A Gay Man Agrees With Phil Robertson

The author of this guest post has asked that we not use his real name.  Living in an environment in which merely supporting the Biblical worldview could bring charges of “homophobia”, he fears the effect it would have on his career and his social relationships.  Let’s just call him “Bob”.
Here is his story.

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I am “gay” and I agree with Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty.

If free speech and equal rights actually do exist, then I would hope that people will not try to silence what I am about to say.

It goes like this: I am “gay” and I agree 100% with Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty.

He has my support, and more importantly he has my prayers. Every single person (including myself) out there needs to further wake up to the magnitude of what is happening, and realize that “a prayer is worth more than a posting”, and that we need to pray first and foremost before anything else. Pray for what? Pray that people will wake the heck up, and see that they are being lied to and that there is more to the story…but I am not talking about Duck Dynasty or Phil Robertson, I am talking about the topic of homosexuality.

In short, the culture of this day tries to have it both ways. They promote the idea that “I define me”, which is fine – it is accurate to say we can choose to embrace any particular identity. However, the culture also promotes the idea that just because you experience a certain type of attractions, you must self-identify in a particular way (if you want to be honest with yourself, that is). The culture closes the door on people even being able to become aware that the attractions we experience are not the same thing as the identities we choose to embrace. That is, the culture of this day lies to us by not differentiating our non-specifically chosen sexual attractions, from the specific choice that we make when we embrace an identity as our own. One more time, because it is THAT important, the culture says that “being gay” (or “being straight”) is “who you are”, when in reality, it is not who you are, unless you make it who you are, by specifically choosing to wholeheartedly self-identify and define yourself in that way.

What does this all boil down to? The matter of elevating the conversation.
Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty spoke about homosexual behaviour, but is there a bigger question to look at?

When Pope Francis talked about not judging gay people, it seemed as though it was the first time the media was exposed to the idea that the attractions we experience are not the same thing as the way we specifically choose to self-identify and define ourselves. Whether Catholic or Christian non-Catholic such as Phil Robertson, as Christians we are taught to self-identify not according to any single facet of our being, whether it be sexuality or otherwise. Why? The reason is simple… we are more that our sexualities.

This short video will help explain what that means a little better…(more article below the video)

A Matter of Identity

To self-identify and define ourselves according to our sexualities is not a way in which we can reflect the fullness of who we are. To self-identify according to one facet of our beings (in this case, our sexualities) is to self-identify in a reductionist fashion – we reduce ourselves and our sense of purpose to be tied to our reductionist self-concept. Rather than self-identifying and defining ourselves according to one facet of our beings, or less than the fullness of our beings (in this case our sexualities), we as Christians are called to self-identify and define ourselves first and foremost according tothe fullness of our beings – as persons – persons who are equal in dignity and worth in the eyes of God. That is, we are called to self-identify and to identify others not according to our sexualities, but rather as persons – persons who are all beloved children of God (regardless of one’s attractions or the life-journey one has taken thus far).

God’s love is for all persons, and this is a truth I discovered in the Catholic Church – in the last place the world taught that I should even look! Amidst a world that was telling me that the Catholic Church could never love someone like me, it was in there that I found the greatest love. It was in there that I was invited to uninhibitedly pursue a greater degree of truth about myself. I never received that invitation from anywhere outside the Church. With people loving me enough to walk with me on my journey, I came to realize on my own terms that serving Christ meant to be open to the virtue of chastity (different than celibacy). I came to further understand that, as the virtue of chastity is a Christian virtue, all true Christians should have zero problem with affirming people into growing further in the virtue of chastity. This matters because the whole mess of today has less to do with “who is gay”, “who is straight”, or what anyone thinks about that, and more to do with who upholds the idea that we should be open to growing in the virtue of chastity? That is where we should concentrate our energy. That is why I stand in support of Phil Robertson – even if he doesn’t stand for the virtue of chastity in all areas, he also doesn’t pander to the drones of the world who have bought the idea that one can uphold the virtue of chastity while self-identifying according to their sexuality, or while pursuing sexual acts (fantasy or physical) that are designed for mere gratification (even if it is mutually agreed-upon objectification).

