Is being Homosexual a choice?

[PopYoshi]

Why is this controversial topic on a mario fan games forum. People are free to talk about what they want, but it's just weird.

I agree. I don't want to discuss politics on a Mario fan forum. However the staff seem to be letting this continue so I will say this. You can't be born gay and if anyone says other wise that is just their opinion. This has been discussed numerous times on actual political forums and no matter how many times people say you can be born gay nothing has actually been proven.

Being a conservative christian does not make me biased nor do I hate gay people. I don't support the sin but as a child of God I still love them.

So one may find that a person who is born male and starts developing a particular attraction to typically male-coded physical traits and/or behavior (ie. muscled body, strong jawline, assertiveness, tendency to display dominance) will end up calling himself homosexual, but that does not mean that he was born strictly homosexual, simply that he has adopted homosexual as his identity irregardless of his potential to be attracted to women (as an anecdote, most gay men I know have had sex with a woman at some point).

Now that may explain why I've been feeling things for guys since I had 4

You chose to have those feelings. Something about them made you get excited. That is not proof that you or anyone else is born gay. That just means you have a thing for other men.

This site says there is no scientific data to back up claim people are "born this way". http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publicati ... -fall-2016
Thank link was posted in a thread in a political forum by the person who started the thread and the thread went to become nearly 20 pages long with both sides still in disagreement. So nobody can say with 100% proof anyone is born gay. I am not trying to be rude here. A similar thread went for 40 pages and still nothing proven that people are born gay. There is no evidence that anyone is born gay.

Again I do not hate gay people. It says in the bible to love everyone including thy enemies so I don't have to support the sin but I still love the people.

So you say LGBT people are born to be discriminated by society. Very well

I did say that society tends to discriminate gay people although they are born that way and can't help it and therefore it wouldn't make any sense for them to choose to be gay. My statement was fully pro LGBT. How could you not see that?

Again there is no evidence to prove anyone is born gay. Just because everyone says people are born gay does not make it true.

If for you a 4 years old kid can choose to like guys... idk, it's strange. I was just in my house like everyday and suddnely I saw the image of a guy in boxers and I felt "strange things", why would a 4 years old kid choose to like guys? I never liked girls, and after noticing everything I liked from guys....... I said "oh well, I DISCOVERED, again, DISCOVERED I'm gay"

[aero]

You could do a google search but since I did bring it up I will say this. There are multiple passages through out the bible that do mention and discuss being homosexual or gay. You asked for specific versus but I don't honestly feel like looking them up and that will lead to a discussion I honestly don't have time for today. As for loving everyone there is several versus for that to:

Matthew 5:43 You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.

My original op was just stating there is no evidence anyone is born gay when multiple users were saying you "are" born gay which I don't believe to be true. I will let you all continue to debate this topic. I am going to step out for now. If anyone disagrees with me then I suggest reading the article I linked to in my above post.

I'm very familiar with what the Bible says and doesn't say; I've been reading it cover to cover and I'm aware of all the arguments for and against homosexuality being a sin. That's why I asked you what verses you were citing so I can see what you mean instead of a vague "the Bible says so" argument. As for Matthew 5:43 an important thing to be aware of is who your neighbor is. In Luke 10:25-37 is the parable of the good Samaritan it is said that the Levite and the Priest who pass by were not a neighbor to the person beaten half dead by thieves and the Samaritan that went out of his way to help take care of the beaten man was. Neither calling people out nor ignoring people meets the biblical definition of being neighborly, and to love thy neighbor is to inherit life. Also in Leviticus 19:33-34 the same commandment is given and is to apply to strangers and in doing so would be consistent with the rest of the law of Moses. In Genesis through Leviticus the Israelites encounter all kinds of people who the Bible calls wicked and they went to war with them, and didn't love them because they were not their neighbors in the Biblical sense but there were neighboring tribes such as Canaan in a geographic sense. Finally in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 the Biblical definition of love (KJV uses the term "charity") can be found:

4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

That's the full context of Love your neighbor and hate your enemies.

[Jerrysmbxworld]

don't really understand why such a topic is made on a mario forum tbh

Well it is on the Sandbox section (Which means you may address off-topic discussions.) I Personally am surprised with how much attention it's getting.

[Knux]

Bait post.

[Jerrysmbxworld]

Bait post.

It's nice to that my topic discussion gained the attention of the creator whom made the "Great Empire" Series. (Awesome episodes BTW.)

[Marina]

I'm aware that this is not a discussion that explicitly belongs on a Mario forum, but this thread is a good opportunity to exchange experiences and educate people, therefore I've decided to not lock it as of now.

Added in 28 minutes 13 seconds:
And while I already have this thread open, I'd like to analyze a bit that I read earlier in this thread.

It's a sentiment that comes up often, especially from religious parties.

"Being gay is a sin. And you chose to be gay."

