Page 83 - Push Back

behavior to the influence of one’s parents. Some Christians attribute homosexual desires to
demonic spirits. Other counselors point to experiences of sexual abuse an individual experienced
as a child. Some make mention of other childhood traumas, such as violence, or bullying, that
have influenced a person to gravitate toward same sex attraction. In the past two decades the
prevalence of deceptive propaganda from the government, and in the media, has also influenced
many to begin to view homosexuality as normal, desirable, and even something to be celebrated.

The truth is, the experiences and influences that turn individuals toward homosexual
identification and behavior are numerous and varied. Yet, it is a deception of the enemy that
leads many to conclude that homosexual behavior, and consequently deliverance from the same,
is a complex, and exceedingly difficult matter to understand. Any type of sinful behavior could
be complicated by similar arguments.

Take for example the behavior of stealing. One of the ten commandments is “Thou Shalt Not
Steal.” If you had a child who was manifesting this behavior, stealing money from a parent’s
wallet or purse, or shoplifting items from a store, you could spend lots of time trying to identify
what experiences or influences in his/her life contributed to this behavior. Perhaps the child was
raised in poverty, and did not have the financial resources to purchase the nice clothes that his
peers wore to school. Maybe they were influenced by a constant barrage of advertising that
suggested that one needs to dress a certain way, or own specific items, to be fulfilled in life.
Maybe they were influenced by an older youth to shoplift, or they fell into a group of youth who
glamorized the act of stealing. Maybe stealing was presented as an “us” against “them” sort of
experience, and the behavior was bolstered by the thought that society was intrinsically unfair
and that the downtrodden members of society have a right to take what others will not give them.

Then there is the media. Television and the movies have saturated the culture with images that
glorify stealing. From Robin Hood to Ocean’s Eleven (Twelve, Thirteen, etc..), stealing is
glamorized and the intelligent and successful thief is portrayed as heroic.

Video games such as Grand Theft Auto glorify what Yahweh describes as sinful behavior. It is
not surprising that America’s jails and prisons are filled with tens of thousands of individuals