On Homosexuality and being 'disordered'

Over at James Preece's blog - which is always a stimulating read - there is much discussion on homosexuality and the fact that it is intrinsically disordered, but not sinful. Only homosexual acts are actually sinful. Some people find this hard to grasp, and others find it intrinsically insulting to people with homosexual tendencies.

As so often, looking in the mirror is a good way to shift the perspective. So surely what we should be explaining is that we are all intrinsically disordered in one way or another - it's called Original Sin. For many of us, part of that is in the realm of our sexuality. Any who are tempted outside of marriage, or are tempted by lust or a contraceptive mentality within marriage, are disordered. That's probably most of us... The Devil attacks our ability to love and our ability to procreate as major targets, and it seems clear that we are damaged by Original Sin in this area.

What counts is how we respond to those temptations. If we succumb to them, that's sin; if we don't, it may well be exercising heroic virtue, in response to God's grace. And that is true of homosexual and heterosexual people alike.

What doesn't help is to declare our own pet disorder to be normal and right, and try to educate others to see it in that way...