A Homophobe Reviews "Ender's Game"

I was a chubby little kid, so I got my fair share of bullying until I stretched out in high school. I was also molested by a male babysitter and introduced to hardcore bisexual pornography when I was eight, leading to a lifelong struggle with sexual addiction ever since losing my virginity while still in the 3rd grade – to a man. What does any of this have to do with Ender’s Game? Everything.

Review Opinion
By papasnoopy - Nov 03, 2013 10:11 PM EST
Filed Under: Other
Source: Comicbookmovie.com

A Homophobe Reviews “Ender’s Game”

I was a chubby little kid, so I got my fair share of bullying until I stretched out in high school. I was also molested by a male babysitter and introduced to hardcore bisexual pornography when I was eight, leading to a lifelong struggle with sexual addiction ever since losing my virginity while still in the 3rd grade – to a man. What does any of this have to do with Ender’s Game? Everything.

More on the sexual abuse later; let me first address why I love Ender’s Game so much and why I identify so closely with this tortured, compassionate military genius. As a fat, brainy little kid I spent a lot of time out-witting the occasional Neanderthal who thought he would use me to raise his standing. Like Ender, I learned to use my enemy’s strength against him, often re-directing their antagonism or even managing to make peace through diplomacy. And even if I had to defend myself I managed, much like Ender, to evade, escape or nudge the odds a little more in my favor by out-thinking the dumb ox. Sadly, I even got picked on by one particularly ruthless neighbor girl, who threatened to have her brothers beat me up if I didn’t do her homework and let her cheat off me on a test. I obliged, but when her final grade came in she was sorry she asked me to help, especially when she got held back and I went on to graduate number six in my class. Much like Ender, the military invited me to the Air Force Academy for a Summer Scientific Seminar due to my performance on the ASVAB tests. That ended in disaster, but more on that later.

The irony for those who hate author Orson Scott Card is that he has created one of the most beloved and imaginative novels involving a bullied child who spends his life overcoming, even crushing, his demons. But Card’s detractors know this, and while they will do everything possible to rob him of his due, I’ll bet money they will secretly borrow or steal a copy of the book and indulge the tingly feelings they get knowing there will be hell to pay if they get caught; the same tingly feelings I used to get, coincidentally, sneaking away from adult book stores in the middle of the night while I was in college. Weird parallels! I know, right?!

The movie is the final evolution of the original short story which appeared in the August, 1977 edition of Analog magazine. The expanded novel earned Card a 1985 Nebula and 1986 Hugo Best Novel award, and although I did not discover the book until my early 40’s, I have read every incarnation of it multiple times, as well as the sequels and the entire Ender’s Shadow series which follows the character of Bean. When Marvel began producing the comic book version I couldn’t contain myself. My dad had collected comic books since his childhood, which explains my love for the genre, but to see someone else’s interpretation of the images I had created in my head for the characters and their world was fantastic. But now, to finally see on the big screen, in all its CGI glory, the film adaptation of a book once deemed “un-filmable”! Well, let’s just say it was worth the wait… almost.

So what did the movie get right and where did it compromise? In general, I was pleasantly surprised by how faithful the movie tried to stay to the overall themes of the book, but those themes were treated much like a stone skipped across a lake – touching the surface just right but never going deep enough to understand enough of the “why”. I am so familiar with the story that I found myself easily filling in the holes and dressing out the sides, but anyone unfamiliar with the books will have a hard time appreciating the depth and subtlety imparted by Card, and even more movingly by the audio book version told through the incredible voice of Stefan Rudnicki.

I was amazed at how fast the movie flew through Ender’s time at his home in North Carolina. I wanted to see more of his brother and sister, Peter and Valentine, since their failure to make the cut for Battle School inform his very existence. The history and animosity between his parents and Colonel Graff was completely skipped, along with the importance of the two-child policy and Ender’s humiliation as a “third”, allowed by the government as if they had requisitioned Ender like a piece of military property. Also, Peter’s sadistic torment, balanced out by Valentine’s compassion, gave Ender the capacity to inspire a devoted loyalty among his peers while at the same time instilling in his enemies a mortal dread for his relentless and ruthless tactical genius.

