Stan, I just stumbled on this topic six months after the interview.

I think we have a communication problem when we use the word "homosexuality" without first defining it.

Most folks think of homosexuality in terms of sexual orientation, which includes sexual practices.

Most conservative Christians think in therms of homosexuality in terms of sexual practices only.

So you can see how misunderstandings can abound.

Ron is a conservative Adventist Christian, and when he writes about homosexuality, I suspect he thinks in terms of certain activities, which includes thoughts and fantasies, as well as sexual practices.

So when Ron writes that the Lord gives the power to overcome homosexuality, Ron is saying that the Lord gives the power to overcome habits of thought, fantasies and sexual practices related to a homosexual orientation.

And, come to think of it, Ron even uses "orientation" in a different sense than most folks. He writes of being "oriented" to Christ, rather than being "oriented" to homosexuality. As you can see, this is a chosen focus, rather than a physiological/psychological orientation.

Add to that the complication that causes of homosexual orientation differ from person to person, and you have a real kettle of mixed fish. Some can trace their sexual orientation back to a choice they made way back when. Most cannot.

So, yes, I believe Ron can be intellectually honest and believe that people can 'overcome'homosexuality. He is using his definition and his frame of reference.

The homosexually oriented Adventists I know (who are committed to biblical expressions of sexuality) recognize that their primary sexual orientation (towards the same gender) will always be a part of them. It is possible to change enough that the orientation recedes into the background -- onto the back burner, so to speak, where it belongs. (Hey, for most folks, sex isn't the primary focus in life, though some psychologists would have us think that's so for men in general.

I believe some gay people (homosexually oriented people) can change enough to be happy in a heterosexual marriage. Ron Woolsey is clearly one of them, and I know of a number of others who are in marriages that appear to be happier than the average heterosexual marriage.

(Btw, Ron has a huge asset in his wife, Claudia who waited to marry him all through the time he spent in the gay world. She sees her marriage to him as a dream come true! And she's a wonderful, warm Christian woman. Any man should be happy married to such a woman!)

During the last couple years I've observed a young man (late 30's, early 40's .. I forget) change dramatically. When he came to us (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GLOWfriends/) he was fresh out of a long-term gay relationship. He was trying to get back in touch with his spiritual roots, the Adventist church. He was afraid to go to church. He didn't even want to hear about the possibility of changing enough to be interested in women. (The thought was too gross, I suppose. )

It is now just about two years later. Bob (not his real name) is now heavily involved in his local church, after coming out to them nearly a year and a half ago. He's giving Bible studies. He's teaching Sabbath school, and, of course, he's involved in the music of the church. He's living a life fuller than he could have imagined a couple of years ago when he was mourning all he was giving up in the gay life. And, most surprising of all, he confided to me that he's beginning to be attracted to some women in a way he never was before. No, he's not fallen "in love" with any woman, but he says, "You never know ..."

How did the change come about? Not by any kind of therapy -- reparative, ex-gay ministry or other. Instead, Bob dedicated himself fully and whole-heartedly to the service of the Lord, holding nothing back - the kind of dedication few are willing to engage in. The changes came as a 'side benefit,' so to speak --not because they were actively sought.

And just a couple days ago I got a call from a man who is experiencing the very same kind of change ...

Don't tell me it doesn't happen.

Now my personal belief:
For the record, I believe that, for most homosexuals, their orientation has a biological component, and we can't change the biology. However, from the gay people I have known, I conclude that a homosexual orientation may largely recede into the background, whether they marry or not. This comes as a result of the personal choice to focus on Christ and His service.

However, sexual temptatios will come back in full force in times of stress or trauma. For those who believe that God changed them into heterosexuals, this comes as a tremendous disappointment. They may think that God left them, no longer loves, them, etc. Or they may believe that they failed God, etc. etc.

For those who recognize that their homosexual orientation is essentially just part of a sinful orientation which we all have, it's not nearly as crushing. They recognize that Satan is trying to "get them," just as he tries to "get" the rest of us through our own particular weaknesses.

Whew! I'd better get off my soap box. If you really want to read more, you can always go to our website, http://www.glow.cc/

Am so sorry you were not here for the live interview...

Excellent post, Inga.

Always good to see you again, Inga!

Thank you, Stan, for resurrecting my post out of the bit bucket.

And thank you, Cricket and Gail, for your remarks. It's nice to pop in now & then and see some old friends. (But I'm having trouble trying to get one of those delightful smilies into my email.)

I suppose I should have known better than to post here, and I'd be perfectly happy if my post & the replies were moved elsewhere. I was just so annoyed when it just disappeared into oblivion! And then I discovered that I shouldn't have posted here!!

Where would be the appropriate place to respond?

Inga

Explanation: I originally attempted to post in the "Interviews" section, and it seemed that my post disappeared into the bit bucket. Stan kindly resurrected it (apparently it went to a moderator queue), but it was still buried in the interview section. Upon my request, he moved it out of that section, and that's why it is here in the Townhall.

Thank you, Stan.

LOL! Inga, when I posted my response to you earlier I thought the same thing: Where on earth did my post go??!? But then, I realized that it was in the interviews section and I think that all posts and questions in the interview section go through a moderator first--nothing personal, just a "safety" measure to keep the interviewee safe(r) than in the ordinary posting sections.

Oh, don't be sorry! I liked your response! As Stan mentioned, though, it would have been better had you been here for the interview!

Just one caveat: anyone who is in this situation - gay orientation, being straight with God's grace and going into marriage - please tell your prospective spouse well before the wedding who you are and what's going on with you. I've had close friends where this was not done, and that deception became the seed of the destruction of the marriage.

I agree with that Bravus. I worked with a gay outreach ministry for three years in college and none of the Christian gay men that had left the lifestyle would have ever considered hiding something like that from a future wife. However, that said, a lot of gays never marry. Marrying a woman isn't the goal or doesn't somehow establish a milestone in a gay's Christian walk away from the lifestyle.