Our Voices Have Been Silenced

Anyway, when I say “I’m gay”, I begrudgingly use that word knowing full well that people will think that I am someone who might be marching in a gay pride parade, and who is saying “being gay is who I am, and I want the world to know, so I can feel good about myself.” However, I will not be doing that – not for any reason of shame (I harbor no shame or guilt), but rather because I simply specifically choose to not self-identify and define myself in that way. Persons and groups who will try to silence persons like us will inform the public that we are the ones who are being dishonest with ourselves (dishonest about what, I don’t know, because we are perfectly honest with ourselves about the existence of our attractions). The fact of the matter is, doing that is the best strategy the entire pro-gay movement has, because if people like me were actually given a voice or were taken seriously, we would blow the lid off of the lies they are promoting. Thankfully, more and more people are “coming out” of “coming out”. In other words, more and more people are sick of being lied to. I know I am.

Pray, Pray, Pray

The fact of the matter is that we all have room to learn on this topic – correction: we all have lots to learn. However, unless we start asking bigger questions, we will remain entrenched in cyclical arguments with each other that will get us nowhere. Wait a minute – that is actually not entirely true. It is true that we will not get anywhere positive, but we will certainly earn a deficit. Why? Because engaging in that cycle immobilizes the good people of the world in arguments that will be relatively fruitless (relying on ourselves rather than trusting God). I would invite all people of the Christian world to enter fervent prayer (for hearts to be opened to growing in understanding of this topic), and I also invite everyone to elevate the conversation by using clarified language. Think about it – not clarifying our use of language leads to ambiguity in communication. Do we not owe it to ourselves to clarify our speech if we have any regard to truth and pursuing greater self-honesty? I think we do, and thus I think clarifying the way in which we speak is an absolute necessity – especially in this time and age. Further, clarifying how we speak about this shines a light on the falsehood that is promoted by our culture that just because I experience x, that means I am x (this falsehood is of course the cornerstone of the movement itself).

Square Watermelons?

With that, I invite you to into a learning journey; an uninhibited learning journey, where you are free to peruse all sources, not just the kinds that might “suit my motives”. I invite you into this knowing full well that this invitation will not be given by “the other guys”. It cannot be given by the other guys, because uninhibited questioning, leads to the discovery of the unanswerable questions…and with regards to homosexuality and the social movement that is sweeping the globe. It does not take long to reveal the ugly truth – the truth that identity embraced means a heck of a lot more to the movement than simply being honest about the existence of one’s attractions. We know this already on account of the insistence that our young people embrace the gay “identity” as “who they are”, so they can grow into this type of identity.

However, to embrace an identity is far beyond the matter of simply being honest with oneself about the existence of one’s attractions. Furthermore, to embrace a reductionist identity is to place limiting parameters on yourself and your self-concept. At this point I am always reminded of those “square” watermelons that are on those “Meanwhile in Japan” memes. Really, they are just watermelons that have grown into the parameters that have been placed around them. Embracing any form of identity has a similar effect. The watermelon becomes a square watermelon once those parameters are put in place. Likewise, we grow into the parameters we place onto ourselves, every time we wholeheartedly embrace any type of identity as our own.

Imposing Shame onto Christians

Regardless, along your learning journey, I just hope that you will include more than one point of view and will fairly evaluate other sources, despite the public push to have one voice speak for all of us. Clearly nowhere else in life is like that, and neither is this. Yet it is strange how the world invites questioning at all levels, except for this. Hmm… I trust you will be able to draw your own conclusions about that – but mine are that there is a serious investment in having people self-identify according to their sexuality. We know today, that the targeting is due to the reality that the Catholic Church (and many other Christian Churches at the moment) will never affirm people into becoming invested in those sorts of identities. This movement has been masterfully designed to draw people away from the Catholic Church and Christianity in general, and of course to impose shame on young people on account of their faith association. It is actually quite genius – the culture has found a way to shame children for being Catholic, and then turn against them against the faith of their family… and it is working. However, this tactic is a house of cards that today is starting to collapse because of people like you who have started to ask questions, instead of simply blindly accepting the message of our culture today. You deserve more than to be indoctrinated – but the culture of this day apparently begs to differ.