Then there was Ender’s age. In the novel he enters Battle School at age six and has his own army by age nine, which helps explain why he is so hated by the older commanders who know they will never match this child prodigy. His young, tender age also deepens the tragedy and indignation of how the adults use him for their own purposes, even if those purposes may be noble in their own minds. Asa Butterfield was wonderful but he was too tall and too old. Petra was great, just as I imagined her, but she should have been a much older mentor for Ender. I almost laughed out loud to see a diminutive Bonzo Madrid looking menacingly up into his face, but the Napoleon complex was well done and made up for it. Also, I appreciated how tastefully they did the shower fight scene, which was pivotal in Ender’s development and fueled his fury against the adults running the school, and his life. I also liked how they treated Bernard, who originally got his arm broken for harassing Ender on the transport shuttle before they even get to Battle School. I very much appreciate that Bernard was redeemed, forgiven and even served under him with honor in Command School.

I liked Ben Kingsley as Mazor Racham, but his initial meeting with Ender missed a great opportunity at humor. Ender gets pinned during his first lesson on underestimating his enemy, but he doesn’t learn Mazor’s identity until Mazor turns his back to leave and Ender drop kicks him into the door, turning the lesson back on his new master. And why didn’t we ever come to understand that Mazor should be over a hundred years old? They should have taken a moment to explain the time effects of near light-speed travel purposely undertaken to keep Mazor alive until they could find “the one”.

As for the battle room scenes, I loved the way it was imagined. And the scene with Bean tied to a line was almost straight out of the book! I can excuse the necessity of reducing each army down to a dozen or so soldiers when the book had platoons of 40, but I cannot excuse seeing only Salamander and Leopard (?) Army!? I almost felt like the entire battle school consisted of only Ender and Bonzo. Where was Rose “the Nose”? Where were Rat, Phoenix, Scorpion and all the other armies? Where were Han Tzu, Carn Carby and Fly Molo? Why was Dink Meeker so underused? Where were the hundreds of other cadets? Why didn’t we better see how these kids were gleaned from every country on earth, not just the USA, and the way that cultural diversity affected their relationships in battle school because of national conflicts back on Earth? Why was there not more time spent on seeing Ender’s rise on the leader board and the isolation caused by the jealousy of the other commanders?

The movie seemed to be in such a hurry to get to the last fifteen minutes that it abandoned the rich panoply of characters that made the book so much fun. Yes, I know it’s a bad thing to cram too much into a short movie, but it was equally disappointing to see the “Enderverse” shaved down to so few supporting characters that it felt like a half-empty room at your 20th high school reunion. The movie just flew too fast – I never got the feeling that Ender spent over three years at Battle School, it felt like he just went there for summer vacation. We don’t see how the adults and other commanders throw everything at him, deliberately trying to frustrate him, break him down, weary him with the injustice and unfairness of it all in a concerted effort to find his breaking point. We never really appreciate how hard he fought back, frustrating them instead with his genius, single-minded determination and unparalleled gift of strategy.

We also don’t see enough of the mind game, and how desperately he tries to exorcise the influence of his sadistic brother, Peter, through the love of his sister, Valentine. We also don’t fully see how that whole thing ties into the formic race he is preparing to battle. As for the bugger queen, she was well done and that scene was powerful. I’ll spare further comment for those who have not yet seen the movie, but I will say that her true influence was sorely missed. In the book, Ender wakes up from his nightmares sometimes bloody from chewing his own fist in torment. That’s important – I never got the feeling he was haunted as much as he was in the book.

My biggest gripe with the movie is it just moved too fast. We don’t see him age, grow or develop into the hounded, tortured and utterly exhausted young man he should be by the time he fights his greatest battle, and that brings me to his final exam. They utterly changed the entire psychology and point of the choices he makes. I won’t give the ending away, but when he arrives for his final exam with an audience of top military brass he does not care anymore. He wants to be kicked out of school and he does not care how. He actually tries to screw up so badly, do something so outrageous that he will be happily escorted back to earth. The movie takes a different approach and has him trying to please his superiors, an approach which I felt dampened the impact of what happens next. The emotional impact of the ending was there, but muted because of the change in motivation, in my opinion.

