I have always wanted to meet a gay Christian...
"For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due."
— Romans 1:26-37
"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God."
— 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
"Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is an abomination.
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them."
— Leviticus 20:13
This entire website is depressing: http://bible.org/article/homosexuality-christian-perspective
Obsessions
Obsession, preoccupation, passion, fixation, addiction, special interest, etc.
Clinically, the word ‘obsession’ is used to describe the frightening or disturbing images, ideas, etc. that a person with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder experiences, however I am referring to the colloquial definition of the word ‘obsession’: “an idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person’s mind” (from the New Oxford American Dictionary).
I also like this definition: “encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus” (from the DSM-IV).
Wiktionary also has a good definition: “1. A compulsive or irrational preoccupation. 2. An unhealthy fixation.”
I frequently hear people use ‘obsession’ to refer to something or someone colloquially, for example, “you’re so obsessed with cars”, “I’m obsessed with my boyfriend.” This term is overused incorrectly, but I mustn’t be a hypocrite, because I also frequently use it. Right now I am ‘obsessed’ with psychology, specifically abnormal psychology (the study of mental disorders), which is why I am writing this. It is basically all I can think about, usually all I can talk about, I spend hours each day researching and reading about it, and on most nights, I stay up until 12:30pm + thinking and reading about it. This fits the definitions of ‘obsession’ that I have quoted.
I have decided to compile my own criteria for ‘obsession’ to stop misunderstandings of the word in its colloquial sense.
Diagnostic criteria for Obsessions
A. Encompassing preoccupation with a specific topic, idea, or person as manifested by all of the following:
(1) the preoccupation is thought of at least once every hour
(2) the preoccupation is brought up in conversations, which may not be of interest to the other person involved
(3) a large amount of information (e.g. facts and statistics) is known about the preoccupation
B. The preoccupation causes clinically significant impairment or distraction as manifested by at least one of the following:
(1) sleep is disturbed due to the preoccupation
(2) the preoccupation often prevents the success or ‘gets in the way’ of more important tasks and activities (e.g. chores, school work, exercise, time spent with family)
(3) a large amount of money is spent on the preoccupation