Haters Gonna Hate

It should be of no surprise that I won’t share my name here. There will be backlash because there always is, anytime something counter-cultural is introduced that shines a light on the falsehoods being presented as truths. But know this: I, and persons like me, are among you, and we have been silenced. We have been threatened with intimidation tactics to keep our mouths shut. That by the way, is what tolerance they speak of, actually looks like. Our stories are greeted with protest, and the message is effectively sent (amongst the crowds of people who think they are doing a good thing) that what we have to say is not welcome. In other words, people rally around the idea that only they can be heard, and it is done in the name of free speech and equality. Sounds like equality alright – equality for people who are illogical and one-sided. However, we know that what we have to say – if we present it with true humility as an invitation to grow in deeper understanding of what is really going on, we can turn this world on its head. Be it known I speak this without intending an anti-activist approach or revolution, but rather with an illumination into the hearts of humankind, provided by God., in His time.

Will you stand up for equality and share our voices? We hope you do.

I don’t even have to convince you who is telling you the truth and who is lying to you. I respect you enough to invite you to ask questions, while the “other guys” will not. There are a series of questions below that any person should not be threatened by…yet I know they are not well-received by the world at large. The point is: Ask questions about what is being taught, and you will know who is being threatened by those questions. How? They will steer you away from those questions, or out rightly attack you in some form or fashion. Where questions are unwelcome and where the uninhibited pursuit of truth is unwelcome, let that be a red flag to you. Regardless of whether your are ready to start this journey or not, what you and I both must acknowledge at this point in time is that “that which is not-specifically chosen” needs to be considered distinct from “that which is specifically chosen”, and thus attractions need to be considered distinct from the identities we choose to embrace. I invite you to consider who upholds that truth and who does not. Furthermore, once again I invite you to see how that invitation will not be given by all sides.

Summary

Phil Robertson, I am “gay” (describing my attractions), and you have my support 100%. Here is why:

Unchaste sexual sin (in whatever form – including opposite sex), is sin, and it is destructive to family, individuals, and to our hearts and souls. We have to look beyond the short-sightedness of our day, to see that the openness to grow in the virtue of chastity provides the foundation for the greatest probability of having healthy, stable parents, which in turn is better off for the children (secular studies support this all the way to the bank). And the better off the children, the better off our world will be. Forget the focus on toys this Christmas, rather make your priority being fully present and “in the room” when with your children. All the distractions of our world will never replace the stability of a home, but stability of the home starts with and is amplified by the desire to be chaste. The thing is, the desire to be chaste will draw a person to eventually not want to live in an unchaste way anymore. You can try, but once you realize you are trying to satisfy longings that are diametrically opposed to one another, the fantasy comes crashin’ down.

This is why what Phil Robertson brought up is so important – it is a chance to discuss the greater question of the openness to the virtue of chastity. Persons pursuing same-sex relationships and engaging in homosexual unchaste activity, just as persons engaging in opposite-sex relationship and heterosexual unchaste activity, are all guilty of the same sin – the closedness to the virtue of chastity. So, even though the world want’s you to think this is a “gay thing” and that “gay people” are being attacked, don’t fall for it. It’s an everyone thing. The reality is the authentic Christian Churches “punish”all people in the same way, with the invitation to pursue a life of self-mastery (chastity) in all areas of life. The only way I can see it being a “punishment” is if I went back in time to my old life, where I was one of those people who self-identified and defined myself according to my sexuality. I was invested in that identity, just as how so many others are of this day. But because I was invested in that identity, so much so as to define “who I was” according to my sexuality, I could not conceive of the idea that chaste living could be anything less than a cruel punishment. Today I see it as just the opposite, but God first had to open my heart to receive the desire to be chaste – and it has brought inner peace and joy beyond what I ever before knew was possible!

See, like Phil Robertson, I too turned to Christ, and he received me where I was in life – in a state where I thought not even He could love me (Christ, not Phil). And He (Christ again) has given me the desire to grow in that virtue. I understand first-hand that you cannot simply “talk with someone” and change their mind about chastity – rather you have to rely on God, which means to pray for His graces to do what He is calling you to do in His time. Phil stood up for what he believes in, and he has taken the fall without denying Christ. I hope that I might have that much courage if I were in his shoes, when facing the “tolerance” of our world today. However, at least people are starting to ask questions, and his losses will not be in vain but will rather act towards the journey to greater truth for many people – maybe even you. For that reason I repeat again: despite the attractions I have been permitted by God, Phil Robertson, I am with you 100%, and GOD BLESS YOU and GOD BLESS AMERICA!

- Your Brother in Christ

This article appeared originally at the website Pursuit of Truth.  Click here for more information.