I took this Letter from the Bryan College "Triangle Newspaper" website. The link is: http://www.bryantriangle.com/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-attraction-is-not-sin/ I decided to post this on my blog because I found the letter rather intriguing, and also because I felt that, compared to more recent articles and letters to the editor, that this was actually well written and thought out. The real question, however, is "is this an acceptable philosophy?" Leave your comments and tell me what you think!
"Dear Editor (and Ms. "blank"),
I read your letter to the editor this past week, and while there were several things that I agree with, the main point has been bothering me all week. I have to say, I disagree. You said, “I do believe that having attraction to the same sex is wrong and is an act that requires repentance.”
Same-sex attraction is not a sin. Same-sex attraction is not an act. Same-sex attraction is a temptation, and a temptation that a lot of research suggests will be with you your entire life. Attraction is also not the same as lust.
I believe that even you would agree with this. If attraction is lust, than attraction to anyone of the opposite sex is also sin, unless they’re your spouse (so good luck courting).
Instead the main Greek word used for lust, also often translated covet, can also be used for good desires (Hebrews 6:11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end). It is a desire or longing for a thing. But that desire is wrong, when it reduces someone to an object to crave.
Attraction, on the other hand, notices that the person your looking at looks good. I think that Emma Watson is attractive, and several of my friends. But that is not the same as lusting after any of them. Can attraction be a temptation? Certainly. Is it sin? No.
In the same way that I can be tempted to gorge myself on a feast, to hurt someone who’s wronged me, or to pridefully ridicule an opinion I disagree with, I can be tempted to lust after those I find attractive. It is not sin to feel temptation. Jesus felt temptation too. But being tempted isn’t wrong.
To single out a single temptation as being itself sin, requiring of repentance drives away those who desperately need our help. Instead it is typical for them to find the church’s doors closed. God spent time with sinners. He loved them so much it killed him. Though he tells them to “sin no more,” he also offers them forgiveness for their failings, and restoration.
So yes, “everyone struggles with something.” Your sins are no more or less acceptable to God than any other. Maybe we as the Church need to remember that we are just as flawed as those we so often seek to condemn."
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