Thousands of exhausted migrants streamed into Austria today!

                      

             

        

Migrants arrive at the Austrian-Hungarian border station of Hegyeshalom, Hungary, September 5, 2015.

REUTERS/LASZLO BALOGH

Thousands of exhausted migrants streamed into Austria on Saturday, bussed to the border by a Hungarian government that gave up trying to hold them back as Europe's asylum system buckled under pressure from the numbers reaching its frontiers.

After days of confrontation and chaos, Hungary’s right-wing government deployed dozens of buses to move on migrants from the capital, Budapest, and pick up over 1,000 – many of them refugees from the Syrian war – who had set off by foot on Friday down the main highway to Vienna.

Austria said it had agreed with Germany that they would allow the migrants access, waiving the rules of an asylum system brought to breaking point by Europe’s worst refugee crisis since the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s.

Wrapped in blankets and sleeping bags against the rain, long lines of visibly exhausted migrants, many carrying small children, climbed off buses on the Hungarian side of the border and walked into Austria, receiving fruit and water from aid workers. Some waiting Austrians held signs that read, “Refugees welcome”.

“We’re happy. We’ll go to Germany,” said a Syrian man who gave his name as Mohammed. Another, who declined to be named, said: “Hungary should be fired from the European Union. Such bad treatment.”

Austrian police said 2,000 had arrived at the border, with many more likely to follow during the day. Trains were laid on to take them from the border town of Nickelsdorf to Vienna.

Hungary cited traffic safety for its decision to move the migrants on.

But it appeared to mark an admission that the government had lost control in the face of overwhelming numbers determined to reach the richer nations of northern and western Europe at the end of an often perilous journey from war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

“Because of today’s emergency situation on the Hungarian border, Austria and Germany agree in this case to a continuation of the refugees’ journey into their countries,” Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann said on his Facebook page.

"IT IS VICTORY"

By nightfall, the Keleti railway terminus in Budapest, for days a campsite of migrants barred from taking trains west to Austria and Germany, was almost empty, as smiling families boarded a huge queue of buses that then snaked out of the capital.

The migrants left shoes, clothes and mattresses scattered behind them. Helicopters circled overhead.

Even as the buses arrived to collect them, some migrants remained suspicious, mindful of how hundreds of their number had boarded a train on Thursday that they believed was heading to the border but was stopped just west of Budapest by riot police who ordered them into a reception camp.

Ahmed, from Afghanistan, said of the buses to the border: “If it is true, it is victory. Maybe we can find a way now.”

….The turmoil contrasted with a pledge by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to get to grips with a crisis he says threatens Europe’s prosperity, identity and “Christian values”; parliament on Friday tightened laws that his government said would effectively seal Hungary’s southern border to migrants as of Sept. 15.

Orban, one of Europe’s most outspoken critics of mass immigration, hailed “a different era”, but Friday brought more desperate scenes. A Pakistani man died, police said. State television said he had stumbled and hit his head as he ran down train tracks.

More than 140,000 migrants have been recorded entering Hungary so far this year through the EU's external border with Serbia, where Orban's government is building a 3.5-metre (11.5-foot) high wall. Countless others may have entered without registering.

Hungary says they have been spurred by Germany saying it would accept asylum requests from Syrian refugees regardless of where they enter the EU, contrary to EU rules.

On Friday, lawmakers adopted some of a raft of measures creating “transit zones” on the border, where asylum seekers would be held until their requests are processed and deported if denied.

The measures introduce jail terms for those who cross the border without permission or damage the fence, and may eventually provide for the use of the army.

The development of human sexual orientation Part 3

               

In my previous 2 articles, I argued that sexual orientation occurs as a result of a range of biological and environmental factors that ultimately coalesce at puberty to produce a person’s sexual attraction to others. In this piece, I go on to suggest that the controversy over homosexuality is a controversy over behavioral control, and I describe two approaches that have been applied to address this controversy.

