Gay Book Reviews

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Jeffrey Satinover

Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth

1996, Baker House Books

"At the cultural level one of the most revealing indexes of a

civilization is the way it orders human sexuality."

This quotation in Jeffrey Satinover's introduction to his book Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth underscores the whole theme to his work. Satinover is a practiced psychoanalyst and psychiatrist. As such, he is in the perfect profession to examine homosexual arguments and their relevance to society.

Satinover is a Christian, and as such you might expect a little scripture quoting and a little Bible banging. You might expect him to denounce homosexuality as the great abomination of our times, one that puts those who are members of that lifestyle in eternal danger. Satinover does very little in denouncing homosexuality on Biblical grounds. Instead, he discusses the issue on medical, psychological, and philosophical grounds that prove to be an inspiration to any wishing to discuss this issue perspectively.

Satinover begins by discussing the change in the public's perception of homosexuality. He notes that the public seems to have made up its mind on homosexuality before serious discussion was ever done. He shows how pressure was brought to bear on the APA (American Psychiatric Association) to change their definition of what constituted an illness. In 1963, homosexuality was classified as an illness. Only in the short span of ten years was this decision reversed. The APA struck homosexuality from its list of illnesses. This resulted from political pressure and

not from serious research.

Satinover next discusses whether homosexuality is desirable or not. His approach is welcome. Most commentators discuss homosexuality based on conceptions of what is right and wrong/good or evil/ sinful or not sinful. Satinover does away with this verbiage and simply asks, "Is the homosexual lifestyle something you would want to be in." His answer is a resounding no. The problems he lists are legion: internal bleeding, a higher rate of suicide, a decrease in life expectancy, and others. You might wonder who would want to live in such a lifestyle. The answer is precisely one who acknowledges, or rather mistakingly believes, that he or she cannot change.

The inability to change one's sexual appetite is the bedrock argument of the homosexual movement. "Homosexuality is a genetic disposition toward a certain lifestyle that cannot be changed." You will hear this argument a lot. Satinover goes to the evidence. He starts by discussing what the terms "genetic" means. It means a trait that is determined by your genes. You have blond hair because of a genetic trait. Is homosexuality that way?

Satinover looks at the evidence and concludes that homosexuality is rooted in several factors. Genetics might be one, but it is not the only one. More likely, biological, environmental, and sociological factors play a larger part in homosexual behavior. Satinover says that if the genetic theory is true, then identical twins will both show the same disposition toward sexual identity. But they don't. In one study he cites, there was only a 52 percent concordance between identical brothers. Clearly, genes might play a part in a disposition toward homosexuality. We cannot conclude that homosexuality is only genetic.

When in a lifestyle that is difficult to change, the temptation is enormous to attribute behaviors entirely to external factors. This he discusses in his chapter entitled "Wired to be Free?" Satinover expresses it well: "If our choices prior to scientific analysis and explanation were thought to be free, but actually resulted from family influences or unconscious conflict or biochemistry or genetics or mass opinion, then why should our current choices be anything more than the result of yet other still-invisible influences?" This is the great atheistic dilemma, one that finds its way into theories about the nature of the mind. If I am only matter, only chemicals and tissue, then my actions are the result of genetics, chance quantum fluctuations, and environment. In that case, anything I do is due to factors I can't control. However, we do not just act reflexively, like a puppet on a string. We "see through" our behaviors, as Satinover puts it. We are able to see how we act and change our behaviors. We act in Christian dualistic fashion, brain and mind interlock. We see what our brain is doing and can change the nature of our brain. We need not be subject totally to outside influences.

So it is with homosexuals. Satinover's greatest contribution on this subject comes later in his book. He lists several secular and Christian treatments that have been able to wean people away from homosexual urges. Secular treatments include medical as well as psychological. Christian treatments involve groups like Desert Stream and Redeemed Life Ministries. This matches what I have seen on television. I have seen former homosexuals on several talk shows mention that they "kicked the habit." One particularly impressed me, one that was on Phil Donahue's show. He said that he quit with the help of a relationship with God.

Satinover's book is totally relevant to the times. Whether people heed what he says is another issue. Too many people wish that their sexual appetites are completely out of their control and they have no option but to succumb. Satinover, and others like Joe Dallas, say different. Dallas is also a former homosexual. His book A Strong Delusion: Confronting the Gay Christian Movement, speaks to the religious distortions used to advance the homosexual agenda. For those who wish to believe in a genetic based to these inclinations, wishing is all they can do. Those who have come out of the closet and out of the lifestyle can provide them no comfort. Neither can people like Satinover who can look at the data with clear eyes.

Joe Dallas

A Strong Delusion

1996, Harvest House Publishers

It's an early Sunday morning. Church members flock into the pews to worship, pray and praise. The pastor approaches the pulpit and announces, "I'm gay and I'm proud. I'm out of the closet. I'm proud that I have this gift from God. It's proof that you can love God and be gay also."

