Ed Vitagliano
AFA Journal news editor
January 2008 – Here we go again. Yet another scientific study trying to hunt down the genetic cause of homosexuality.
Like some poor, weary fox trying to elude the hounds and horsemen, the “gay gene” is once again on the run. This time the government is funding the study.
But is the fox real? Is there really a gay gene that will prove, once and for all, that homosexuality – as a sexual orientation rooted in human genetics – is an immutable characteristic no different from hair color, eye color, and left-handedness?
Dr. Alan Sanders of Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Research Institute will head a team of Chicago-area researchers trying to find the elusive gene.
Sanders told The Associated Press that he doubted there was a single gene responsible for homosexuality. Instead, it was more likely that it might be several genes interacting with other factors, such as psychological make-up and social influences, that determine whether or not a person will self-identify as homosexual.
Nevertheless, he told AP, “If there’s one gene that makes a sizeable contribution, we have a pretty good chance of finding it.”
There have been other studies and other researchers claiming to have fingered a possible genetic or biological cause for homosexuality. Homosexual activists are usually quick to point out that, if that winds up being the case, then society must embrace homosexuality as normal and natural.
But as the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for, because the day you finally catch that old fox, you might just discover that the critter has a nasty bite.
That’s because the search for a gay gene presupposes that genetics determine not just hair color but human identity and behavior. Today, of course, many people might accept that proposition when it comes to homosexuality. After all, more than a decade of Ellen Degeneres and Will and Grace has made most people just shrug their shoulders at the question of sexual orientation.
But when the question moves beyond homosexuality, this idea of genetics driving human beings in ways they can’t control becomes quite a bit stickier.
For example, if we found an “intelligence gene,” would we be comfortable declaring that only people with that gene should be allowed to go to college? On the other hand, what would we think of women who aborted their unborn child after discovering the poor kid had a “dumb gene?”
What if we found an “alcoholism gene?” Would we forbid people who had it to get a driver’s license, even if that person had never before had a sip of alcohol? After all, no sense risking that that person might drive while drunk.
Do you have the “cancer gene?” That’s too bad, because maybe you won’t be able to get health coverage for the disease, even if you’ve never contributed to, say, lung cancer by smoking all your life.
Crime gene? Sorry. We’re not hiring people who might steal from the company.
Is there a gene for adultery – or, perhaps, more generally, for promiscuity? Yes? Good! Then every couple should get a DNA test before marriage. Forget prenuptial agreements: “Sorry, Charlie, but I will not marry a person with a ‘promiscuity gene!’”
And for all those homosexual activists licking their lips over the thought of a little fox stew, here’s a twist: If Dr. Sanders et al. make their big discovery, would activists be OK with women aborting their child simply because they had a gay gene, and did not want a homosexual child?
Yes, all these examples sound absurd, but only because, outside politically-correct issues like homosexuality, we don’t expect people to blame their genes for their behavior. Likewise, as a society, we don’t make genes the basis of how we treat people.
As with the rest of the homosexual agenda, the search for the “gay gene” is about approval and acceptance.
There’s nothing wrong with that quest, of course, except that people who are looking to society – or more accurately, looking to force society – to cough up some acceptance are probably going to be disappointed in the results.
The Christian response to this quest on the part of the homosexual should be the same as it is for every other person: “God does love you, and will accept you through repentance and faith in Christ. You will find the peace and rest for your soul for which you’ve been searching all your life. But you are broken, just like everyone else. That brokenness may manifest itself in different ways in different people, but we are all broken nevertheless.”
And as for what causes homosexuality – or racism, alcoholism, promiscuity, and the entire litany of sins that have plagued mankind since the Garden of Eden – well, God’s gracious power can help us overcome all contributing factors. That goes for genes, habits, family influence … all of it.
And you don’t need a federally-funded study to prove that. 
