q and a
(part 3)
Question 7: “People choose to be gay. Why are you choosing this lifestyle? And why do so many gays who
do know that they are wrong try to self-medicate? They can’t fix themselves and must give their problem
over to God.”
Answer: Being gay is not something that I chose. It’s not some fashion statement for me. We have clothes
for that. Why would I choose something that could possibly cause overly religious people, peers, friends,
or family, to hate me or find disgust in me? The only thing I can choose is whether or not to be honest
about who I am. Here is something very simple that so many religious people can’t seem to comprehend.
Sexual identity/orientation is about who you’re attracted to. Meaning, if a person is gay, they are simply
attracted to the same sex. But for some reason, there are so many churches and families out there that
make you feel like, if you pretend that you’re not gay, you’re officially not gay. But that’s just it; you’re
pretending. You’re still gay. They tell gays that if they get married to the opposite sex and have kids and
never have a relationship or sexual contact with the same sex, you are now straight. But if you’re still
attracted to the same sex, all of the pretending and the shows that you’re putting on to please others don’t
matter. You’re still gay. It’s very simple. Yet we make it so difficult to understand.
So many lesbians are getting married and having kids just to turn around at a much older age, that midlife
period, and try to start their lives over. They finally get tired of pleasing everybody else and try to live their
lives being the people they truly are. Many gay men are pretending to be straight and get girlfriends. Some
even get married. But behind the scenes, they are cheating on their women with other men in secret. Then
sexually transmitted diseases start spreading on both ends. However, that would never happen if they were
allowed to be themselves in the first place. But as long as they keep pretending, many church folk are okay
with that.
Also, there are those gays who have been beat down (whether physically or spiritually) so much that they
are made to feel bad and believe that they need to be “fixed.” Yes, there are those who try to “fix” or “self-medicate” themselves. However, that is not the case for every gay person that has been made to feel bad.
Many spend so much of their lives in and out of churches seeking God and wanting Him to “heal” them of
something that does not need to be healed. They spend years praying, being prayed for, and being
counseled. Plus, there are those gays who go through something called “ex-gay” ministries to find support
from others who are going through their same experiences. But some ex-gay organizations has lead to
numerous suicides and psychological damage. Not to mention gays enduring horrific experiences such as
electro-shock therapy, in which a person has their genitals shocked with electricity every time he or she gets
sexually aroused while being forced to watch pornography of the same sex. But you are not supposed to hear
much about this because so much money and deception is invested in it all. Uh-oh!
Question 8: “Isn’t AIDS God’s punishment against gays?”
Answer: Earlier I discussed Romans chapter 1, verses 24-27. The particular verse used today to claim that AIDS
is God’s wrath against gay people is verse 27. It says:
“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.”
That’s what it says in the King James Version. But in the New King James Version (the translation in which this
verse seems to be used the most to push the “AIDS persecution”), the last part of that verse says:
“and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.”
As you can see, the alternate words used in the NKJV are “penalty” and “due.” Some people will try to say that
this verse is about gays and that the “penalty” (or punishment) for being that way is the AIDS disease.” But the
key word they seem to ignore is “due.” You see, if something is due, it is something expected to happen either
at once and on demand or at a stipulated time. For example, if you’re in a class and your teacher says, “Your
essay is due in a week,” that week she is giving you to work on your essay is her stipulated time period before
you have to turn it in to her. However, if the teacher says, “Your essay is due now,” or simply “Your essay is due,”
that means she expects you to have your paper ready to turn in right then.
The point is, in that verse, God did not give an extended time period in which this penalty was suppose to occur.
It simply said that the penalty was due. So the question is: If that verse really is about God punishing gay people
with AIDS, why did He wait thousands of years after this event happened to pour out the AIDS virus? It seems
clear that those STRAIGHT people were punished right away.
So the new question is: If AIDS is not the penalty in this verse, what is the penalty? First, let’s go back to the word
that the King James Version (KJV) uses: recompense. The word “recompense” in this particular verse comes from
the Greek word “antimisthia.” It is a compound word composed of two individual Greek words: “anti,” meaning
“in return,” and “misthos,” meaning “wages.” Antimisthia is suppose to mean words like “requital” and
“correspondence.” A requital can mean things such as: 1. “to pay somebody back” (which is where “wages” comes
in). or 2. “to return a kindness or hurt that somebody has done” (which is how “in return” comes into play). And
“correspondence” shows that there has to be some kind of correlation between what was being performed and
what was paid back. To sum this all up, the people in verse 27 did something to, for, or against God. And God, in
return, paid them back in a fair and just way for what they did.
