Darwinism and Homosexuality (its effect on Society)
 

A question that comes up in conversation very often is why are we seeing such a significant rise in homosexual men and women in our society today?
Is it a natural phenomenon, is it a result of nature or nurture, is it a result of teaching, is there an evolutionary change in mankind?
It seems to be a phenomenon that is difficult to understand.

What is happening in society, that is producing so many homosexuals, both male and female?
I remember growing up in the 40s and 50s and barr for the odd one or two effeminate males, there did not seem to be many obvious homosexuals around.
Now, I am not so naïve that I believe that this kind of thing did not exist. Of course it did, all down through history there is evidence that homosexuality has existed in all societies from the earliest peoples through the Egyptians, Greeks to the Romans.
In many cultures homosexuality was outlawed and considered a perversion and in some societies still is. In the UK up until the 1960s it was illegal and punishable by prison and in many other countries, punishable even by death. It was classified as gross misconduct. So the majority of practicing homosexuals were forced to be discrete and hide their sexual preferences.
To be discovered as a practicing homosexual could mean a prison sentence, business ruin, disgrace or alienation and rejection.

However in my lifetime and since the 60s, there has been a change in society that is to say the least, unbelievable.
So, what has, or is happening in our society, that is changing what most people thought was the “natural order of things”.

Of course it is argued today that homosexuality is not unnatural but just a different expression of love between men or women. There are those that believe that both male and female homosexuals are born this way.
In contrast to this there are those that say it is a result of nurture, other say it is a life choice.
Our children are being taught in schools and colleges that homosexuality is normal behaviour and our governments are passing laws that are allowing the marriage of “gays and lesbians” and it is becoming unacceptable to make any comment against homosexuals.
To speak about what one believes concerning homosexuality is becoming unacceptable and looked on as hate speech.
However, it is something that is changing the face of our society and does affect our way of life.

These practices are not only limited to secular society but have also been adopted in many of the religious organizations with the introduction of gay marriage and the ordination of gay vicars and priests.
Even in the “evangelical community” where people say that they believe the Bible is God’s word, homosexuality is openly accepted.
Liberal thinking and post modernism is a growing movement in Christianity, seeker sensitive churches, Emergent church or the Emerging church seems to be the way that a lot of churches are going and there is a lot of support and campaigning on behalf of the LGBT movement.

So, what is happening?

I would like to say at this point that this blog is not an attack on homosexuals themselves but a study to try to understand exactly what is happening in society and what could be the cause.

As a Bible believing Christian, I want to understand what is happening in the light of what scripture teaches.
Many Evangelicals quote scriptures such as Mathews Gospel and the words of Jesus. 

Matt 24: 37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Just before the flood, fornication and evil was rife and some say that this is a sign that we are living in the last days.

Genesis 6: v5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
V11, 12 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

Jude v 6,7 - And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
7 - Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."

We also read of Sodom and Gomorrah, these cities also, were rife with homosexual behaviour and were destroyed by God because of it. The very name used for a practising homosexual males for a long time was sodomites, named after the city of Sodom.
They say that this is a sign of the times.This may be true but it still does not answer the question as to why this is happening.

Whilst reading the Epistle of Paul to the Romans, I read these verses that caused me to think.

Roman Ch 1: 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity;whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection,implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Notice the language used in respect to homosexuality. Vile passions - Uncleaness - dishonour their own bodies - women did change the natural use into that which is against nature - leaving the natural use of the woman - men with men working that which is unseemly.

The question that arises from this.
Is this a judgement of God on humanity for rejecting Him as creator and turning what was created into something that is to be worshipped?

This got me thinking about what has happened in our society with the abandoning of God and the rise and acceptance of evolution.
I began to read about the beginnings of Dawinism. Originally there was a great deal of opposition to Darwin’s Origin of the Species.
Adam Sedgwick, Darwin’s former mentor in natural science at the University of Cambridge, expressed this fear poignantly in a letter to Darwin in 1859, shortly after reading The Origin of Species. He stated, ‘Passages in your book…greatly shocked my moral taste’ ” 
(From Darwin to Hitler, 2004, p. 1).

Most of us have grown up being taught Darwin’s theory in our schools. Most people accept it without question and argue that it is fact. Few question the teaching of his ideas in our public schools but there were those around at that time that did have questions and concerns.

