal. These movements create periods of time and the surface of the globe creates distances, and they are so perceived through the senses in the minds of those that reflect on them. But as shown above, there is no space or time in God, yet space and time begin from Him. Hence it follows that immensity means His infinity predicated of space, and eternity His infinity predicated of time. ....
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[3] I too was once in a state like this, when I was thinking what God did from eternity, or before the world was made: did He deliberate about creation and work out the order to be followed? was deliberative thought possible in a total vacuum? and other useless speculations. But to prevent me becoming deranged by such speculations, I was lifted up by the Lord into the sphere and light enjoyed by the interior angels; and when the idea of space and time which had previously restricted my thinking was there to a small extent removed, I was allowed to grasp that the eternity of God is not an eternity of time, and that because time did not exist before the creation of the world it was quite useless to engage in such speculations about God. But because the Divine from eternity, and so regarded as separate from all time, does not involve the existence of days, years and centuries, but these are to God a single instant, I concluded that the world was not created by God in time, but that time was introduced by God together with creation.
[4] I will add this account of an experience. At one end of the spiritual world are to be seen two statues of a monstrous human shape with open mouths and gaping jaws. Those who have useless and mad thoughts about God from eternity imagine themselves being swallowed by these statues. But this is mere imagination into which those plunge who have absurd and improper thoughts about God before the creation of the world. Introduction
The subject of homosexuality has many diverse aspects, and as you might suspect, I cannot cover them all. I want to make clear here that in spite of my wish to remain neutral and simply try to reveal facts, it is nevertheless true that as I study the subject of homosexuality it increasingly appears to me to be a lifestyle that is detrimental to physical and spiritual health.
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The more I read articles and books on the subject, the more I realize that there are a great many myths, one of which says that "the Bible does not condemn homosexuality." The introductory passage above contradicts this statement, as [also the] quotation taken from Leviticus 18.
It's important to know that in general it is homosexuality that is condemned and not the homosexual person, who often is someone who has been abused, who has been lied to, and who is a victim of numerous myths made popular by a certain kind of superficial press coverage, and by celebrated writers who are adept at this kind of thing.
One particular psychological approach plunges the mind into confusion, and some commentaries written by C.G. Jung on the nature of the human psyche are a prime example. Indeed, in spite of Swedenborg's influence on Jung, it is nevertheless true that an important split exists between the two men where the quality of the soul is concerned.
Personally I think that Jung did not fully understand the nature of the soul, because of the fact that he did not well integrate into his thinking the concept of degrees that Swedenborg presented in a detailed way. Jung says, "We are all androgynous in our soul", while Swedenborg says that the soul has sexual orientation, whether, "masculine for the male, or feminine for the female." But I will return to this concept later in order to develop it more fully, because androgyny of the soul presented as anima-animus by Jung has influenced, and continues to influence enormously the stream of psychology generally accepted today. Its theories lead to defenses of homosexuality and to such great confusion in mind-body interaction, and in sexualization.
INNATE THEORIES
(1) I shall begin with what homosexuals themselves say, and also what some in the fields of religion and psychology say. This will be just a bare outline, since little is written on the subject that is not extremely controversial.
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Their theory is that "a person is born homosexual, he has no choice; it is an uncontrollable urge."
Another version of the innate theory goes: "The mind wants a sexuality different than the one suggested by the body. In some way there exists an error in compatibility from conception which produces trans-sexuality, where an individual changes the sex dictated by his body from birth in order to choose a sex that agrees with his mental aspiration."
In considering homosexuality as innate, there can actually be several causes, the most rare being a physiological abnormality emerging from an hormonal imbalance that gives rise to a condition in which the body of a male individual has female characteristics also, and vice versa. For external and internal reasons this can lead to homosexual behavior, as it does with those who are born with a bi-sexuality called androgeny or hephroditism. Such persons may vacillate between partners of both sexes until they decide to opt for one sexuality or the other and undergo irreversible surgery.
There is the passage in the Writings to consider which says that the influx of Divine life is dependent on the form of the receptacle. If there is a malformation or deficiency in the receptacle this will influence the integrity of the influx and also the spiritual association. The spirits then present and in correspondence with this dysfunction are going to influence the individual to develop abnormal, unusual or even deviant behavior.
This is therefore one of the possible causes of homosexuality, which involves little of a person's free will but which binds him all the same.
(2) Another possible cause, which is somewhere between innate and acquired and which might encourage homosexual behavior, is the hereditary factor.
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Today, and ever since the fall, everyone is born with a tendency to let himself be guided by evils and falsities of every kind. And in spite of the preservation of freedom of choice, education and environment can influence a homosexual choice.
