Just Because You Fulfill a Desire Doesn't Mean You're Worshipping It

Evangelicals want to pick on same-sex couples and say that they are putting their desires on a pedestal and worshiping them (aka, idolatry). But can we talk about how silly and absurd that claim is?

Holding Up the Mirror of Absurdity

Christians like Becket Cook believe that when a person is “true to themselves” (insofar as it means they are living in alignment with their sexual orientation) that it is a form of idolatry.

Why? Because they believe the Self is no bueno, that it has been corrupted by sin. As such, they see “being true to yourself” as a foolish choice because the self is a stove that is perpetually on high, and being true to it is analogous to putting your hands repeatedly on the open flame (in this example we are cooking with gas, because it rocks).

From that perspective it makes sense. If any and all same-sex sex acts are offensive in the eyes of God, and if your desire is to live a God-honoring life as best as you can, then sure, you should probably not live out your sexual orientation as a gay person.

But obviously I think it’s erroneous to condemn any and all same-sex sex acts and/or relationships. Plus, I think the Self—though able to be impacted by sin—ought not be seen as being inherently corrupted by it (more on that, here).

And now, as I’ll get in to today, I also think it’s silly to single out a person’s sexual orientation and decide that being true to that is somehow more idolatrous than, say, being true to the fact that you’re left handed, or need glasses, or like spicy food.

Recall the original quote that I’m interacting with:

[the self] is corrupted by sin, so why be true to that? The whole idea of [choosing your sexuality] is bound to the exaltation of self. It carries the implication of making yourself your own god. Putting yourself and your desires on a pedestal and worshiping them.

Being true to yourself is nothing short of idolatry.

For Cook, if a person lives as an out-gay person, they are “putting their desires on a pedestal and worshiping them.”

What an odd thing to say.

An Imaginary Conversation with a Non-Affirming Evangelical

Let’s see if I can draw out the absurdity of this through an imaginary interlocutor.

I begin with a question: When I, as a straight person, put actions to my innate sexual desires, would Cook see that as “putting my desires on a pedestal and worshiping them?” For example, when I was married, and when I had sex with my wife, I was clearly acting in alignment with my desires.

But does that mean I put them on a pedestal and worshipped them?

If Cook (or other non-affirming Christians) say that it’s not, if they say that acting on those desires is fine, then I ask why?

What makes the fulfillment of my desires okay?

To which they’d likely say,