My conversation with an evangelical teen

[onlyadream]

I had the pleasure of conversing with my son's evangelical, 14 yo friend. After talking about the glory of gun ownership the conversation turned and he asked me if I thought gay people should marry. Before I could answer, he went on about what the bible said. Finally, when I was able to talk, I asked him what he thought of babies who were born with both male and female parts. He was baffled, never heard of such a thing. I asked him who they should marry. He had no answer. Then I said that if anomalies like that can happen on the outside, then similar anomalies can happen on the inside (right?). Why should these people be punished for something that isn't their fault? He stammered a bit, and then changed the subject. I hope I gave him something to think about. I did manage to add that Jesus never addressed the gay issue and that we were told not to judge.

[RKP5637]

1. However, many of us do not view being gay as an anomaly. However, I understand what you were doing,

to change/enlighten the evangelical teens breath of knowledge.

[onlyadream]

2. Yes, I'm sorry. Poor choice of words.

I believe that gay people were made that way on purpose.it is not a mistake, but it is outside of the norm, statistically speaking.

[RKP5637]

3. Yep!!! Also sorry if I might have sounded harsh, I was really pleased to see you were helping

to broaden a young mind. Thanks!!!

[marshall]

7. You can't make everybody happy

In saying gay people were made gay on purpose, you also presuppose the existence of some higher power with a purpose. That might offend atheists or agnostics.

Just keep on keeping on.

[stultusporcos]

4. He will go back to his church for reeducation and trained on how to properly reply

To questions like yours.

Well you tried, more than I would have done.
Perhaps your kid will have better luck with him.

Back when I was a teen once the fundies got drunk, high and laid they calm down.
However todays crop are much more militant.

[onlyadream]

5. This kid was so brain washed

It was scary.

[Ikonoklast]

6. FundieWorld is always Black/White. They can't process anything that doesn't fit the model

of binary thinking.

Everything and everyone is Good or Evil, you are either for me or against me, there is no middle ground.

You upset his frame of reference.

[Orrex]

8. I've attempted similar conversations in the past

I've used left-handedness as my analogy, asking at what point did I choose to be left-handed.

Invariably, the stopping point is that they see handedness as something that's inherent to the person, while sexual orientation and gender identity are choices. And not simply choices; the righteous default is heterosexual with genitalia matching the heterosexual standard. Any divergence from that righteous default is a deliberate choice contrary to the proper order of the universe.

Rare exceptions, such as having both genital types, are considered non-representative aberrations at best and full-blown abominations at worst.


There is little benefit in attempting to reason with evangelicals, because reason has very little to do with their mode of thinking.

[2theleft]

9. I always ask them when they "chose" to be straight...

Tell me, on what day were you sitting there thinking and said, hmmm, gay or straight, straight or gay...maybe bisexual...hmmmm...no, i'm going to be straight. If it's a choice for them, it's a choice for you.

My fave was during an argument with an friend of my ex-husband. At one point he says, "I don't believe in gay people"... After the initial shock..I don't believe in gay people, wtf, really??? I said, "We are not F'ing talking about SANTA CLAUS...They exist, they are real, you cannot NOT believe in them, what are you? Two years old???". He called me a bitch and left.

[RKP5637]

10. The internet, better communications, a plethora of things are

bringing out into the open that many people have a faulty thinking apparatus, conditioned or genetic, they seem unable to think clearly, preferring to think in safe irrefutable blocks in their mind.

Of course, studies have been done demonstrating this is pretty much a brain function of how they are hard-wired. Hence, even the best logic in the world will fail with them. They are simply unable mentally to transcend these boundaries ... We all know them, logic just totally fails ...