I will go into certain details about this later on, when considering homosexuality as an acquired behavior that emerges as a reaction to the quality of the relationship with one of the two parents, or with both of them, or the absence of one or the other, or both. We know that a deviant attitude can be established in an infant who is abandoned, violated or abused.
(3) We also know that, beginning in adolescence, many young people who have fully identified their sexuality still experience some confusion as to its expression. They are easily influenced, especially in today's environment. The fact is, for example, that advertising presents homosexuality as a legitimate choice, and that fashion promotes androgynous and unisex styles. The world of show business glamorizes the sexual ambiguity of some singers and actors.
Today some public or famous personalities are idolized because of this ambiguity. Defense and justification of their homosexuality are everywhere in the media and they become symbols, especially for the young whose minds are being formed.
A survey made of 37,000 young people between twelve and seventeen reveals that 26% of them are uncertain about their sexual orientation. The percentage declines with age, but this statistic shows how lacking our society is in guidelines in this area, especially in the critical time of adolescence.
MYTHS
To begin, I would like to share with you the myths about homosexuality that are spread by the unenlightened media who often make themselves spokespersons for the debate's two extremes, i.e. homosexuals who distort reality to re-make news to their advantage, and the religious right who condemn without understanding or explaining.
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Myth #1 One of the myths they spread is that 10% of the population is homosexual. This figure is distorted by the confusion between the practice of homosexuals and the homosexual mentality. Let me explain. In this percentage is included homosexuality among incarcerated and mentally ill people, which is not an issue of free consent but the result of abuse and being forced in various ways.
In reality the fact is that less than 2% of the population engages in homosexual and bi-sexual relationships. This figure is taken mainly from Anglo-Saxon populations where such statistics are fairly precise. You should know that homosexuality is even more rare than this among Latino people and very unusual among African, Indian and so-called "primitive" peoples. For more details on the reason for that, see Nouvelle Terre 235 and 236, concerning Divine Sense of Touch.
Homosexual activists want to spread the myth of a large number in order to give the appearance that they come closer to the norm in their practice, and to be more accepted by the general public. You could say that this is "working" for them, since tolerance is well-established, as are laws protecting them. And this without any effort to really understand the deep cause. Myth #2 Another myth is that the homosexual relationship is not very different from the heterosexual relationship, and that the two should be treated alike. Reality shows the opposite however, and studies show that the typical homosexual male has hundreds of partners during his life. Studies made by medical journals have revealed that only 2% of all homosexuals say they have had only one partner in their life. Most of the relationships last no more than two years.
The figures speak for themselves:
24% of male homosexuals have had at least 100 partners
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46% of male homosexuals have had at least 500 partners
28% of male homosexuals have had at least 1000 partners
So promiscuity is rampant in this environment, in spite of loud and clear claims as to their fidelity. Such claims are only made to validate their life choice. It is true that a good number of heterosexuals also have innumerable partners, but it is five times less the case than with homosexuals, where monogamy is exceptional.
Myth #3 Another myth says that homosexuality generates no more diseases, venereal and otherwise, than does heterosexuality. Here again I will let the figures speak. The studies I always use are those made by American and English medical journals, which are well known worldwide.
Cancer of the rectum is 4000% more prevalent with homosexuals than with heterosexuals, and AIDS is 8000% more prevalent. AIDS is the fifth highest cause of death among men between 25 and 45, and 60% of all new cases show up among men who have chosen this lifestyle. This means that 30% of 20 year-old homosexuals will not live beyond 30!
It needs to be known that most homosexuals who were interviewed under the condition of anonymity admitted that they don't adhere to the same moral criteria as the rest of the population. With a homosexual couple extra-marital relations are allowable, assuring a minimum of durability in a relationship. Such a standard would not survive in a monogamous relationship.
In addition to having the highest percentage of physical ailments, homosexuals suffer greatly from isolation, unease, phobias, disillusionment, confusion and depression. And these are not because of the feeling of being excluded from society, as they may think and would have us believe.
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A Study
An interesting study reported by Robin Yapp, Science Editor of the British Daily Mail on October 7 (2003) mentions an experiment conducted with 200 homosexuals under the direction of the great professor of clinical psychiatry, Robert Spitzer. This study advances the hypothesis that homosexuals can regain heterosexuality by means of a specific kind of psychotherapy that has evolved from the belief that this life-style is shared for the most part by people of a depressive, obsessive temperament who generally suffer a great deal. The publication of the results of this study was of course the object of great indignation on the part of the homosexual population.