So let's talk about choosing to be gay. I read someone say something along the lines of "you chose to have those feelings". This is already a logical fallacy, as being gay doesn't mean to have certain feelings, but to have a preference. Feelings are for the group of people that preference pertains to. It doesn't mean that a gay man has feelings for every man, just like a heterosexual man doesn't have feelings for every woman.
Now, are feelings a choice? At first glance no, because feelings are a big and complex part of how the human psyche works, but ultimately, if handled and processed correctly, yes. For a mentally healthy individual it is easy to deal with feelings in a healthy way. For a person with any kind of major neurodivergence though it can be a struggle, which is something that many mentally healthy people aren't aware of. So it's perfectly understandable where the "you can choose to not feel a certain type of way about a certain subject" comes from.
But again, this has nothing to do with sexuality, as sexuality is a preference. It causes feelings that can be dealt with, but it in itself is not a feeling, therefore one cannot choose to have or not have a certain type of preference. Again with the pizza analogy, I cannot force myself to not like pizza with pepperoni. I can keep myself from eating pizza with pepperoni, I can tell others that I don't like it, I can tell myself that I don't like it, but at the core of it, I like pizza with pepperoni.
This analogy has one problem though. Pizza doesn't take up as much of a persons life as love does. For the most part.
I can survive without eating my favorite food, but surviving without love is challenging. Sure, it's possible to survive without romantic love, if you're mentally healthy and resilient, but if you're an average person, chances are you will crave love in the form of a life companion at some point in your life. And why would we deny someone that life companion when they have a chance to be with that person? Why would God or anyone want to do that?

[blueflame070]

You could do a google search but since I did bring it up I will say this. There are multiple passages through out the bible that do mention and discuss being homosexual or gay. You asked for specific versus but I don't honestly feel like looking them up and that will lead to a discussion I honestly don't have time for today. As for loving everyone there is several versus for that to:

Matthew 5:43 You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.

My original op was just stating there is no evidence anyone is born gay when multiple users were saying you "are" born gay which I don't believe to be true. I will let you all continue to debate this topic. I am going to step out for now. If anyone disagrees with me then I suggest reading the article I linked to in my above post.

I'm very familiar with what the Bible says and doesn't say; I've been reading it cover to cover and I'm aware of all the arguments for and against homosexuality being a sin. That's why I asked you what verses you were citing so I can see what you mean instead of a vague "the Bible says so" argument. As for Matthew 5:43 an important thing to be aware of is who your neighbor is. In Luke 10:25-37 is the parable of the good Samaritan it is said that the Levite and the Priest who pass by were not a neighbor to the person beaten half dead by thieves and the Samaritan that went out of his way to help take care of the beaten man was. Neither calling people out nor ignoring people meets the biblical definition of being neighborly, and to love thy neighbor is to inherit life. Also in Leviticus 19:33-34 the same commandment is given and is to apply to strangers and in doing so would be consistent with the rest of the law of Moses. In Genesis through Leviticus the Israelites encounter all kinds of people who the Bible calls wicked and they went to war with them, and didn't love them because they were not their neighbors in the Biblical sense but there were neighboring tribes such as Canaan in a geographic sense. Finally in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 the Biblical definition of love (KJV uses the term "charity") can be found:

4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

That's the full context of Love your neighbor and hate your enemies.

i saw bible stuff and had to butt in roflol totally off topic... isaiah 18 3-7 has to be (KJV) BAMN! look at that what is that in there i think i know! roflol it's 2 things one of them is wine the other..... any way it does say that it is wrong for a man to lay with another man somewhere in there... but what if one man sprouted some chest and looked like a girl acted like a girl and talked like a girl hmmm a possible gray area.....?

"JoIn mY HaRem AnD SuRvIvE ThE LoOmInG EnD!"

[erkyp3rky]

My beliefs are you're born with it. However, some people do change.

[Knux]

My beliefs are you're born with it. However, some people do change.

You pretty much figure out your sexuality between the ages of 13-18 (although in some cases people knew since they were a child). You can't change your sexuality, otherwise the christian communities would well and truly got rid of 'the dreaded gay'.

[krakin]

Apologies for the massive necrobump, but I just found this thread and really want to share my opinion on this topic. First and foremost, the push for LGBT rights and acceptance is definitely relatable to the Civil Rights Movement in that the people who are a part of these movements both want equality and a sense of belonging in society. LGBT rights are civil rights as well.

Secondly, I think homosexuality being a choice is subjective. One person could be attracted to people of the same gender from the time they were little kids, and may even be confident in staying in relationships with these people, while another person is in denial or questioning who they prefer more, and are unsure how to communicate that they are gay. Some people may even be on the fence: they might have previously been in a same-sex relationship where they were comfortable, but when looking for another partner, are no longer showing this. In other words; some people just immediately know who they want to be with, and others don't.

this one is just a personal experience of mine with being gay. I'm a girl if you haven't already known or cared enough to ask. I noticed a few years ago I had an interest in other girls since kindergarten. At that time up until high school, I lived in a small town in Idaho. A pretty conservative, whitewashed, religious-oriented town where being gay was assumed a big no-no. There was nobody who could possibly tell me what I was doing was completely fine, nor anyone who could tell me what I was doing, and I was too young at the time to understand. Naturally, the girls that I was constantly trying to hang around with would give me weird looks, so I took that as me doing something weird and wrong, and tried to interact with boys instead. Eventually, I educated myself on what "LGBT" and "lesbian" meant and finally knew what I was doing was not wrong. Because of certain events, I moved back to my home state of California and felt more comfortable expressing who I was, albeit not verbally. Bottom line is that sexual preference is up for interpretation. As for me, it never felt like I chose to like women. I feel a certain way when I'm around other women, and it feels natural, not like I'm forcing myself to like them. I know for sure straight people are the same way.
wow sorry for the info dump, i seriously didn't think i would produce this many paragraphs in one post, this looks like an essay lol

[Cedur]

wow sorry for the info dump, i seriously didn't think i would produce this many paragraphs in one post, this looks like an essay lol

a very deep and great one at that!

[Marina]

Good and important addition to the thread, and I think that's all that needs to be said on the matter.