Hi Bro Parish!
Thanks for your input and the links (I will look at them indepth probably tomorrow!)

None of us are experts on matters like these but that's the whole point of a forum like this so that we can bounce ideas around!



It is odd when stories like the following seem to spring from nowhere:



http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Gareth-Thomas-Gay-Announcement-Welsh-Rugby-Star-Tells-The-Daily-Mail-He-Could-Not-Ignore-Sexuality/Article/200912315504454



This guy was married to a wife for four years!



Just thought that I would throw it in the mix!



God bless



PaulB

Wow, that is a shame.

"He told his wife, Jemma, that he was gay and admitted cheating on her with male partners."

Maybe this guy and Tiger Woods should share notes...
adultery AND homosexuality? ...I guess the world expects we are supposed to admire this person? Not me, I feel sorry for her.

"Two of my best mates in rugby didn't even blink an eyelid."

Yeah, right....
I'll bet they never look at him the same way in the locker room.
I sincerely hope he finds repentance, peace and love in Christ; maybe then he can understand what Godly affection really is.

By the way Paul; I was thinking about the question regarding how this sin starts in the lives of young people... I'm not sure about the statistics on it, but I suspect a lot it of has to do with the basic human emotions of insecurity and loneliness... teenagers face a lot of that, and also a lot of rejection; we know there are a lot of fellas who get rejected by girls when they are boys and I think this has a big impact on them for years; maybe they feel like they are not meant for girls, etc? Of course, the same could be said for young girls who are hurt emotionally by boys.

Here is another wing of Exodus directed to youth, more stories and testimonies from young people:
http://exodusyouth.net/

Thanks Bro Parish they are good testimonies!
It does seem to be the case that these people were sensitive, hurt or crying out doesn’t it?



I wonder whether (like you & Steve have said) there is some defining moment that just prompts people like these to jump off the edge into the unknown? (The straw that breaks the camel’s back, so as to speak!) How often have we gone through something where you have done your best to such an extent and the people that you trust or look up to do something shocking or let you down and your world collapses?
When that happens it can often be the case that you can go totally in the opposite direction as a way of escape. Now I’m not saying that this is the case behind every act of homosexuality but I am sure that it plays a large part in the decisions of some. I have been let down by people whom I looked up to in a spiritual sense and as a result I earnestly sought to find truth elsewhere which meant that I started to see them like some form of cult. Not only that, but I was determined to prove to myself that they were the blind leading the blind and every sermon, article or web site that I could find in that vein of thought became food to me. In reality it was a root of bitterness, but to me it was my way of dealing with their heresies etc!



The reason that I said that is because I can see how easy it is to throw yourself in the opposite direction as a way of distancing yourself from those who have hurt you. Sometimes it can be a way of making them leave you alone! For instance, when a person feels like they can’t measure up to the Christian life it can be tempting to throw in the towel in such a convincing way that it is better to be seen as an outright sinner than an acting hypocrite!
Don’t know, just some thoughts from reading the link!



God bless
PaulB