Professor Spitzer's study was made of 143 men and 57 women who volunteered to undergo the therapy and to take the risk of honest self-evaluation. Without going into the details, the therapy consisted of developing self-control, identifying the origin of urges and how they were rooted in wounds from the past, and sharing social life with heterosexuals in non-sexual contexts which would not unleash the sex drive.
After a year of participation in the therapy, 78% of the men and 95% of the women gradually lost their attraction for people of the same sex and began to prefer the opposite sex, and eventually became completely heterosexual.
The rest of the group remained either indecisive, in need of more probing and long-lasting therapy, or, for a tiny percentage, desirous of continuing their homosexuality for reasons of purely carnal diversity, refusing to work on the real causes as they reevaluated themselves.
This study is interesting because it lends support to the hypothesis that homosexuality is an acquired behavior, resulting either from the pressure of an injurious up-bringing or an unbalanced environment, or from a deliberate choice that stems from an uncontrolled sex drive.
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Restoration of Free Choice
It must be understood that with the homosexual free choice is restored once he understands the particulars of his behavior, figures out the causes which led him to this way of life, and is shown the therapeutic solutions that can bring a certain equilibrium to his life and so get him out of depression and dependency.
Effects of Dysfunctional Parenting
In the stories of homosexuals who have opted in adult life for heterosexuality after having followed a course of therapy and have re-evaluated themselves, a certain constant emerges, a common thread running through them, namely, the deep suffering of their parents that expressed itself in dysfunctional behaviors. One or both of the parents whose personality was broken by traumas in infancy were unable to control self-destructive behavior that involved destruction of others closely associated with them.
Lacking any self-control, the parent found himself at the mercy of his own raw, mutilated nature, with its hatreds, resentments, fears and angers all anchored deeply in his mind. Never having been treated as a real person himself, the abused parent cannot treat his partner and children as people worthy of respect, and he makes them endure what he has endured.
So what could be happening today is that the spouse who is abused by her partner starts to confide in her children. That is, a mother may reach the point where she no longer knows how to set appropriate boundaries with others, and in desperation she may share confidences with her children in a very unsuitable way. Thus an unhealthy closeness can settle in which may contribute to the establishment of a homosexual neurosis with the child, the result of what is commonly referred to in psychology as "emotional incest."
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Many parents who have been severely mistreated by their spouse, especially the mothers, confide adult suffering to children. But children are incapable of dealing with the suffering of a parent, and they repeatedly undergo emotional shock, which sets off a reversal of roles between the child and the parent. The child can thus become a substitute married partner for this parent who unconsciously now says to herself, "I have barely any affection for my husband; at least I have this child that I love more than anything in the world." The child thus becomes the parent's savior, her confidante, her means of survival.
A good number of adult homosexuals in therapy have to work to emotionally divorce from their parent before they can establish the normal emotional boundaries that are necessary for restoration of equilibrium and a healthy mental state.
In analyzing the causes of homosexual behavior as "acquired", it is of course necessary to be discerning and to be aware that there are exceptions to general statements. Even though the significance of the damage done to children by parents, especially on the level of emotional security, should not be underestimated, it cannot be said that all suffering parents who confide in their children are going to foster a homosexual tendency at every turn.
Emotional Problems
Great emotional emptiness is created when a child is looked upon as a mini-adult, a loss of all bearings that interrupts proper growth of feelings and the development of individual identity. Deprived of the essential healthy parent-child relationship, the child cannot develop a deep-down feeling of his own existence. He will look to others to learn who he is, or else withdraw into himself The homosexual, unsure of his own identity, attaches himself to someone of the same sex in an attempt to find his own identity.
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All homosexuals who have agreed, anonymously or otherwise, to answer the questions of researchers, or who have followed a course of therapy, say that they suffered from a security neurosis because their emotional needs as children were not met, and they had to try to compensate for this deficit by every means during their adolescence and adult life.
Their efforts to fill this void become the motivating force of their life, driving them to become attached in inappropriate ways to people, objects and substances. Most of them say that these excesses do not relieve their deep anxiety, however, and that they typically have strong negative feelings. So envy, hatred, anger and rejection are often the only emotions that the insecure person experiences, and these serve as a basis for diverse dependencies that bring only fleeting pleasure, such as alcohol, food, drugs, sex, power, money, hyperactivity, fame, domination etc.
It is worthy of note that emotionally insecure people, especially in the homosexual milieu, experience obsessive sexual desire, and that they eroticize all their relationships, uncorking all the relational disorders that I mentioned earlier, in the first part. Although amorous relationships are many, they remain superficial and fail to fill the void. Most of these people say that they feel very alone, that they are very vulnerable, and that it is very difficult for them to confide in others.