More Thoughts by List Members

A reader asked,

Is being homosexual a choice?  Is there any difference between to be gay in "mind" and in "life"?

Maurice (a straight teacher at Avondale College in Australia) replied:

          Our view of our own sexuality stems partly from our genetic code and partly from environmental factors during both our prenatal and postnatal development. A number of stimuli and triggers must occur for normal development, and the malfunction of any one of these may result in, among other things, a different sexual orientation. Trauma in the form of illness, accident, parental problems, and so on may delay or eliminate a particular trigger.

          Many people who end up with homosexual feelings have not made a deliberate choice to be that way. Their genetics and the history of missing triggers, resulting in loss of developmental stimuli are not normally the result of a deliberate decision on the part of the developing person.

For more on this question also see the following:

Frequently Asked Questions: General

This includes some questions similar to the one Maurice addressed.

Questions Frequently Asked by Heterosexual Adventists

Answers round out the topic.

How Do People Become Gay?

An overview of the subject by Inge Anderson.