The Missing Gene and Ray Boltz: The Theistic Argument, Did God Make Him This Way?

We have recently established that there is no "Gay Gene." Some of the worlds brightest scientist have come to this conclusion. In fact, as I previously pointed out, even homosexual activist affirm this scientific fact: there is no gene that makes one a homosexual. What is at stake here is the argument of orientation.

The argument goes that if homosexuality is something one is born with then it becomes a civil rights issue, not a moral one. Therefore, the homosexual community has done everything it can to find this proof. And, as expected, they have failed. It is time to give up this quest.

Recently, best-selling and award winning Christian singer and songwriter, Ray Boltz, came out of the closet. I have already commented on the situation and so I will not go into more detail here. What is important to know is that Boltz has returned to this old fallacy, only with a theistic twist: God, he argues, made him this way, therefore God wants him to live this way.

But I must ask, what Biblical or scientific fact can Boltz point to? Truth is, only experience. I have no doubt that Boltz and persons like him really believe that they were born this way. And yes, I believe that Boltz has struggled with this for years. I believe that he has tried to overcome this temptation with all of his effort, strength, and heart. But does this argument work? Certainly the evidence doesn't support it.

Bob Stith, the Southern Baptist Convention’s National Strategist for Gender Issues, on Dr. Richard Land's, head of the Ethics and Religious Liberties Council of the Southern Baptist Convention, website has written an excellent article making this same argument. Though there is much repeated from what I have said here and elsewhere, it is a good read nonetheless. As I have said before, I do not believe that the best response to Boltz is hate on him and call him a liar. That would not be Christan. The Christian response is to love one to the cross which entails repentance and reconciliation. And I pray that we do that with sincerity and urgency.

“If this is the way God made me, then this is the way I’m going to live,” Christian singer Ray Boltz said in a recent article disclosing his decision to divorce his wife and live as a homosexual.

But did God really create Ray Boltz as a homosexual? The media certainly would have us think so.

Time recently ran an article (“What the Gay Brain Looks Like,” Jun. 17, 2008) attempting to demonstrate the “science” supporting a “gay gene.” Interestingly, the article referenced a study done by Simon LeVay in 1991. The study had major gaps in its methodology, and even LeVay, a homosexual neuroscientist, has said that it didn’t prove what he hoped it would.

An article such as this demonstrates the difficulty of speaking truth into our culture today. Studies attempting to normalize homosexual behavior are introduced with much fanfare, and we hear about “important” new discoveries that are accepted as facts. We don’t hear, however, about the scientists who strongly disagree and the studies that reach a different conclusion.

For example, in 2003, the International Human Genome Consortium announced the successful completion of the Human Genome Project, which, among other things, identified each of the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA. The press release read: “The human genome is complete and the Human Genome Project is over.”

While this accomplishment was widely reported, almost no one reported the words of Dr. Francis Collins, the head of the project. Collins, arguably the nation’s most influential geneticist, said, “Homosexuality is not hardwired. There is no gay gene. We mapped the human genome. We now know there is no genetic cause for homosexuality.”

Somehow the major media missed that little tidbit. Collins and others acknowledge that genetics can predispose but not predetermine. This supports other studies that clearly document the possibility of change for people who struggle with unwanted homosexual desire.

The need for Christians to be prepared to deal with this issue is shown in another comment by Boltz: “I guess I felt that the church, that they had it wrong about how I felt with being gay all these years, so maybe they had it wrong about a lot of other things.”

Notice the emphasis on “how I felt.” Far too often we allow “feelings” and the validity of each person’s “story” to trump the authority of Scripture. In Boltz’s case, his struggle with homosexuality apparently caused him to doubt other tenets of the faith. Beliefs to which he had held all his life were reconsidered. This is not uncommon among strugglers from Christian backgrounds. When we fail to help them deal with this issue, other fundamental beliefs are questioned.

Another sad byproduct is that his former wife has joined a pro-gay advocacy group. I’ve often thought that many people turn to various pro-gay groups because the church was not there at the time of their crisis. The end result is that not only is the struggler lost, but family members as well. Tragically, they often become very effective instruments in the hands of homosexual activists.

I grieve for the loss of the testimony of Ray Boltz. I grieve for those who will follow his example. I grieve for his family. I pray that one day Ray will realize that God did not create him a homosexual and that there is a way out.

We are in desperate need of children of Issachar, who understand the times and know what to do (1 Chron. 12:32). Far too many in Southern Baptist churches are struggling with a temptation they neither seek nor understand, but they are terrified to ask for help. Ray Boltz said, “I read every book, I read all the scriptures they use, I did everything to try and change.”

Those with long experience in this ministry will tell you that very few people have left homosexuality without the support and involvement of others. But the fear of being found out keeps many in bondage, and that bondage is intensified when the world continually trumpets, “You’re born that way. Just accept it.”

I pray for the day when all of our churches take seriously the need to train their leadership to redemptively provide the tools needed for the people like Ray Boltz in their midst. I long for the day when every community has Christians who are prepared to present a positive, joy-filled alternative to the lifelong struggle he has endured.

Are your church and your community prepared? Are you?