MY very good friend, whom I tag as GAYXJW, has an interesting viewpoint on the destructive effect of the Christian churches negative attitude toward same-sex relationships.
He, as his ID indicates, was a witness for many years, getting involved when he was young and having to deal with his attraction to males. He faithfully accepted the JW teachings on the matter (which are not different to most other churches) and was convinced that the Yahweh/Jesus combo divinity could and would heal him, if only he had faith (Matthew 8:13). In time he believed he was healed (though, one could argue that he had merely suppressed his sexuality), and thought that he could marry without ruining someone else's life. So he found a nice girl from a theocratic family and married. They eventually had three kids.
Within their congregation they were seen as a fine example, and did indeed seem to have a happy marriage.
But, a dark shadow hung over this couple. Neither did anything wrong, at least for some 20 years. So what was the shadow? Simply that my friend did not have sexual attraction toward his wife. He tells of the coldness that started to grew between them, and how for himself, he would often lie there in the darkness next to his wife, willing himself to have an erection, so that he he have sex with his wife and provide her with the physical satisfaction that she should have had, but the only result was an increase in the coldness of their relationship. The JWs are a small society, and I co-incidentally know that during the committee meetings leading to my friend's expulsion, his wife had blamed him for her own adultery.
This marriage should never have occurred, and it was one of things that made me start thinking about the whole deal. The theory was that the Holy spirit should have made it clear to that girl's family that she should not marry this young man. Some elders blamed my friend, but really, did he sin when he believed that the Yahweh/Jesus combo divinity could and would heal him, if only he had faith?
These peoples lives were ruined because of the attitude that most churches have toward same sex attraction.
When the homophobes who sometimes post here, post their nastiness, they seldom take time to reflect on the consequences of this church nastiness.
I wonder how many couples, in many churches, have suffered the way my friend and his wife and kids suffered ?