Many educated men and religious teachers worried about what effect this teaching of evolution would have on society.
Warning of the consequences of the book’s publication, Sedgwick added that “humanity, in my mind, would suffer a damage that might brutalize it, and sink the human race into a lower grade of degradation than any into which it has fallen since its written records tell us of its history”

In the same way that Martin Luther would not have realised that his writings on the Jews (The Jews and their Lies) would influence Adolf Hitler in the persecution of the Jews, so Charles Darwin did not realise the effect that his Origin of the Species would also have on the history of the world.
There is quite a lot of literature that would suggest that Darwin’s theories had a great effect on society. It is doubtful that Charles Darwin would have considered the possible moral consequences of what he was writing. He certainly could not have foreseen that less than 75 years after his writing this document, his ideas would lead to Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust, the Nazi attempt at exterminating the Jews.
Professor Weikart’s detailed book documents the connection, with plenty of quotes from mostly German philosophers and scientists in the intervening years.
Dr. Richard Evans, professor of modern history at the University of Cambridge and author of The Coming of the Third Reich, says that "Weikart’s book shows in sober and convincing detail how Darwinist thinkers in Germany had developed an amoral attitude to human society by the time of the First World War, in which the supposed good of the race was applied as the sole criterion of public policy and ‘racial hygiene.’“ 
Without over-simplifying the lines that connected this body of thought to Hitler, he demonstrates with chilling clarity how policies such as infanticide, assisted suicide, marriage prohibitions, and much else were being proposed for those considered racially or eugenically inferior by a variety of Darwinist writers and scientists, providing Hitler and the Nazis with a scientific justification for the policies they pursued …” (From Darwin to Hitler, back cover)

Darwin may not have started out with any idea of rejecting Biblical morality, but that’s where his theory ultimately led.
Living in Victorian England, Darwin would no doubt have been appalled at Nazi ideology—but without the theory of evolution, Hitler’s Third Reich could not have justified itself.
After reading Darwin’s Origin of Species, Karl Marx [the founder of the communist movement] wrote to Friedrich Engels, ‘Although developed in a coarse English manner, this is the book that contains the foundation in natural history for our view.’

Furthermore, many pacifists, feminists, birth control advocates, and homosexual rights activists—some of whom were persecuted and even killed by the Nazis—were enthusiastic Darwinists and used Darwinian arguments to support their political and social agendas”.Darwin’s writings led to new thought by many European thinkers.
In 1904 one of the leading German Darwinian biologists, Arnold Dodel, proclaimed, ‘The new world view actually rests on the theory of evolution. On it we have to construct a new ethics … All values will be revalued’ …
In other words, morals that applied before Darwinism may have to be re thought.

Darwin’s theory did not just alter the way that effected politics, contributing to fascism, communism and two world wars. It also altered the thinking of many people within Western societies. Values based on centuries of Judeo-Christian teaching on the sanctity of marriage and human life in general began to erode. Darwin’s theory did not just challenge the biblical account of creation, it caused many to express doubts on everything in the Bible, including the moral laws.

Today, marriage is an outdated custom, while the idea of fidelity in marriage and sexual commitment to one partner for life—is held by only a small minority. Extra marital and pre marital sex is rampant. In the minds of many, sex is solely for pleasure, and children are an inconvenience. This has led to abortion almost on demand and the life of the unborn child is not important.
Without realising it, one of the inevitable consequences of Darwinism is a very real threat to the very existence of the Western European peoples who have embraced his teaching.If there is an evolutionary process in mankind and according to the theory of Darwin only the strongest will survive. Then a question arises, how could the human species survive if the gene that causes homosexuality becomes the dominant gene. It would surely have the opposite effect. There would be no more procreation and humanity would cease to exist.

So this brings me back to the original question.

Could the teaching of evolution have played a part in the change in society on the issue of homosexuality?
If so, are we seeing the abandonment by God on our societies as a judgement for unbelief?
Has the rejection of the true God, had social and sexual consequences on the nations?

As is seen in the passage of scripture quoted. “For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 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” (Romans 1: 26-27).

The rejection of God has its consequences. Some well-known evolutionists admitted as much.
The famous author Aldous Huxley, for one, wrote: 
“Those who detect no meaning in the world generally do so because, for one reason or another, it suits their [purpose] that the world should be meaningless … For myself, as, no doubt, for most of mycontemporaries, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially aninstrument of liberation. The liberation we desired was … liberation from a certain system of morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom …”
( Ends and Means, 1938, pp. 270, 273).