We must keep digging to solve this mystery. A mystery that we will soon find to have a pretty obvious answer.
The word “error” in verse 27 is from the Greek word “plane,” which means things like, “fraudulence,” “err,”
“wander,” “go astray,” and “a straying away from piety.” “Piety” meaning “a strong, respectful belief in a deity.”
Essentially, these people erred, wandered, and strayed away from God. They stopped respecting and obeying
Him. We will see how the “fraudulence” plays in later. But for now, let’s keep moving forward.
For just a moment, let’s go back to the word “wages” that we got from “recompense” earlier. We learn later in
Romans (chapter 6, verse 23, to be exact) that “the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.” In other words, the price that you pay for sin is eternal death (or Hell). But if we
are willing to turn away from our sins and accept God, His ways, and His Son, we can have eternal life and go to
Heaven. So now we see that the people back in verse 27 of Chapter 1 are now rejecting eternal life with God and
are on their way to Hell.
Okay, let’s collect all that we know and get our summary. We see that there were people who tuned their backs
on the one, true God and refused to acknowledge Him and His ways. This was the “error.” And God, in response,
refused to acknowledge those people anymore and gave them over to their wicked ways. This was the “in return”
in “correspondence.” And in the process of all this, these people were giving up their opportunities to have eternal
life. This was the price (or “wages”) that they paid. As we can see, they paid the ultimate price at that. This is also
the “penalty” that the New King James Version (NKJV) was talking about.
At this point, all that is missing is the answer to the word “fraudulence.” The fraudulence played out when the
people stopped giving God the credit and the praise and gave all of their praise and worship to false idols,
including animals. Yes, believe it or not, animals were fraudulently given credit for human life and blessings. And
this information is found just a few verses before verse 27. Verses 21-23 say:
“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. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and
fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.”
So there you have it! This had nothing to do with AIDS at all. It simply had to do with idolaters paying the
ultimate price for rejecting God. This is easily something that both gays and straights are capable of.
Question 9: Gay sex is unnatural. I mean, come on. Even animals know who to have sex with, right?
Answer: Actually, homosexuality has been found in various parts of the animal kingdom. The interesting thing
about that, whenever a homophobe hears that, their insult usually seems to go from, "Even animals know who
to have sex with," to "Well then... gays are being just like animals!" Really now?
do know that they are wrong try to self-medicate? They can’t fix themselves and must give their problem
over to God.”
Answer: Being gay is not something that I chose. It’s not some fashion statement for me. We have clothes
for that. Why would I choose something that could possibly cause overly religious people, peers, friends,
or family, to hate me or find disgust in me? The only thing I can choose is whether or not to be honest
about who I am. Here is something very simple that so many religious people can’t seem to comprehend.
Sexual identity/orientation is about who you’re attracted to. Meaning, if a person is gay, they are simply
attracted to the same sex. But for some reason, there are so many churches and families out there that
make you feel like, if you pretend that you’re not gay, you’re officially not gay. But that’s just it; you’re
pretending. You’re still gay. They tell gays that if they get married to the opposite sex and have kids and
never have a relationship or sexual contact with the same sex, you are now straight. But if you’re still
attracted to the same sex, all of the pretending and the shows that you’re putting on to please others don’t
matter. You’re still gay. It’s very simple. Yet we make it so difficult to understand.
So many lesbians are getting married and having kids just to turn around at a much older age, that midlife
period, and try to start their lives over. They finally get tired of pleasing everybody else and try to live their
lives being the people they truly are. Many gay men are pretending to be straight and get girlfriends. Some
even get married. But behind the scenes, they are cheating on their women with other men in secret. Then
sexually transmitted diseases start spreading on both ends. However, that would never happen if they were
allowed to be themselves in the first place. But as long as they keep pretending, many church folk are okay
with that.
Also, there are those gays who have been beat down (whether physically or spiritually) so much that they
are made to feel bad and believe that they need to be “fixed.” Yes, there are those who try to “fix” or “self-medicate” themselves. However, that is not the case for every gay person that has been made to feel bad.
Many spend so much of their lives in and out of churches seeking God and wanting Him to “heal” them of
something that does not need to be healed. They spend years praying, being prayed for, and being
counseled. Plus, there are those gays who go through something called “ex-gay” ministries to find support
from others who are going through their same experiences. But some ex-gay organizations has lead to
numerous suicides and psychological damage. Not to mention gays enduring horrific experiences such as
electro-shock therapy, in which a person has their genitals shocked with electricity every time he or she gets
sexually aroused while being forced to watch pornography of the same sex. But you are not supposed to hear
much about this because so much money and deception is invested in it all. Uh-oh!
