Is same sex attraction just a temptation, or is it a sin like homosexuality?

[Aviel]

The problem here is, of course, that we don't know how much knowledge Jesus (or His Apostles) had about human male psychology

Jesus understands more about the Human Psyche than any human ever will.
No worries.

So, its Lust that is the issue., not the thoughts..
Its the dwelling on the thoughts, is the issue.

And, if you put the thoughts in your own mind, not regarding what you watch, not keeping all this CLEAN, then you are making a mistake.

We mostly guard our heart by keeping our eyes pure.

 

[Miles]

I think most attractions are simply attractions. A married individual might find others attractive, for instance, yet never be tempted to cheat on his or her spouse. Likewise, someone with same sex attractions might have similar feelings, yet not be tempted to indulge them.

For what it's worth, I don't equate simple attraction with lust. More than merely finding someone to be attractive, lust indicates a strong desire to have them sexually. In this light, I wouldn't consider same sex attractions to be intrinsically sinful unless it's a matter of lust. Much as I don't find opposite sex attractions to be intrinsically sinful either.

 

[Aviel]

Much as I don't find opposite sex attractions to be intrinsically sinful either.

Reader,

Let say you are a male.

Well, God has created "EVE" the "womb-man" to be attractive to you.

Why?

"replenish the species"..

So, God created the man to be aggressive and courageous and a leader, and God designed the women's instinct to find all that appealing and desirable.

Whereas, God create the woman, to be "eye candy" to the man. . She has curves. She's soft.. She has all that hair.. She has all that sexuality. She knows how to use her attractiveness to attract you... ...
She should also be gentle and compassionate and "motherly".. as this is needful for the man.

So, God crated Him and Her as ideal supplements for each other... that fit together and compliment, as if they are both a half, looking for the other half to become as ONE.

God knows what He's doing...

However, the fallen nature in us all, the Adamic part, is related to another spiritual father, and he is a pervert, and a murderer, and a psychopath, and a liar..
So, all of that is in the "fall of adam" .. that is the fall of us all..... and you see it play out in the world, every day., as Jesus told us all... "and the lust of YOUR FATHER, you shall do".

See that?
That is the sin nature., that is the "old man of sin 'that is "Crucified with Christ".. if you are born again..... and its the only nature we have until we are born again by a New Spiritual Father and receive the "divine nature".

2 Peter 1:4

 

[thejoshbro]

Reader,

Temptation isn't sin.
Jesus was Tempted, yet without sin.

See, a Temptation is a thought, that becomes rooted in the imagination as= LUST.

So, when your Temptation has evolved to the point of LUSTING To do it... then the sin has been committed.

But if you dont let it get there......if you recognize what you are thinking and get it out, turn it off, dont let it get into the imagination process, then its just one more thought, along the way, and nothing more.

Do you think that sexual attraction towards child or animals are temptations or sins?

 

[Simon_Templar]

The attraction itself is not a sin.

Regarding attraction and lust. Being attracted to women as a heterosexual man does not constitute the sin of lust.

Looking at a woman and thinking "wow she is beautiful" is not lust.

Further, when lustful thoughts arise unbidden, they are not sinful UNTIL such point as you willingly accept them and entertain them, as opposed to dismissing them.

No unwilling state or behavior is sin. You cannot sin against your own will or without your own will.

Same-sex attraction is objectively disordered. What this means is that our desires have proper objects. The desire to eat has a proper object in healthy food. Desires are said to be disordered when the object becomes sinful, and thus the desire is a temptation to sin.

So in the case of food, the desire can be properly ordered, but if we turn to gluttony, then the desire for food has become disordered. The fact that it is disordered is in itself not a sin, it is a temptation to sin.

In the case of heterosexual attraction, the desire can be properly ordered to sex within the bonds of marriage subject to proper love for your spouse. However, it can also be disordered when you desire to engage in lust, adultery, fornication etc.

same-sex attraction is objectively disordered. This means that it has no circumstance in which it can be rightly ordered. There is no possibility that it can be properly expressed with a good object.

However, this again means it is a temptation to sin, not a sin itself.

 

[Simon_Templar]

Do you think that sexual attraction towards child or animals are temptations or sins?

Sin requires the cooperation of the will. In other words, you have to actively choose to sin.

A thought which pops into your head unbidden (meaning you didn't go seeking it out or decide to think about it) cannot be a sin. Likewise, a feeling that you did not decide to feel or actively seek out, cannot be a sin.

However, once some thought or feeling (ie. a temptation) has presented itself to you, you must resist and reject it. If you accept it and choose to entertain it, it has become a sin.

 

[Dave G.]

Attraction: what about it ? I know a pleasing design and well built bridge. If my inclination is to jump off a bridge or to blow one up, I need to take that thought captive. Bridges are everywhere. Women are everywhere and I know the look of the best of them but choose to look at the heart, the spirit of the person and more, to wonder of their position with God. Women are absolutely wonderful beings by the way. Then a quick prayer for God's blessing on them/her. Thus taking my thought captive and turning it over to God. Except for my wife who has a whole different platform to stand on and we pray together. With her I am able to act on my feelings of affection. I suggest for other Christians to do something similar in whatever it is that may lead your thoughts astray. And we are allowed and directed to love one another in Christ. We can't deny the beauty in other human beings, The were created by Him after all, it doesn't mean we lust for them sexually at all. If our minds go there, capture it, hand it to God, get back on His track.

So it's not as simple as attraction, rather what you do with it.