For quite some time now, the idea that there is no discernible difference between children raised by heterosexual couples and homosexual couples has been spread about freely. Although the studies which produced this theory were statistically tiny and relied largely on the opinions of the parents raising the children rather than the children themselves, those promoting the idea of homosexual marriage have been quick to make this assertion.
A new study has recently been published which suggests that there are discernable differences in children who are raised by homosexual parents rather than heterosexual parents. The report which you can read about here suggests that those raised by homosexual parents are much more prone to depression, poverty, and criminality, just to list a few ills.
The authors of the study make clear that it is not possible to prove in any of these cases that being raised by homosexual parents is the direct cause of these things and yet still points out that on the average they are more prevalent among that population which suggests the situation seems to be a contributing variable at the very least.
While all of these statistics are interesting and worthy of study, I found the following paragraph much more interesting:
| “Therefore, while critics of the NFSS (the study) have faulted it for lacking comparisons between children of IBFs (Intact Biological Families) and the children of committed and intact gay or lesbian couples, this was attempted, but was not feasible. Despite drawing from a large, representative sample of the U.S. population, and despite using screening tactics designed to boost the number of respondents who reported having had a parent in a same-sex relationship, a very small segment reported having been parented by the same two women or two men for a minimum of three years. Although there is much speculation that today there are large numbers of same-sex couples in the U.S. who are providing a stable, long-term parenting relationship for their children, no studies based upon large, random samples of the U.S. population have been published that show this to be true, and the above-cited studies of different nations show that on average, same-sex couple relationships are more short-lived than those of opposite-sex couples.†|
In other words, while the study tried to locate children from stable homosexual situations, it could not find them in large enough occurrence to even study them. The article about the study notes that even the proponents of homosexual marriage regularly admit that stability within these relationships is less than that of their heterosexual counterparts. This is very important. This means that despite the other outcomes which this study notes perhaps the most dangerous thing about letting children be raised in this setting is that they are notoriously instable environments. Rarely could the study find someone who lived with two homosexual partners for even three years.
| “Second, the kind of gay parenting identified was rarely planned by two gay parents. The study found that the children who were raised by a gay or lesbian parent as little as 15 years ago were usually conceived within a heterosexual marriage, which then underwent divorce or separation, leaving the child with a single parent.†|
Here we see that many of these children ended up in these relationships because of the instability in heterosexual marriage. While this study and others point out that the instability is much greater among homosexuals, it should not let us forget that among heterosexual couples we have an epidemic of instability.
In fact, the instability among heterosexual couples is one of the easiest points for homosexual couples to make in defense of their position. One of the main arguments for homosexual marriage and for the adoption of children into homosexual couples is always the fact that heterosexual couples destroyed marriage long before the homosexual movement. And in one sense, they are absolutely right. However, they have forgotten what their mother told them, "Two wrongs do not make a right."
This research has convinced me again that I need to always make clear that I am not only a proponent of heterosexual marriage and against homosexual marriage but that first and foremost I am a proponent of stable lasting heterosexual marriage. Children raised in instable heterosexual marriage are victims just as surely as those raised in homosexual marriage, stable (if that exists) and instable.
What is my overall point? We owe it to our children to provide stable heterosexual homes in which they can be raised. This is what God intended and this is what the statistics are starting to bear out. I am never surprised when the statistics mirror God’s wisdom.
So if you are a loud voice against homosexual marriage and the adoption of children into those relationships, make sure your volume is just as loud in support of stable heterosexual marriage. If you ignore the divorce rate among heterosexual marriage in your argumentation, you will be easy to defeat in your argument in the secular arena.
Good arguments always are founded on good principle. And so here the principal is that children are intended to be raised by heterosexual parents who remain together faithfully. ((Obviously this ideal is not always possible. Sometimes one parent in a marriage dies way too young. Other times a mother or a father is forced to raise their children alone since they were abandoned by an unfaithful spouse. However, even in these circumstances where the one living in them is not at fault, we must still proclaim the situation not ideal. And since it is not ideal, we must do our best to support those who find themselves in this situation.)) Our children deserve such stability.
Once again, a well balanced treatment of a difficult subject. You brought the issue right back where it belongs (our own sin and our own need for forgiveness)without excusing the sin of others. A difficult balance to achieve yet you keep achieving it well. Thank you again for your posts.
Theologian and Author Robert Gagnon (The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics) makes the same case that the instability of heterosexual marriages, and the hypocrisy of heterosexual extra- (or pre-) marital relationships is easy fodder for homosexuals’ case for their own life styles (including adoption). The legitimacy to “teach transgressors your ways” comes from first acknowledging and confessing ones own sins. I know too many pastors though who shy away from this topic in the pulpit (or elsewhere) because it is too sensitive, and so therefore do their people. An amazing statistic is the divorce rate among Christian couples – virtually identical as unchurched families.
This is a great first hand article of one who grew up with lesbian parents: http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/08/6065