Julian Huxley, brother of Aldous and also a leading proponent of evolution, later wrote, “The sense of spiritual relief which comes from rejecting the idea of God as a superhuman being is enormous”
( Essays of a Humanist, 1966, p. 223).

Once God is removed from our thinking, then there is no one to answer to. Everyone can live according to his own moral law. Man becomes answerable only to his own conscience as long as he does not harm anyone else.
This is what the Apostle Paul continued to say:

 “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness” (Romans 1: 28-29).

Perhaps the next verse sums it up best, with Paul writing that men became “haters of God” (verse 30).

Man thinks that getting rid of God is a liberating experience, not understanding a world without God is a world of immorality, questions with no answer, loneliness and hopelessness.
Perhaps the saddest epithet given these people is found in verse 32 where we are told that they “not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

They desired that others join them in their way of life ­ a life without God. Even those that do not engage in this behaviour, stand on and watch and accept it. Is it because of the rejection of the Creator that the world finds itself in:

A world without morality. 
God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness,covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit,evil-mindedness”

A world without answers.
Questions such as, Where everything came from?
Without God there is no answer to that question. Every “answer” that man derives at by himself contradicts his own knowledge.
But God gives the answer (Genesis 1:1-31; Exodus 20:11).

Have you ever faced a choice and didn't know which was right. ­Men were giving different answers to the same question. But God can give the answer (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:3).
You see man's answers change depending on what he wants. God's answers stay the same because He looks to what man needs.

A world of loneliness. 
How many of those who want a life without God have someone they can truly trust. Someone they can say loves them above all else?
Paul painted the sad picture of those who lived for self and left God out when he said “all seek their own” (Philippians 2:21).

Without God there is no reason for anyone to seek anything other than their own reward or self gratification. God has a better answer (John 13:35; Galatians 6:1-2; Hebrew 3:12-13).

A world without hope. 
Have you noticed the rising suicide rate ­ those who say life is not worth living? Have you noticed the rise in the number of homeless ­ those who simply decide life is not worth the effort? Have you seen the increase in the number of those overcome with depression ­ who see no way to cope with the pressures of life? A world without God is a world filled with hopelessness and despair. Man cannot find in himself the answer to “Why should I keep on?” Life without God has no purpose that gives hope. God has the answer (Revelation 2:10; 1 Corinthians 15:58; Philippians 3:14).

A world without God. 
A world of loneliness, immorality, questions with no answer, hopelessness.... How terrible that so many think that is the way things should be. It is obvious that in the world in which we live there are many who have fallen prey to this horrible way.

Can this situation be reversed.

Those that lived in the city of Corinth were seeing these same things amongst them.The Apostle Paul refers to it in his letter to the Corinthians Chapter 6: 9 – 11. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Is It Possible for Homosexuals to Change?

Article by Sue Bohlin (Probe for Answers)
Mike was marching in a Gay Pride parade when God got a hold of him. He had been high for four days and his “buzz” suddenly evaporated as he heard a voice in his head say, “You don’t have to live like this.”
He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was God offering him a way out. He put down his Gay Pride sign, left the parade, sat down in a nearby stairwell, and repented of his rebellion. He gave his heart to Jesus Christ and starting walking out of homosexuality that day.
Today, several years later, he is married with a child, and living a very different kind of life. Not just on the outside; his heart was changed from the inside out.
Paul was on a self-destructive path of drug and alcohol abuse and homosexual activity. When he told his mother he was gay, she threw him out of the house, and the only place he could find belonging, safety, and identity was the gay community.
As he spent more and more time “escaping” the pain in his life through sex and alcohol, he began to realise how bad his life was. He wanted to die but God had something else in mind.
Paul was invited to a Bible study where he met a man who had left the gay lifestyle and was living a changed life. For the first time he honestly called out and said, “God, please help me.”
One of his friends became a Christian. He asked her about homosexuality and was angered by her initial response. She said, “I now believe it is a sin—but God wouldn’t call it a sin if there weren’t something better.”
Paul eventually realised that he was a sinner who needed God’s love and grace, and in 1992 he trusted Christ as his Savior. Two months later, he was led to an organisation that helps people deal with unwanted homosexuality through an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
He left his homosexual identity behind and embraced his true identity as a child of God, committed to holiness and purity.
Paul is now director of that ministry and is helping others walk out of homosexuality. He’s not perfect, he’s still growing . . . just like me and every other Christian I know. But the “something better” God had in mind for him is an intimacy with Christ that is breathtaking.