Given the understanding of sexual orientation I’ve presented previously, the controversy over homosexuality generally occurs over issues of behavior rather than at the level of inherent characteristics or personality. In this context, the few verses in the Bible that specifically address homosexuality uniformly focus on behaviors or practices, as opposed to same sex sexual orientation (e.g., Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, I Corinthians 6:9ff, I Timothy 1:10). In this sense, homosexual behavior is a “choice.” In this sense however, practically any behavior that we engage in is a choice, regardless of whether we engage in (any type of) sexual behavior, drug usage (e.g., alcohol, illegal drugs, or caffeine), gossip, exercise, eating, or even writing a blog! 

               

The issue of homosexuality then becomes an issue of behavior or an issue of behavioral control. As for almost any behavior that we humans engage in, societies (including faith communities) have often attempted to regulate or control the behavior of its members. Significant energy is expended by every society to regulate or control behavior, as revealed by the degree to which we pass laws or regulations (i.e., pass written social rules for behavior, such as laws on murder or regulations about pollution of the environment) or enforce customs or mores (i.e., enforce unwritten social rules for behavior, such as colors of mourning or appropriate dress).

               

Societies commonly take two approaches to controlling behavior. One common approach is outright prohibition of a behavior. This approach is illustrated by societal prohibitions on murder, incest, or alcohol use (e.g., current prohibitions of Islamic societies on alcohol use or the temporary prohibition of alcohol in the United States in the 1920s-1930s). Historically, this was also the approach adopted by many countries to address the issue of homosexual behavior. This approach is still adopted by a number of countries in Africa (recently by Uganda and Nigeria) and the Middle East. This approach is also reflected in the proposal that individuals with a same sex sexual orientation should abstain from same sex sexual behavior – that is, to choose celibacy as a life style. It says something about our human nature that every case of behavioral prohibition that has established by a society has been violated by at least some members of that society, regardless of how harshly the prohibition is enforced.

The second approach adopted by societies to regulate behavior is to allow the behavior but constrain the behavior to occur in particular situations or relationships. As an example, for heterosexual behavior, most societies limit the conditions under which heterosexual behavior is supposed to occur – heterosexual behavior is almost always constrained to occur only within the confines of a socially sanctioned relationship (e.g., a civil union or marriage). There are, for example, many Biblical verses about heterosexual sexual behavior or practices. These verses range from Exodus 20:14 to 1 Corinthians 7:1-40, all of which, taken together, constrain heterosexual behavior to a specific relationship (i.e., marriage).

As part of this second approach, societies often reinforce the constraints they establish by providing benefits to individuals who form socially sanctioned relationships (e.g., by providing tax and legal benefits to families and committed couples). By limiting behavior to sanctioned relationships and strengthening sanctioned relationship, societies stabilize and strengthen their basic fabric.

               

In this light, the meritorious action by a number of countries to legalize homosexual marriage illustrates this second approach – homosexual behavior, like heterosexual behavior, is allowed in socially sanctioned relationships. Societal recognition of same sex marriage then provides a context within which some members of society may freely choose to engage in particular (i.e., homosexual) behavior without societal condemnation; in addition, the provision of tax and legal benefits to same sex couples has the effect of stabilizing and strengthening the fabric of society.

Steven Hayduk

Former Officer

Guardians of the Truth, '83-'85

Canada

It's Thursday September 3, 2015

NUMBER 40

'When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, 'Why do you just keep looking at each other?' Genesis 42:1

Sometimes we can have such a difficult, seemingly insurmountable problem that we are flummoxed when it comes to being able to think of any way to resolve it. This seemed to be the case with Jacob's sons as they looked at each other, no doubt hoping someone would come up with a solution.

Although there were seven years of super-abundant harvests, even at the end of the first year that followed, (concluded from Joseph's words in 45:6 on the second visit his brothers made to Egypt to buy corn), the harvest in Egypt and beyond was so poor that there was a severe famine. One wonders if all the nations in that region had experienced massive surpluses during those first seven seven years and whether they squandered what they had? Even without the message from God that Pharaoh received, it would have been wise to have set some grain aside as a safeguard. It is so easy to become blasé when year on year we bathe in riches. It is so easy to lose sight of how things can change beyond recognition very quickly indeed.

