This quote needs to be spread around more; I don’t think enough people understand this.
Ooooh… not sure I agree here.
I didn’t choose to bisexual.
I don’t choose to believe in God. I just do. So - take an atheist. They can’t just choose to switch on belief in God. They can’t just wake up one morning and decide to believe in God, because they quite clearly don’t. Similarly, I can’t choose not to believe in God. I know. I’ve tried. When I’m angry, or hurt, or people have died, or bad things have happened. But that’s not how it works.
Now, I’m not saying that religion deserves protection where homosexuality doesn’t. Not at all. I’m just making the point.
I think the point trying to be made here is that religion is more of an unconscious choice made after we survey the options available. If you never learn about Buddhism, you can’t be a Buddhist: your mind doesn’t have the ability to make that choice and say “hey I like this shit I think it’s legit let’s be a Buddhist.”
Whereas with sexual attraction it’s hormones, it’s biology, it’s not based on options and it’s not a choice, unconscious or not, it’s based on how we are. You are “programmed,” let’s say, to be attracted to boys, and it doesn’t matter if you’ve never seen one in your life, that’s what you’re attracted to.
That sounded so much more coherent in my head.
It’s a good point. Perhaps I need to consider more the difference between faith and religion then, which is one I often fail to make and should make more often.
You’re absolutely right in what you say; you can never be a Buddhist not having learned about Buddhism, but sexuality is inbuilt. But you can still believe in God - i.e. have faith - having never learned about religion. I would still argue that faith is not a choice, whereas I suppose religion is.
For myself, I say I’m a Christian, but my faith is not largely based on the Bible or any particular Church. So the way I worship is a choice - I choose not to go to church, or read the bible. But my faith is inbuilt, and is not a choice?
These things are hard to explain.
