Facing an Age-old Puzzle
Every thoughtful person is a psychologist in his or her own way, curious about the varieties and uniformities of human behavior. It is no wonder that, for many, the topic of homosexuality—pursued secretly or openly, professionally or casually—is an interesting, even fascinating, topic to observe, study, wonder and sometimes worry about.
To the traditionalist, homosexuality is a puzzle for various reasons. In is forbidden in the Hebrew Bible, but so are many ordinary practices of everyday life: eating pork and shrimp, cutting the corners of one's beard, using cloths made of diverse fibers, etc. Why is one taboo so tenaciously maintained by Judaeo-Christian traditionalists, while many others are regarded as no longer meaningful? Why does the New Testament explicitly denounce homosexuality, while other taboos of the Hebrew Bible are ignored?
If homosexuality is genetic, even in part, why was this "sinful" tendency implanted in man's physical nature? If homosexuality is an abomination, why is it so strongly felt, and even practiced, by some men of the most admirable character, including some priests, some ministers, and some rabbis?
These are questions that have torn apart religious councils. Religious leaders, wise and learned, express contradictory viewpoints on whether their community should condemn, tolerate, or even celebrate same-sex partnerships.
Might science throw some light on a question that has split traditionalists apart? To the scientific community, homosexuality is also a puzzle. According to modern evolutionary theory, a trait survives if it favors reproduction. Homosexual activity does not result in reproduction, yet homosexuality can be found in human cultures of all sorts, preliterate and advanced. Biologists Potts and Short (page 74) characterize homosexuality as "a profound puzzle . . . [since] homosexual behavior is the antithesis of reproductive success." How did this trait get into the human repertory, and why does it reappear in every generation, though homosexuals themselves do not usually reproduce?
We see people around us willingly bear heavy social handicaps, physical risks to their personal safety, and grave medical risks, to follow a homosexual orientation. How did they get that way, and why do they willingly pay such a high price for this lifestyle?
Thirdly, heterosexual men may have homosexual dreams, may harbor passing, recurring, surprising or annoying homosexual impulses—or feel an irrational aversion to homosexuals that suggests perhaps they are defending themselves against an unwanted temptation—what about homosexuality and everyman? This book explores some theoretical issues, and tries to answer some practical questions, about male homosexuality from the standpoint of evolutionary psychology.
Karl Ulrichs (1825-1895) and Magnus Hirschfeld (1868-1935), pioneers in the scientific study of homosexuality (and gay men themselves), independently concluded that homosexuality was essentially an inborn trait. On the basis of close clinical observation, Sigmund Freud arrived at four conclusions regarding homosexuality. (1) The homosexual habit, per se, is not a disorder. True, some homosexuals are so unsettled, so miserable about the direction of their sex drive that they plead with therapists to help them change it. But there are also homosexual men, as Freud acknowledged, who lead sane, productive, and happy lives. (2) Those homosexuals who are anxious or distressed about their sexual habits, and plead for help in reorienting their sex life, are exceedingly difficult to "cure." (3) In those patients whose emotional problem has nothing to do with homosexuality, no matter why the patient entered therapy, long-term analysis would usually uncover some same-sex attractions. Homosexual impulses (conscious or unconscious), Freud concluded, exist throughout the human species. (4) Finally, years of experience led Freud to believe that a homosexual orientation arises from both a constitutional predisposition, and certain experiences of infancy or childhood. (A mother who is seductive or over-controlling, a father who is distant, weak, or absent have thus become stock characters, tragicomic figures, in the formative experience of the typical pre-homosexual boy.)
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feel free to read more .....one more question for you all...What if there is no God?