This account is entirely fictitious but not totally unreal. Similar stories are described by Dallas in A Strong Delusion. Dallas is a convert to the heterosexual lifestyle. After being gay for many years, he finally made the changes necessary to leave the lifestyle behind.

The strong delusion Dallas refers to is the thought that one can combine the Christian lifestyle with the homosexual lifestyle. Dallas starts in his introduction by describing how he used to pass by several churches with his friends, laughing at how people would try to combine Christianity with homosexuality. He laughed at that time, but would not be laughing later. One step into an adult bookstore led him into a year-long relationship with the owner of a gay bar.

Dallas broke off the relationship and sought refuge in a homosexual-tolerant church. He was happy to finally find peace in the Word of God. But something was wrong. The pastor one Sunday blasted society and other churches for being intolerant of homosexuality. "Stand up to the fundamentalists and tell them our God is also your God!" This was the attitude expressed that day. Dallas, however, could not shake off a feeling of discomfort. Sure, society might have been wrong in their treatment of homosexuals, but did that really nullify the Biblical condemnations of it?

Dallas realized there is a fine line between feeling comforted and believing in truth. Just because you feel good about what you are doing does not make it right or proper. Dallas realized this and this truth led him out of his lifestyle. Dallas writes to warn us about the seductive effects of the gay Christian movement, a movement that tells people they can have their lifestyle and their faith at the same time.

Many delude themselves into believing their sexual feelings are a gift from God. Thus, Dallas quotes from gay author Mel White and priest Malcom Boyd. How men like this can reason as they do is beyond me. Clearly, if we approach scripture as it is, homosexuality is prohibited, or at least not condoned. Would God give a person a gift that is in clear contradiction to scripture? What makes more sense is the fact that this lifestyle is a deviation from normal sexual behavior, one not sanctioned by God.

Dallas looks next to the cultural consequences of the gay Christian movement. The church has always been the conscience of the country. Various actions are simply wrong because God has declared so. This fact has underwritten much of the legal beliefs for many years. What would happen if the source of that ethic were eliminated or simply liberalized? What would happen if the church responsible for telling people right from wrong was no longer able to properly function? Dallas sees this danger, for he warns that the Christian churches may be unable to prevent or hinder homosexual actions. If homosexuals felt that their lifestyle was in accordance with scripture, perhaps other actions by them would follow as well. Certainly your relationship with God matters the most, not what lifestyle you lead. Dallas fears that the sexual wave that led to allowing homosexuality will allow other forms of sexuality through the open door of society. It has happened before. The sexual revolution of the 1960s has spawned this sexual revolution. If Christian churches do not fulfill their role as the conscience of the country, no desire will be left untried.

If you think that the homosexual movement is entirely secular, think again. Dallas tells us that the Christian homosexual movement acts as the secular version does, itself having a certain aggression factor built into it. The basis of the aggression centers on the belief that homosexuality is unchangeable and also Biblical. Ex-gays needed to be debunked. Dallas cites Reverend Sylvia Pennington who has taken to writing scorching accounts of those who left the gay lifestyle. This must be done, as Dallas notes, in order to assure readers that those who have left the lifestyle have not been better off. When debunking ex-homosexuals is not enough, removing your faith in the Bible is another route to go. Dallas mentions John Boswell who has written a critique of the Bible's attitudes toward homosexuality. Dallas hails Boswell's ability to tear apart the Bible to attempt to disprove all injunctions against homosexuality, although later Dallas takes to refuting his arguments.

Boswell and other gay expositors use history as their lethal weapon. Homosexuals had horrible acts done to them and society was often brutal. This I am sure is true, and I am not in a position right now to accept or debunk this. However, such arguments have no bearing on the issue. Just because a homosexual was abused years ago for his lifestyle has no bearing on whether the lifestyle is right or wrong, healthy or not healthy. A logician would call this special pleading. I have seen this type of argument used repeatedly and in each case the argument fails to be convincing.

The approach that remains, if one is to embrace Christian homosexuality, is to distort Biblical texts. These arguments are dealt with by Dallas and other authors as well. I have an acquaintance who is a homosexual and he has mentioned several pro-gay arguments based on Biblical interpretations. At the time I was not well equipped to deal with those arguments and had no choice but to accept what he said. Now I see his comments in the light of liberalized Biblical interpretations that have no weight. Needless to say, I will be ready for his next pro-gay argument if I ever hear one.

Besides the religious and theological pro-gay arguments Dallas deals with, he also discusses many secular arguments. These he lists in question-and-answer fashion in an easy to follow manner. Arguments based on the sex surveys of Kinsey and biological arguments from hypothalamus studies are refuted.

In conclusion, Dallas provides a stunning critique of this movement. One would ask just how far the proverbial Bible belt can be loosened to accommodate such a lifestyle. Of course, anything can be acknowledged as long as logic or scripture can be distorted. In so doing, we loose touch with truth, logic, and common sense. As a society, we all suffer.