As a gay man, I recently kissed another man on the lips. It was exciting to me.

It is hard to see who was harmed by my action. So maybe the kiss itself was not worthy of damnation. Then we are left with the fact that I enjoyed it.

Let us look at that and see if that was the sin.

I did not decide to get a thrill out of looking at men. Rather, I found myself that way when I was very young, perhaps 10 years old. I considered suicide, not because I had done anything but because I was ashamed of what I was. I was smart enough to know that I was not supposed to have those feelings.

My childhood was pretty ordinary. I was not molested or exposed to pornography or anything like that. Nevertheless, I developed in this particular direction.

What does that mean to the honest, God-believing folks of McLean County? It means that God made me that way.

Now we have come full circle and we are back to the question at hand. Look again at the fact that I got a little thrill. Was my emotional reaction a sin? If God created me with this capacity, then it hardly could be called a sin.

You who do not share my experience might ask yourselves, "Could I become homosexual if I wanted to?" I think most of you would answer "no." So likewise, I could not choose to be like you.

One of my points here is that homosexuality is defined by a set of emotional responses, not by behavior. If you can see that, then you must, in my opinion, consider the theological implications. I did not sin.

Gene Naden

Bloomington