Coming Soon, and Some Thoughts on What it Means to "Judge Not"

I am currently visiting Anthony in Wyoming, but after I return home I hope to post either my whole senior thesis, or a somewhat abbreviated version of it. It argues against homosexual actions primarily by means of the natural law, though revealed truth is also utilized towards the end of the thesis. Since the argument is made mainly from a consideration of the natural intent and purpose of sexual acts, it could be used equally well against any other sexual deviations (bestiality and artificial contraception, e.g.).

While I'm on this subject, I'd like to clarify an oft-misunderstood Scripture passage, that being Jesus' words about not judging. Those words are often thrown at us Christians when we try to argue against immoral actions like abortion and homosexual acts. "Don't judge," we are told, as if to point out to someone that what they are doing is wrong is simply not permissible. However, I do not believe that this is what Jesus' words are meant to convey at all. What we should not do is judge the state of a person's soul, to say whether they are in mortal sin or whether they had such and such malicious intentions when they did the action. Basically, we cannot look at a person and say, "I judge that you are evil and going to hell because you did 'x'." We can, however, judge such and such an action to be right or wrong, and in fact people do all the time; why do we have laws, after all, that condemn things like murder and theft? Because people rightly judge such actions to be wrong. This is what we as Christians do when we say that abortion and homosexual activity are immoral - we judge that the action itself (not the person) is against God's law (which encompasses both revealed truth and the natural law). This is why Christians do not believe that it is sinful to merely have a homosexual orientation, because the orientation is not the action itself, and the person with the orientation does not have to do the action.

Since we as Christians believe the homosexual act to be wrong and harmful to the one who does it (even though he may not see this), we argue against it and endeavor to promote a life of chastity rather than indulgence of the appetites. We do this because, contrary to what many people think, we love those who have a homosexual orientation and want what is truly best for them. But, human nature being fallen, and modern man being taught to believe that he must and is entitled to give in to his fleshly appetites (especially in the sexual sphere), many believe that they cannot resist the urges to such an act, and that to do it is right and good for them. These attitudes are encouraged by the dwindling of belief in God and in the immortal soul, for if man is nothing but a body, why should he not act as the animals do? There is nothing greater to be gained by self-denial and abstinence. As a result of all these circumstances, those Christians who would seemingly stand in the way of instant gratification by promoting the curbing of sinful appetites are labeled as "homophobes", "haters", and "bigots", when in fact all they desire to do is bring all men to their best and highest end - the happiness of Heaven.