Rational beings can control their behavior: imperfectly at first, yet they can choose long-term straategies to achieve more and responsible and intelligent control.
Rational beings can influence their own feelings and reactions to bring them into harmony with their beliefs and values: yes, imperfectly at first, yet they can take steps over time to achieve deeper and broader harmony.
All of this is certainly limited and modified by one's genome, one's prenatal hormonal influences, one's early childhood development, environmental factors, altereed brain physiology due to traumas, and all the rest. But the will to modify one's life over time, the discipline to understand one's past influences, and the intelligence to shape a realistic strategyof self-determination, is part of our endowment as human beings.
These are axioms about a human person's nature as a rational being. These axioms are found in Christianity, but also in secular and humanist fields such as "education" and "counseling," which necessarily assume that people have some degree of power to understand their history and shape their destiny. If this were not so, why bother with "counseling" at all?
If it were actually true that homosexuals in particular, or people in general, are incapable to modifying their own attitudes and behavior, there would be no point in having a "re-education program", no point in having counseling programs, and no point in having Augusta State University.
Nicely said.
Mark for later reading.
Well written and to the heart of the matter!
Christianity reveals far more about the nature of man than the drivel that passes for modern thought. Nowadays they don’t tell people to resist their sinful nature. They tell them to embrace it! Then they blame US for making homosexuals feel bad. They say the world would be a better place if only we’d stop with the sin talk.
Even non-Christians once understood the concept of self discipline and the need to restrain unhealthy impulses. So what if someone catches AIDS so long as they’re true to themselves? Don’t worry, they say. Just put a condom on it (never mentioning that maybe the activity itself should be avoided). Bizarre.
As a young man with a strong sexual drive I told all my male friends and relatives that they could trust me with their money and other property, they could trust me to tell the truth but they should never trust me with their women. The fact that I am still alive testifies to my ability to refrain from acting on those desires. :-)
Well said.
OR no basis for Augusta State University to suggest they can change the behavior of Jennifer Keeton by intimidating or coercing her into submission.