A couple very encouraging thoughts occurred to me as I read the article. First, there are parallels here, I believe, to the counterculture generation of the 60’s that believed they would find fulfillment by embracing a lifestyle of partying and sex, but ended up disappointed and frustrated. As a result, many of them came to Christ, launching the Jesus Movement, which had a profound impact on the church and culture.
The second is that, since the gay community has found such a large degree of acceptance in society, they are no longer trying to hide the dysfunction that permeates the lives of so many of their people. Previously, they were so determined to convince the larger culture that they were just as normal and healthy as everybody else, it was anathema to point out the obvious physical and mental health issues that occurred in their midst at a much higher rate. Now, there is a greater freedom among their own people, it seems, to talk about the elephant in the room. This is extremely valuable since, as we know, the first step toward Christ and healing is coming out of denial. I see this as a very good thing.
What an amazing development it would be if the next spiritual awakening began with the gay community. May it be so, Jesus! And may heterosexual Christians come out of our own sexual obsession and denial so that it spreads among all of us!
I'm not sure if these problems stem from being gay as much as that they stem from a culture that, for all the talk of being accepting, is often very judgmental. For example, for both gay and straight people the default body considered beautiful is white, healthy, muscular, and young. That nixes out older people, people with disabilities, people of color, etc. I'm not denying that gay culture can reenforce these stereotypes, but I think it's indicative of the culture as a whole that doesn't accept all body types.
Glad you pointed out that the culture as a whole seems to flaunt "white, healthy, muscular, and young" as the type which is most desirable. But the Huff Post article illustrates that despite these stereotypes commonly espoused in our culture, the emotional disorders are still disproportionately high for this segment of our culture. And Hobbes indicates it is not so much a desire to look a certain way in order to be loved and accepted, but rather to means to have the dominant position in a sexual encounter--a view that accentuates dysfunctional obsession. THANKS for the input!
A couple very encouraging thoughts occurred to me as I read the article. First, there are parallels here, I believe, to the counterculture generation of the 60’s that believed they would find fulfillment by embracing a lifestyle of partying and sex, but ended up disappointed and frustrated. As a result, many of them came to Christ, launching the Jesus Movement, which had a profound impact on the church and culture.
The second is that, since the gay community has found such a large degree of acceptance in society, they are no longer trying to hide the dysfunction that permeates the lives of so many of their people. Previously, they were so determined to convince the larger culture that they were just as normal and healthy as everybody else, it was anathema to point out the obvious physical and mental health issues that occurred in their midst at a much higher rate. Now, there is a greater freedom among their own people, it seems, to talk about the elephant in the room. This is extremely valuable since, as we know, the first step toward Christ and healing is coming out of denial. I see this as a very good thing.
What an amazing development it would be if the next spiritual awakening began with the gay community. May it be so, Jesus! And may heterosexual Christians come out of our own sexual obsession and denial so that it spreads among all of us!
I'm not sure if these problems stem from being gay as much as that they stem from a culture that, for all the talk of being accepting, is often very judgmental. For example, for both gay and straight people the default body considered beautiful is white, healthy, muscular, and young. That nixes out older people, people with disabilities, people of color, etc. I'm not denying that gay culture can reenforce these stereotypes, but I think it's indicative of the culture as a whole that doesn't accept all body types.
Glad you pointed out that the culture as a whole seems to flaunt "white, healthy, muscular, and young" as the type which is most desirable. But the Huff Post article illustrates that despite these stereotypes commonly espoused in our culture, the emotional disorders are still disproportionately high for this segment of our culture. And Hobbes indicates it is not so much a desire to look a certain way in order to be loved and accepted, but rather to means to have the dominant position in a sexual encounter--a view that accentuates dysfunctional obsession. THANKS for the input!
Yeah, I get what Hobbes was saying about the dominant position. That really made me sad to think that some gay guys feel that way.