Still, even with all that I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and I will see it multiple times. I’m saddened that so many people will hurt the careers of the young actors involved in this film simply because of their hatred for the book’s author, and that brings me back to my opening comments. I rarely contribute to Comicbookmovie.com, but when I have posted I have made it a point to be deliberately provocative. I do so intentionally, because I feel I must counterbalance the flow of popular culture on this particular subject. Being molested and infected by hard bisexual porn in the 3rd grade robbed me of my innocence. By the time I got to middle school I had had more sexual encounters than most newlyweds, mostly with males. What do you think that does to a small child with a brain like wet cement? Everything leaves an impression that is almost impossible to erase without jack-hammering the entire foundation.

In the late 80’s I saw the explosion of AIDS firsthand as a paramedic, and saw how the disease went from a 93% male homosexual vector (7% IV drug users) to women and children, due in large part to the army of bisexual men hopping from room to room in adult bookstores for a quick encounter, like little social butterflies, then taking it home to their wives and children. I know - I was there watching them. In the early 90's I became a Red Cross HIV-AIDS educator and saw the lies and propaganda fomented on the world just to take the heat off of one particular demographic, just because they were better educated and funded, having no one to spend their wealth on but themselves. I have watched the slow encroachment of perversion into the mainstream, as if the horror of my childhood abuse had now become normal, and even expected. I have watched public opinion slowly turn upside down in a bizarre fulfillment of Isaiah 5:20, to the point that now popular music videos claim Jesus as Lord of the gays and Christians as the real enemies of Christ.

I write these things with a heavy heart, because I have two nephews who have chosen the gay lifestyle. I say that lightly, because what is that “lifestyle”? What is gay art, drama, literature, film, conversation, poetry, society, etc? No matter how lofty it starts it always disintegrates into the same two themes – rebellion and deviant sex. I know – I’ve spent plenty of time with them. It’s all about the orgasm and the most exotic way to get it, no matter how they pretend to higher virtues such as civil rights. And although they cannot, or will not, procreate naturally, the drive for offspring is still there so they must reproduce artificially – usually by terra-forming the impressionable minds of the young and unsuspecting, like me at age eight.

My nephews know how I feel about the subject, and they know I will never lie to them, coddle them or encourage the direction they are taking. But they also know I love them dearly – I would take a bullet for either of them and fight any bully off of them with a stick. But they are also victims, of a society hell-bent on corrupting the world away from a God they hate to distraction, and only too glad to drag as many as they can down to hell with them.

My wife, bless her, knew everything about me when we met and she married me anyway. So did my first wife who died of cancer fifteen years ago. Just before she died I stole and finally cut that little porn book into tiny pieces in front of her, but if I close my eyes, I can still see every page of that damn book in full color, just as I did almost 40 years ago. It is forever burned into my brain to torment me until the day I die. In this age of instant internet porn and a Godless HBO, this may seem rather quaint and amusing, but that only shows how deep down the sewer America has fallen.

Pornography is not victimless. When I was in high school, I was assaulted by a gay stranger that I had to literally fight off me. Everyone remembers Matthew Shepard, but no one ever talks about Jesse Dirkhising, who was brutally raped and murdered by two homosexual males. I have aborted at least one and possibly a second child as a result of my sexual addictions. I ran into one girl years later who was now pregnant with her third child, and she still cries, wondering if it was a girl or a boy, knowing we will face that child again in heaven. I lost my college scholarship and a chance at the Air Force Academy because of this addiction. It is as powerful as crack and just as hard to give up. I have ruined my life and the lives of several other people while trying to battle this demonic plague.

But I also know that I have fought a good fight against this garbage. I have begged and been forgiven by my Lord and Savior Jesus, the Christ, who told the woman caught in adultery that, yes, neither does he condemn her, but GO NOW AND SIN NO MORE. I know that the man who molested me was sick, and had likely been a victim himself. I know that many who defer to the gay lifestyle have father issues and histories of abuse, molestation and abandonment. I know they need God as much as I do, but I’ll be damned if I’ll stand by and watch Jesus being co-opted into a golden calf for these pagan demoniacs to dance around.

As I write this, Orson Scott Card will continue to be demonized for standing his ground on the continued Satanic degradation of my beloved country, and I know that one day soon I will likely be killed by the very preachers of the new “tolerance”, with their fake Jesus – an impotent, compliant god made in their own image – smiling from their banners, for simply having the audacity to be ashamed of my past behavior. May God forgive us all for what’s about to happen to the late, great planet Earth.

