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I'm sorry if this topic has been beaten to death, I just wanted to offer my thoughts and opinions on this topic which might be different than others view. I just want to start off by saying I'm definitely asexual I have never truly desired to be in a relationship but I have experienced physical attraction to men and women, mostly towards women. Always been a tomboy never played with dolls non of that girly stuff. My opinion of same sex attraction and experiencing it, the attitude I have is it is what it is. It's just something you experience and feel. It's just a preference or attraction nothing more. I don't view it negatively i just see it as a part of who I am and how I feel. But I understand that there are people who feel conflicted or ashamed of having same sex attraction, I don't think that's fair to be made feel guilty for something that you didn't choose. To think teens are being disowned over this makes me realize yes there are people who are truly against people like me who experience same sex attraction. So it is disheartening. But yes, it's cool to know that there are people like me on this forum who i can talk with.
We know that religions especially abrahamic religions, make value judgements about same sex attraction. In some religions, it is described as abhorrent, a sin, an abomination etc. So someone who is raised in a certain religious tradition will have an opinion about same sex attraction usually negative if he/she is a true believer. To many secular people, it's typically not a big deal. Me personally, I'm secure in myself, and in God's love for me. I don't believe it's a sin. I just wanted to post my thread to offer my thoughts and perspectives from an insiders POV. And perhaps talk with people who have experienced this too.
Many religious traditions are obsessed with controlling people's private thoughts, desires and behaviors because it's a way to make people self-loathing, insecure, and manufacture a need for what they're selling -- absolution, strength, fortitude, etc. None of which they actually deliver.
Many religious traditions are obsessed with controlling people's private thoughts, desires and behaviors because it's a way to make people self-loathing, insecure, and manufacture a need for what they're selling -- absolution, strength, fortitude, etc. None of which they actually deliver.
The more you read on this city data forum the more you start to appreciate this kind of post. Because personally I see online how people will react hatefully and lash out, and with a highly religious person's POV they are coming from a place which is totally different to someone like me, I think it's important for free thinkers to take a step back and realize it's not about you, and don't take it too personally. I have argued passionately for issues which matter to me in many areas on this city data forum arguing for women's autonomy and equality but it's like your talking to a brick wall with some people. I just hope women start to wake up more, because these current issues in our society tend to affect them the most. And I'll leave it at that.
Many religious traditions are obsessed with controlling people's private thoughts, desires and behaviors because it's a way to make people self-loathing, insecure, and manufacture a need for what they're selling -- absolution, strength, fortitude, etc. None of which they actually deliver.
I'm sorry if this topic has been beaten to death, I just wanted to offer my thoughts and opinions on this topic which might be different than others view. I just want to start off by saying I'm definitely asexual I have never truly desired to be in a relationship but I have experienced physical attraction to men and women, mostly towards women. Always been a tomboy never played with dolls non of that girly stuff. My opinion of same sex attraction and experiencing it, the attitude I have is it is what it is. It's just something you experience and feel. It's just a preference or attraction nothing more. I don't view it negatively i just see it as a part of who I am and how I feel. But I understand that there are people who feel conflicted or ashamed of having same sex attraction, I don't think that's fair to be made feel guilty for something that you didn't choose. To think teens are being disowned over this makes me realize yes there are people who are truly against people like me who experience same sex attraction. So it is disheartening. But yes, it's cool to know that there are people like me on this forum who i can talk with.
Thank you for sharing that. I agree it is what it is and there is nothing sinful about how you feel. Not everyone wants the traditional marriage and children, and often they are forced into it, which only causes misery all around. The more you and those like you share your thoughts openly and live your life as you want it the more normative definition of sexual attraction would become. i am glad you are finding support in this forum.
I'm sorry if this topic has been beaten to death, I just wanted to offer my thoughts and opinions on this topic which might be different than others view. I just want to start off by saying I'm definitely asexual I have never truly desired to be in a relationship but I have experienced physical attraction to men and women, mostly towards women. Always been a tomboy never played with dolls non of that girly stuff. My opinion of same sex attraction and experiencing it, the attitude I have is it is what it is. It's just something you experience and feel. It's just a preference or attraction nothing more. I don't view it negatively i just see it as a part of who I am and how I feel. But I understand that there are people who feel conflicted or ashamed of having same sex attraction, I don't think that's fair to be made feel guilty for something that you didn't choose. To think teens are being disowned over this makes me realize yes there are people who are truly against people like me who experience same sex attraction. So it is disheartening. But yes, it's cool to know that there are people like me on this forum who i can talk with.
OK, fair enough. But it's important to understand that what may seem like the Abrahamic faiths' obsession with sexual matters isn't without a rational basis.
In those faiths, God created two distinct genders, each with a distinct role, and charged them with marrying (becoming one flesh), procreating and raising children, and populating and exercising responsible dominion over the earth. It's a pretty coherent plan even if we humans haven't done a very good job of carrying it out.
The fact is, the sexual drive is exceedingly strong and can easily be abused and perverted. Time and again, supposedly great men of faith fall from their pedestals for this reason. Sexual urges can easily become obsessions and spiral out of control. This isn't some 17th Century Puritan notion but something we see all around us on an unprecedented scale. Our society is obsessed with sex to what seems to me a bizarre degree.
I don't doubt there are some people for whom same-sex attraction or gender confusion actually is part and parcel of their very natures. I doubt very much that it's actually on anything like the scale being promoted today, but so be it. Why this should be the case in God's creation, I have no pet theory. The fact is, these folks face life challenges in deciding how to deal with their sexuality, just as I and others face challenges in dealing with the hands we've been dealt. If they become Christians, this will present a set of challenges that won't arise elsewhere.
The statement above that religions are "obsessed with controlling people's private thoughts, desires and behaviors because it's a way to make people self-loathing, insecure, and manufacture a need for what they're selling -- absolution, strength, fortitude, etc." is, in my experience, complete nonsense. It may be the understandable perspective of a non-believer who would like to think this is what religions are all about, but in my experience it's just silly. In the context of the Abrahamic faiths, the concern with sexual matters has an entirely rational basis.
The counterpart to the above statement would be something like a Christian saying the attraction of atheism is that it provides a safe haven for those obsessed with having guilt-free deviant sex. Does that sound like a plausible explanation as to why people become atheists or just a cheap shot?
You are wise in stating, "with a highly religious person's POV they are coming from a place which is totally different to someone like me, I think it's important for free thinkers to take a step back and realize it's not about you, and don't take it too personally." This is exactly right. A believer who isn't just mindlessly lashing out does have faith-based concerns such as I have expressed above. If you are not a believer, or are a different species of believer, you simply won't have the same concerns. And so be it - I wish you well.
If 99.99% of the creatures on earth (leaving out plants and such) take the male-female approach, then the same gender approach goes against nature and the norm. You can completely leave God out of the discussion.
If 99.9999% of the creatures on earth (leaving out plants and such) take the male-female approach, the same gender approach goes against nature and the norm. You can completely leave God out of the discussion and still reach the same conclusion.
So using the same type of logic, since a majority of the world is not christian, christianity is not a valid religion.
So using the same type of logic, since a majority of the world is not christian, christianity is not a valid religion.
Since Christianity is not 0.00001 of world belief - it's a much larger percentage - that's not "using the same type of logic". I'm a bit surprised that you rambled that off so quickly without quality control checks.
Winky winky
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