Stories of Women

Carol grew up in a religious home with parents whose standards were too strict to allow her to please them. But she was smart, and a good student, and her teachers gave her the affirmation and encouragement her heart longed for.
She developed very strong bonds with her teachers, some of which became profound emotional dependencies.
In graduate school, she was hit by the unexpected pain of loneliness and emptiness.
Carol got into an intense relationship with a married woman, facing completely new temptations. She was totally unprepared to resist the strength of same-gender attraction, and quickly found herself emotionally and physically involved in a relationship she couldn’t believe was happening. Now she was not only emotionally needy, she was shackled by deep shame, woundedness, and guilt.
A friend told her about a ministry to those dealing with same-sex attraction, and it was like finding a door to another world. Through the support she found there, Carol was challenged to identify the lies of Satan which she had believed her whole life and replace them with the truth of Scripture. God is renewing her mind, meeting her deep heart-needs, and bringing her to a place of freedom and hope.

Diane’s story is different. She spent eighteen years in a committed lesbian relationship with another woman she believed to be her soul-mate. They went through a commitment ceremony in a gay church, and raised a daughter together. She enjoyed a position of leadership as a bright and articulate spokesperson for a gay church.
Through all those years, Diane’s mother was steadfast in three things. She loved Diane unconditionally. She never backed down about her belief that her daughter’s lifestyle was sinful because God says it’s wrong. And third, she prayed faithfully for her daughter.

Diane and her partner sought the Lord about everything except their sexuality. At one point, they were praying together for wisdom and truth about a situation that had nothing to do with their relationship. God answered their prayer in an unexpected way; He showed them the truth about the sinful nature of their relationship. It was a terribly painful and unwelcome discovery to learn that they had been deceived. Together, they decided out of obedience to God to separate and break off their relationship. It’s still painful, even as Diane experiences God’s healing touch in the deepest parts of her wounded soul. He’s changing Diane and Carol from the inside out.

Three Claims for Change

Some people deal with same-sex attraction by pretending it’s not there. Denial is unfortunately the time-honored “Christian” response. But this is not the way God wants us to deal with problems; Psalm 51:6 says, “Surely you desire truth in my inmost parts.” 
Acknowledging one has a homosexual orientation is like seeing the red light on your car’s dashboard; it means something is wrong somewhere.
A homosexual orientation isn’t the actual problem; it’s the symptom of a deeper issue–legitimate, God-given needs for relationship and intimacy that have been channelled in unhealthy and sinful directions. But it is not a simple matter, and it would be disrespectful to imply that there is an easy solution to the complex issue of homosexuality.
Among those who claim that change is possible, there are three main schools of thought on how to get there.

The first is the deliverance ministries.

They say that homosexuality is caused by a demon, and if we can just cast out the demon, the problem is gone. Sounds like an easy fix, but it ends up causing even more problems because homosexuality isn’t caused by a demon. The person who was “delivered” may experience a temporary emotional high, but the same temptations and thought patterns that plagued him before are going to return because the root issue wasn’t dealt with. Only now, he’s burdened by the false guilt of thinking he did something wrong or that he’s not good enough for God to “fix” him.

A second and more effective treatment for homosexuality is reparative therapy.

There is a lot of wisdom to be found here because many therapists believe that homosexuality has its roots in hurtful relationship patterns, especially with family members, and many homosexual men and women report exactly that. But reparative therapy is often just behaviour modification, and it deals only with the flesh, that part of us independent of God. Reparative therapy can make people feel better, but it can’t bring true inner healing.

The third, and I believe best, way to bring about real and lasting change is aredemptive approach.

Ministries that disciple men and women in intimate relationship with Jesus Christ are able to lead them into inner healing because God transforms His people. It’s excruciatingly difficult to leave without support.Fortunately, even for people who do not live in an area where there is a ministry tailored for those dealing with unwanted homosexuality, there are online support forums that can be almost as powerful as face-to-face groups.
I especially recommend Living Hope Ministries’ online support groups at www.livehope.org.

There are also some wonderful books available, particularly Coming Out of Homosexuality by Bob Davies, and Someone I Love is Gay by Anita Worthen and Bob Davies. Another excellent book is You Don’t Have to Be Gay by Jeff Konrad for men and Restoring Sexual Identity by Anne Paulk for women.
My all-time favorite author on this topic is Joe Dallas; anything he writes is exceptionally good. But discipleship is hard work, and there is no simple and easy fix. 

(Sue Bohlin)
https://probe.org/can-homosexuals-change/ homosexuality

 

​