Critical Review - Assignment Example

Yarhouse, M. A., & Tan, E. N. (2005). Sexual Identity and Being a Christian. Journal Of Psychology & Christianity, 24 60-64. In the article, Sexual Identity and Being a Christian, the authors’ main issue was that it is sometimes difficult for people to identify themselves as homosexuals, heterosexuals or bisexuals because of certain factors that influence the process of sexual identification. The authors, Yarhouse and Tan, discussed and researched upon three aspects of the issue above; firstly, the confusions experienced by many when deciding their sexual identity, the difficulties they face in trying to publicly discuss their attraction and consult people for a way to handle it and in what ways did the religion contribute or may contribute to the betterment of their state.

The article was centered upon people of faith and religion.Yarhouse and Tan, supported the issues discussed within the article, with the help of other research teams that had carried out research on this issue in the past. When highlighting the quantum of people who face the perplexity of figuring out their sexual orientation, they referred to surveys carried out by renowned psychologists Ritch C. Savin-Williams and Kenneth M. Cohen and used statistics from a book. The statistics helped outline the enormity of sexual orientation among adolescents.

As close to eleven percent people interviewed acknowledged their attraction towards the same sex but were uncertain of their orientation. They used the same research papers to explain the ways in which male and female homosexuals are hit by the reality of their sexual bearings.When touching on the plight of homosexuals; who had been censured by their church for being so, Yarhouse and Tan quoted statistics from their own book, which showed that, despite the belief of their subjects, religion was the greatest remedy of their sexual dilemma.

They were turned away from by their church and driven away from spiritual therapy. The authors in the article continued with the sad fact that seclusion becomes the doom of many people with homosexual feelings. They seek the sanctuary of solitude and confinement when they are directly ridiculed by society or when they sense negativity around them. Yarhouse and Tan cited real life experiences of people with homosexual feelings who ended up hating themselves owing to their helplessness. On the contrary, some experiences stated in the article illustrated how some subjects found understanding and acceptability in their community and are coping with their sexual attractions.

The authors concluded the issue by conferring that instead of labeling the existence of same sex attraction as a taboo and causing self hatred, people with homosexual feelings should be encouraged to openly discuss their emotional state and should be coached with advice in the light of religion as to what is acceptable and what is not. However, the final decision shall be their own. This approach according to the authors would help them fit themselves in any of the three sexual classes of mankind, the homosexuals, heterosexuals or bisexuals depending upon the degree of their interest in the same sex.

The authors were not concerned about the decisions that Christian homosexuals made, but were rather concerned about creating consciousness and eliminating their confusion so they would not withdraw themselves from the society. This article had a very limited scope. It did not address the problems of remedial possibilities for non church going people. But apparently, the article was meant to be solely based upon the lives of church going Christians; therefore the research statistics used were irrelevant, since they were not strictly limited to surveys on religious folks.

Moreover, Yarhouse and Tan overlooked one setback that may entail the conclusion that they drew. They elicited pastoral guidance and direction in the context of stewardship of one’s body and attractions as a solution to eliminate confusion as to sexual identity. On the other hand, I believe even though imparted with sympathy and love such guidance can result in increased self hatred. Religious people might view their feelings as a curse to their community when they come across such teachings in the Bible.

They might shun themselves from the society knowing that religion will not accommodate their feelings. Although this possibility seems remote, it may be a consequence nonetheless.All in all, the article was a pretty detailed account of the hardships and consequences Christian homosexuals faced, but the statistics used for support, did not seem appropriate as they encompassed people in general and not just people of faith.