Re: New here
Submitted by Heather on August 12 1999 at 23:51:11
In reply to New here Submitted by rylan on August 12 1999 at 22:31:12
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You ask some tough questions; maybe you can help the rest of us figure out the answers. :) I really have no idea why people are created with boylove feelings, any more than I know why I was created manic-depressive, talented in writing, and with a mixed temperament of very intellectual and very emotional. I don't think that the question of why boylovers are created the way they are is any harder than the question of why anyone is created the way he is. But of course, that's still a hard question. I think a more important question, whatever one's characteristics might be, is, "What can I do about this? Can I put this to any good use?" And if the answer is yes – as it evidently is in your case – then I think that the above question, if not resolved, at least appears in a more simplified form. The Christian belief is that any good quality can be transformed into evil, and likewise any affliction can be turned to good. Whether boylove is an affliction from a societal viewpoint alone or from a broader viewpoint seems to me irrelevant, as long as one finds a way to encourage the "feelings of love, caring, and compassion." Incidentally, Jesus seemed to suggest that it's actually the people who are dealing with some sort of troubles in their lives who have a spiritual head-start over everyone else – they're less likely to become stuck-up and self-righteous. I think that Christianity is actually a terrific religion for boylovers, because the Gospels are all about how the people who are sure that they've got a ticket into heaven are wrong – it's the "poor of heart" who are blessed, especially when they are persecuted by others. And Jesus sure knew about the persecution bit – he was crucified partly because he hung around with people like boylovers. Frankly, if I'm going to have a God, I'd like him to be the kind who understands what it's like to get hate mail from the self-righteous people of this world, and Jesus revealed a God who understands intimately what that's like. On boylove in the Bible: We've discussed that a lot here, and so far we haven't found any passages that we can unequivocally say refer to boylove. There are a few passages that refer to the rape and sexual exploitation of children, and F.O.D. has found an allegorical passage – Ezekial 16:1-8 – that seems to advocate waiting till a child is grown before having sex with her, but there's nothing about boylove. If you'll go to the FAQ linked at the top of this board, you'll find a passage in Matthew that a handful of scholars think refers to a pederast, but that's highly speculative. So I think that one has to try to extend the general biblical principles on sexual love to try to understand boylove, and that's no easy task by any means; the churches, as you've noticed, have barely made a dent in this subject. You might be interested in "Beginning a Dialogue," linked toward the top of this board, which offers some thoughts on how Christians can start discussing this matter and break beyond the horrible wall of isolation that has been placed around boylovers. I'm glad you found your way here, and I look forward to reading your posts. Heather |