Question 8: “Isn’t AIDS God’s punishment against gays?”
Answer: Earlier I discussed Romans chapter 1, verses 24-27. The particular verse used today to claim that AIDS
is God’s wrath against gay people is verse 27. It says:
“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.”
That’s what it says in the King James Version. But in the New King James Version (the translation in which this
verse seems to be used the most to push the “AIDS persecution”), the last part of that verse says:
“and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.”
As you can see, the alternate words used in the NKJV are “penalty” and “due.” Some people will try to say that
this verse is about gays and that the “penalty” (or punishment) for being that way is the AIDS disease.” But the
key word they seem to ignore is “due.” You see, if something is due, it is something expected to happen either
at once and on demand or at a stipulated time. For example, if you’re in a class and your teacher says, “Your
essay is due in a week,” that week she is giving you to work on your essay is her stipulated time period before
you have to turn it in to her. However, if the teacher says, “Your essay is due now,” or simply “Your essay is due,”
that means she expects you to have your paper ready to turn in right then.
The point is, in that verse, God did not give an extended time period in which this penalty was suppose to occur.
It simply said that the penalty was due. So the question is: If that verse really is about God punishing gay people
with AIDS, why did He wait thousands of years after this event happened to pour out the AIDS virus? It seems
clear that those STRAIGHT people were punished right away.
So the new question is: If AIDS is not the penalty in this verse, what is the penalty? First, let’s go back to the word
that the King James Version (KJV) uses: recompense. The word “recompense” in this particular verse comes from
the Greek word “antimisthia.” It is a compound word composed of two individual Greek words: “anti,” meaning
“in return,” and “misthos,” meaning “wages.” Antimisthia is suppose to mean words like “requital” and
“correspondence.” A requital can mean things such as: 1. “to pay somebody back” (which is where “wages” comes
in). or 2. “to return a kindness or hurt that somebody has done” (which is how “in return” comes into play). And
“correspondence” shows that there has to be some kind of correlation between what was being performed and
what was paid back. To sum this all up, the people in verse 27 did something to, for, or against God. And God, in
return, paid them back in a fair and just way for what they did.
We must keep digging to solve this mystery. A mystery that we will soon find to have a pretty obvious answer.
The word “error” in verse 27 is from the Greek word “plane,” which means things like, “fraudulence,” “err,”
“wander,” “go astray,” and “a straying away from piety.” “Piety” meaning “a strong, respectful belief in a deity.”
Essentially, these people erred, wandered, and strayed away from God. They stopped respecting and obeying
Him. We will see how the “fraudulence” plays in later. But for now, let’s keep moving forward.
For just a moment, let’s go back to the word “wages” that we got from “recompense” earlier. We learn later in
Romans (chapter 6, verse 23, to be exact) that “the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.” In other words, the price that you pay for sin is eternal death (or Hell). But if we
are willing to turn away from our sins and accept God, His ways, and His Son, we can have eternal life and go to
Heaven. So now we see that the people back in verse 27 of Chapter 1 are now rejecting eternal life with God and
are on their way to Hell.
Okay, let’s collect all that we know and get our summary. We see that there were people who tuned their backs
on the one, true God and refused to acknowledge Him and His ways. This was the “error.” And God, in response,
refused to acknowledge those people anymore and gave them over to their wicked ways. This was the “in return”
in “correspondence.” And in the process of all this, these people were giving up their opportunities to have eternal
life. This was the price (or “wages”) that they paid. As we can see, they paid the ultimate price at that. This is also
the “penalty” that the New King James Version (NKJV) was talking about.
At this point, all that is missing is the answer to the word “fraudulence.” The fraudulence played out when the
people stopped giving God the credit and the praise and gave all of their praise and worship to false idols,
including animals. Yes, believe it or not, animals were fraudulently given credit for human life and blessings. And
this information is found just a few verses before verse 27. Verses 21-23 say:
“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. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and
fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.”
So there you have it! This had nothing to do with AIDS at all. It simply had to do with idolaters paying the
ultimate price for rejecting God. This is easily something that both gays and straights are capable of.
Question 9: Gay sex is unnatural. I mean, come on. Even animals know who to have sex with, right?
Answer: Actually, homosexuality has been found in various parts of the animal kingdom. The interesting thing
about that, whenever a homophobe hears that, their insult usually seems to go from, "Even animals know who
to have sex with," to "Well then... gays are being just like animals!" Really now?