It has happened again. Yet another journalist and another author have chosen to defend homosexuality with the argument that “God had presumably made him the way he was.” 1 This popular idea, repeated by politicians, pundits, and pop singers, argues that because a person is born a certain way, God has given his stamp of approval on the lifestyle. The argument is usually focused only on the issue of homosexuality. Set aside the fact that this requires the unproven assertion that homosexual tendencies are primarily a matter of biological/genetic factors and just consider the argument as presented: because person X is born with traits Y, those traits must be approved by God because God gave those traits to person X.

This kind of language is not unfamiliar to the church; how many times have we told children, “God made you just the way you are and has a purpose for you!” This is one reason why good theology matters even with children, but I digress.

What makes the “born this way” argument so hellishly hypocritical is how sloppily it gets applied. The basic assumption is that God approves of the genes we receive and as such we should give our approval, defending people’s rights to be what God made them to be.

That said, these people would never use this argument to defend another group of individuals whose genes are generally considered unacceptable.

Can you guess which group I have in mind?

Infants with Down’s Syndrome.

In the United States, the abortion rate for Down Syndrome babies hovers somewhere around 95%. 2

This may be the most persecuted group of people on the planet.

I saw a picture a few days ago of a Down’s child wearing a shirt with a clever message. It said, “Keep calm it’s only an extra chromosome”. While no definite genetic cause for homosexuality has been established, we know exactly what causes Down’s syndrome. There is no doubt that these children were born this way. Their condition is purely a matter of genetics. Despite these clear facts, the good folks of the New York Times and others who share their mindset continue to practice the hellish hypocrisy of defending homosexuality because “God had presumably made him the way he was” while arguing that a woman has the right to exterminate her child with Down’s because his genes are not acceptable. Imagine their apoplexy if tomorrow scientists discovered a “gay gene” and mothers began aborting babies found with it. They would rightly be outraged. Yet they refuse to share this same outrage over the genocide waged against Down’s babies considered unfit for our society.

This is hypocrisy. This is hellish. This must stop.