The only place where food was to be found was in Egypt and the Egyptians were not the most favourable of nations towards Hebrews, (see 43:32). No doubt, when ordered to do so by their father Jacob, the brothers set off in fear and trembling, uncertain of what reception awaited them. 'Lord, may we never take for granted the riches of your grace that you bestow. Make us prudent and wise in the use of those things you give us, Amen.' 








God bless you all.

Is Sexuality a Choice?

Psychological studies of human growth and development include a focus on the changes or stages in cognition across the lifespan. Concrete, or literal, thinking marks the early years, but cognitive maturity is marked by the ability to engage in both concrete and abstract thinking (except for in the case of some mental disabilities). So, cognitive development refers to the ability to think and reason. During adolescence, individuals begin to develop their world view, too.

This process of cognitive maturing reminds me of the Apostle Paul’s assertion, “When I was a child, I talked like a child; I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me,” (1 Corinthians 13:11 New International Version). Furthermore, Paul also stated, “My teaching was as if I were giving you milk to drink. I could not give you meat because you were not ready for it. Even yet you are not able to have anything but milk, (1 Corinthians 3:2, New Living Version). So, Paul was instructing these converts of the need to grow-up in their thinking and reasoning in order to grow spiritually; because, as we mature, we must also adjust our understanding of Scriptures. When we apply Paul’s admonition to the way many Christians read, consider, and deduce what the Scriptures are saying, we discover that many believers are very literal or concrete in their thinking and understanding of Biblical teachings and meanings. Unfortunately, this not only affects spiritual growth, but horrendous acts have also taken place as a result (e.g., the Holy wars, the Inquisition, or the Salem witch trials).

This brings me to the question, “Is sexuality a choice?” In Muslim countries many individuals have been put to death, because they are not heterosexuals. So, if sexuality is simply a “lifestyle choice”, it seems more likely that in countries where being non-heterosexual is punishable by torture and death, that an alternate “lifestyle” would be chosen. However, as a non-heterosexual friend has pointed out, her 'lifestyle choices' includes the types of holidays that she takes, the socializing she does with family and friends, and so forth. It does not include her sexuality.

So, why do we never hear about the 'heterosexual lifestyle"? In fact, why do heterosexuals not have to daily defend their 'lifestyle' or their sexuality? It makes me angry that the LGBTQ (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transvestites, and queers) communities have to defend their sexuality and fight to secure basic human rights Maybe there wouldn't need to be Gay Pride parades if this population wasn't so downtrodden, dejected, and abused, and subjected to torture and death at the hands of hateful, ignorant people—that happens right here in the USA, as well as in other Western countries! 

I don't have to stand up in public to declare, "I'm heterosexual", because society sees it as the 'norm'. But there are many norms in any given society. For example, it used to be the 'norm' to put people with mental diseases or physical handicaps into institutions. Actually, when our own son was being evaluated, and eventually diagnosed with autism, the head psychiatrist just stopped short of saying we should place him in such an institution. However, we would never allow her to make life-changing decisions for a child she had observed for less than an hour! Furthermore, she shook her head sadly when I told her I knew that he had potential. If we had listened to her, our son would not have made the progress that he has, and our lives would not be as rich as they have been with him. Is it challenging? Yes! But, in addition to the academic skills that he has acquired, he has also learned daily living skills and some basic social skills. Society's understanding of autism is also changing due to good research and education. For instance, it's now known that autistic children are not 'aloof' from others as a result of lack of maternal bonding and lack of affection from their mothers. That was a wrong belief, which punished way too many mothers for something that was not their fault: they did not create their autistic children due to lack of maternal bonding.

So, with more and better research and education, who knows what other issues, now considered 'abnormal' or 'sinful', will become acceptable and a new 'norm'? There has been research both in the scientific field (e.g., studies that are exploring the genetic make-up of GLBTQ individuals) and in Biblical studies (e.g., to understand the meaning of the Biblical verses that many Christians use to label GLBTQ relationships as sinful, such as the context in which these singled-out  verses were written, and so forth).

