In his latest On the Square column, Russel E. Saltzman addresses sexual identity and identity in Christ:

Over the course of the eighteenth through twentieth centuries homosexuality came to be viewed as a biological or psychological anomaly. What was once regarded as an unusually nasty sin became a pathology to be cured. This generated some genuinely horrific quack “cures,” like testicular transplants and electro-shock therapy.

Considering the violence inflicted on gays as a punishment for sin or an attempted cure, it’s not surprising that they reject both classifications of their behavior. They have adopted instead, Selmys says, a “homosexual identity” producing today’s gay subculture and a wider acceptance of the gay life. “[H]omosexual identity cements same-sex attraction”—an otherwise transient bit of normal human experience—“as a crucial element of personality.”