The Issue: Public schools teach it. Television glamorizes it. Celebrities embrace it. Our government has begun mandating policies that protect it. Teens struggle with it. “Tolerance” declares that you can’t disagree with it. But is gay really OK? To uncover truth, let’s tackle some lies.
Myth No. 1: Ten percent of the population is homosexual.
Although Alfred Kinsey’s research methods have been found to be pretty biased, homosexual advocates for years have quoted his book from the 1940s, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, as the ultimate authority, proclaiming that 10 percent of the population is homosexual.
Fact No. 1: A series of recent national studies indicates that only about 2 percent to 3 percent of sexually active men and 1 percent to 2 percent of sexually active women are currently engaging in same-gender sex.
An article in The Wall Street Journal, “Homosexuals and the 10-Percent Fallacy,” found that fewer than 5 percent of men and women have had any homosexual contact in their lifetime and that “no more than 3 percent of men and considerably fewer women claim to be bisexual or exclusively homosexual."
Why It Matters
What’s the big deal about how many people are gay or straight? By saying that one out of 10 people in the United States is homosexual, some gay activists are knowingly promoting a lie and declaring that homosexuality should be accepted as normal. Yet even this reasoning is lame. For instance, 10 percent to 15 percent of Americans suffer from alcoholism, but we don’t accept this behavior as normal or healthy.
Myth No. 2: Homosexuals are born gay.
In 1993, a respected research journal, Science, published a study that ignited a “born gay” myth, claiming that science was “on the verge of proving that homosexuality is innate, genetic and therefore unchangeable.” The media went ballistic, heralding stories suggesting scientists had discovered a “gay gene.” Only in the fine print did reporters qualify statements about this possible discovery because, in reality, there was no actual discovery.
Fact No. 2: There is no evidence to support the claim that a person can be born homosexual.
The studies just don’t prove it! All the findings combined from the study of twins, gene “linkage” studies or brain dissections cannot prove that homosexuality is genetic. Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, director of the Thomas Aquinas Psychological Clinic, comments, “Homosexuality is much more complex than mere behavior and includes many complex dimensions, including thoughts, feelings, fantasies, specific attractions and identity.”
Why It Matters
Why is it so important for some homosexual activists to prove this issue? If homosexuality were genetic, people would not be able to change their orientation. If society was convinced that people are indeed born gay, then many would also be convinced that there is a need to protect homosexuals by the government as a designated minority class, such as African- or Native-Americans. This would spark states to legalize same-sex marriages, and more preschool children would be taught that having two mommies and no daddy is just another kind of love.
But science is fact—not theory. When the media grab hold of a theory of genetic links to homosexuality and promote it as science, people are led astray. This is not right.
Besides, even if a genetic link could be proven, it wouldn’t suddenly make the behavior right—or acceptable to God. Few, if any, would promote alcoholism or propensities toward anger as OK just because they are linked genetically.
Myth No. 3: Homosexual relationships are no different from heterosexual ones.
Homosexual advocates want their relationships to be treated the same as heterosexual ones, enjoying legal rights to marriage and adoption. And some gay couples really do love each other.
Fact No. 3: Homosexual male relationships are rarely monogamous, and those involved are more at risk for life-threatening illnesses.
Many studies have found that the average male homosexual is far more promiscuous than the average heterosexual. Even some in the gay community admit this. Two researchers who professed to be a gay couple concluded that gay relationships between men rarely survive if they are not open to outside sexual contacts.
Why It Matters
God created the unique relationship between a man and a woman. Yet He is equally unhappy with premarital sexual relationships as He is with homosexual relationships. He intended neither. To say that homosexual relationships are the same as heterosexual ones is to make a mockery of God’s divine act of creation and His ordination of marriage (Genesis 2:19-25).
Truth and Tolerance
As Christians, we know that the sacredness of life is based on God’s character—not our characteristics. We truly are not our own; we were bought with a price. Knowing this, we should not be cruel to anyone different from us, including homosexuals. We must respond to them in love, just as Christ did. Yet showing kindness, respect and love for others doesn’t mean we have to affirm all that they do.
However, it seems as though mainstream America believes tolerance is the ultimate virtue. If someone has beliefs or practices that differ from ours—or from God’s—should we tolerate them?
Christian professor and author J. Budziszewski writes, “Tolerance is the wisdom to know which bad things to put up with, when, why and to what degree—along with strength of character to act on that wisdom.” And he adds, “It’s not necessarily intolerant to express strong convictions if you do so with humility and gentleness.” 
