by Roger Kirkpatrick 19 Replies latest jw friends
Thank you, cofty, for the opportunity to clarify! I agree with Watchtower that those having same sex preference are rightly deemed homosexual regardless of whether they practice the lifestyle or not. One's personal choice of lifestyle and who one chooses to have sex with is none of my business.
Two elders actually told me that one who is not sexually active is neither heterosexual nor homosexual, but are virgins which are considered the same as eunuchs. I kid you not!
Roger k. just as many Witnesses are unmarried heterosexuals who choose to remain celibate.
I remember my naturally liberal spiritual mother giving me some such reasoning when I protested the unfairness of it - that its just another type of "fornication", no better or worse than the straight kind, for which God has disapproval.
But...yours is the pertinent point, though. Heterosexual witnesses can choose to remain celibate, homosexual witnesses have no choice but to remain alone. That is utterly cruel...remember, it's not just about sex. They are condemned to a life of loneliness.
Roger Kirkpatrick: Two elders actually told me that one who is not sexually active is neither heterosexual nor homosexual, but are virgins which are considered the same as eunuchs.
I would think that these elders (in that half-arsed way that semi-educated Jws go about Bible study) were referring to Matthew 19: 11, 12. The NIV translates the verses this way:
10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”
The problem is that terminology can change, not just in translation, where precise matches may seldom be found for clouded concepts, but in the way that different cultures interpret what they see in different ways.
In our contemporary world, the word 'asexual' is being used increasingly. One definition of that word when its used as a noun, is:
noun - 1 a person who has no sexual feelings or desires.
But even if someone calls themselves an asexual, what do they mean?
An Australian national media group (SBS) (government owned) published this overview of research conducted at the University of British Columbia. Part of it reads:
While there are a number of differences between asexual and sexual groups in terms of patterns of masturbation and sexual fantasy, as well as in contents of sexual fantasy, the similarity between the groups on several of these measures is striking. For example, nearly half of asexual women and three quarters of asexual men reported both experiencing sexual fantasy and masturbating, despite reporting a lack of sexual attraction to other people and identifying as asexual. Further, there was significant overlap in the sexual fantasies experienced by participants, regardless of their asexual or sexual status. Sexual fantasies have long been thought to reveal an individual’s innermost desires. However, the current data suggest that if this is true, individuals do not necessarily act on these desires. An asexual individual may not experience sexual attraction, but may nonetheless engage in sexual fantasy, perhaps to facilitate physiological sexual arousal and masturbation.
Link to the SBS Overview: https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/sexuality/agenda/article/2016/12/01/what-asexual-people-sexually-fantasise-about
And a link to the academic research, in Archives of Sexual Behaviour:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-016-0870-8/fulltext.html
And not to appear as arguing against anything Roger K stated. Even eunuchs may have sexual fantasies.
In surveys I have answered in which I was the sole respondent, 100% were found to be hopelessly and happily gay. There simply were no straight respondents. Sadly.
On this exhaustively discussed topic: Because of a natural flare for bent tendencies, I have had no need to practise homosexuality for decades ; I perfected the behaviour at a bashfully younger age. 😜
You might surprised how many JWs are homosexuals
Not really. What's your point anyway?
In my experience I can't say. I'll have to ask my boyfriend. Bad dum tsh!
Diogenesister, your point about homosexual JWs having no choice but to remain single really is sad. I knew of two lovely sisters who lived together and came to every meeting together, always sat together and held hands during prayers. Wherever you might bump into one of them, you never saw one without the other. Yes, there were whispers, but I have always believed in "live and let live," and mind your own business. And I think many would agree that the only way to remain a JW for very long is to perfect the art of living a double life regardless of one's sexual orientation.
Watchtower has acknowledged that there are witnesses who have to fight their feelings of being attracted to someone of the same sex. They put it down to man's imperfections. As long as they dont practice same sex, they are excepted as witnesses in good standing. After all there are going to be times when a JW man feels an attraction to another woman. But as long as he does not act on his feelings, there is no problem in Watchtower world
For a group that constitutes a mere 2% of the population, they sure do get a lot of media attention.
Thought it was common knowledge that gay men are ass exual..........groan sorry...couldn't help meself. However...I believe percentages of population cited by many posters are understated.
And to add...whatever floats your boat. Everyone has a choice and their behaviors are theirs alone to own.