That brings me back to my original question: Is sexuality a choice?  I don’t know the definitive answer, and maybe that isn’t the most important question. Perhaps the most significant issue is love—do Christians have a God-given mandate to treat those in the LGBTQ community as less-loved by God? One might think so, given the attitudes, behaviours, and judgmental comments and criticisms.  In the meantime, my intention is to love and accept all my friends--I don't do a community survey to find out which ones are 'straight' and which ones are 'other'. I also don’t label them as ‘saved’ or ‘sinners’, because salvation and having a relationship with Christ is a deeply personal experience; it’s not my place to judge another’s salvation. The thing that is important to me is that my friends don't have to explain or defend themselves to me. Nothing has changed with my friends who 'came out' many years after our friendship began. For that matter, the same applies to my new, non-heterosexual friends that I have met on Face Book, some of whom surpass basic friendship, because they are my brothers and sisters in Christ.  -  This is the salient feature, for me. Many blessings.

Elizabeth Hogan-Hayduk

Former Officer,

Guardians of the Truth, ’83-/85

Canada

The development of human sexual orientation Part 2

In yesterday's article, I argued that sexual orientation in general (and same sex sexual orientation in particular) occurs as a result of a broad range of biological and environmental factors that interact and that ultimately crystallize at puberty to produce a person’s sexual attraction to others. Furthermore, I suggested that the course of sexual orientation development is the same regardless of one’s sexual orientation: heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, and even asexual orientations develop in the same way.

         

At the outset, let me note that the scientific community is some distance from knowing the specific details of how different factors interact to produce our sexual orientations. This observation may not be surprising; the scientific community (e.g., psychology, psychiatry, biology) is some distance from knowing the specific details of how different factors interact to produce a range of personality characteristics (e.g., intelligence) and disorders (e.g., schizophrenia). 

We do know that there is NO single factor or element that is only and unambiguously associated with a specific (e.g., same sex) sexual orientation. For example, we know that genetic factors contribute to same sex sexual orientation, but there is no known gene or set of genes which always and only produces same sex sexual orientation. Similarly, we do know that early childhood experiences (such as childhood sexual abuse) can contribute to sexual orientation, but it is not the case that child sexual abuse always produces a particular sexual orientation. If, for example, a younger male has been sexually abused by an older male, this may have a slight influence on the development of same sex sexual orientation by the young male, but the vast majority of males (and females) who have been sexually abused develop opposite sex sexual orientation. So, there is no individual factor that clearly leads to same sex sexual orientation.

The range of factors that influences the development of sexual orientation is broad. These factors include genetic factors, prenatal non-genetic factors (e.g., exposure to prenatal hormones), personal perceptions and experiences influences (e.g., relationships with other children, feeling different from others), and broader interpersonal/social influences (e.g.. urban vs. rural environments). These factors work together before puberty to set up a person’s sexual orientation. So, we do know that a broad range of factors interacts in a complex (and unknown) fashion to influence the development of all sexual orientations. We also know that this complex set of factors also tends to have a mostly predictable but strong influence on the development of sexual orientation. That is, however the combination of factors interacts, the combination tends to “push” the development of sexual orientation in a particular direction (e.g., generally toward opposite sex sexual orientation – heterosexuality). 

Surveys that examine sexual attraction/orientation generally find that about 2-5% of the participants of a survey report themselves as having a same sex sexual orientation (or report as bisexual). This is relatively consistent across a variety of surveys administered across a range of countries and times. To put it another way, in the vast majority of individuals (approximately 95-98% of people) the complex interaction of factors leads to the development of opposite sex sexual orientation at puberty. That is, most individuals are “pushed” toward opposite sex sexual orientation during the course of their development. The (unknown) combination of factors that lead to an alternate development route for sexual orientation (i.e., toward same sex sexual orientation) occurs relatively infrequently.

So, we know that a broad range of factors, both biological (i.e., nature) and environmental (i.e., nurture) interact over a period of time (from conception to puberty) to produce our sexual orientations. The most common pathway of development leads to opposite sex sexual orientation; less common alternate pathways lead to same sex sexual orientation or both sex sexual orientation (bisexuality). We also know that the pathways are “set” at puberty, when a pubertal child discovers that he or she is attracted to or has a crush on others. We are neither born with, nor do we choose, our sexual orientation – to whom we are attracted.

Dr. Steven Hayduk

Former Officer

Guardians of the Truth ’83-‘85

Canada