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jojofmd
jojofmd - 11/4/2013, 12:58 AM
Great review and powerful editorial. You will be in my prayers.
EntertainmentAddict
EntertainmentAddict - 11/4/2013, 1:05 AM
Did not read the whole article I will confess and I am very sorry for what you have gone through. That being said, I disagree HIGHLY with your statement that your nephew's "chose" the gay lifestyle. You do not choose to be gay anymore than you choose to be straight. I can see how someone who has had to go through the things you went through could have confusion and identity issues, however not all homosexuals have been molested and none of them chose it. If you choose to be gay, then why choose to kill yourself because of the lack of acceptance rather than choose to be straight and not have to worry about what is said or thought about your sexuality. Not trying to ignore what you have been put through and I wish I could end sexual abuse for ALL people, but as much as I cannot control the actions of such monsters, I also cannot believe homosexuality is a choice...
papasnoopy
papasnoopy - 11/4/2013, 1:58 AM
@EntertainmentAddict: I hear you but I can tell you that there are many more "climax addicts" in the gay community than you may think. Speaking for myself, I never had "gender confusion" or "sexual identity" issues, period. Like a crack addict, the local book store was just an easy orgasm, nothing more. I never found men attractive, just a means to a dopamine fix, no different than heroin. The barriers to that behavior were broken down early by the fact that my first experiences with sex were with males, and lets face it, it ended with a good feeling. There is no way to undo that connection. Here's how crazy it gets - the thought of kissing a man makes me sick, but not a BJ? How is that?

As far as born that way, I will concede that my nephew, born 5 weeks premature, was very likely born under-producing testosterone. However, I remember how abusive his father was - even tried to drown his mother in the sink while he watched. But no one ever paid any attention to that poor kid until the day he went wandering around the house wearing his mother's shoes and hat. Suddenly the whole room stopped and he became the center of attention and adoration. What connection do you think that made in his tiny brain about how to get attention and love? Then his aunt bought him jelly shoes for Christmas and cemented that link. The two go together - nature and nurture.

Same kid, fifteen years later, effeminate and bullied, escapes to the only place that will accept him and is pushed there by his school counselor. When he graduates he moves in with his boyfriend, but they still take up male and female roles. Can't escape the original design, I guess.

At some point, it's just easier to stop fighting the good fight and take the path of least resistance. But this is true of many more issues than homosexuality. Do we rise above the animals and practice self-control or give in to every primal lust without restraint? That's the direction we are headed - back to paganism after so many years of God trying to civilize the human race.

Being effeminate is not a crime and may be natural (or artificially induced by the estrogen-like compounds we ingest in our foods in significant doses), but gay sex is a choice, and it is easier to push the idea of God out of the way or reinvent that God into something that looks more like you. I know - I took great comfort in the scriptures that said God cannot look upon sin - that meant he wasn't watching. The Bible predicts a huge uptick of this exactly in the last days.

Perhaps the physical reality of gender confusion is simply a natural consequence of the degradation of our DNA after centuries of corruption. I concede the possibility that we have devolved from our Creator's ideal and so find ourselves with these issues. I choose to believe in the God of the Bible for reasons that would take too much space here, reasons which involve a combination of personal experience (on a supernatural level)and science, but I understand that this issue is much easier to resolve if God does not exist. Hence the moral war we find ourselves in.

"Love covers a multitude of sins" - Paul the Apostle
"I think it's about forgiveness" - Don Henley
EntertainmentAddict
EntertainmentAddict - 11/4/2013, 2:25 AM
I would invite you to watch this talk I attended in Hickory, NC recently. The talk is VERY informative and may shed some light on some doubts you have. I know what I know and what you are saying does not ring true for me. I was NEVER abused, molested, or NURTURED to be gay, yet I am. I know you will never change your mind, but hopefully you will open it a bit...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfEMPN7xVR4
DatNerdyKid
DatNerdyKid - 11/4/2013, 4:23 AM
If I didn't so desperately wish to sink myself into Arkham City (yes I know, late to the game), I could probably write a whole editorial on my own in this little comment. But I'll just get to the basics.
I have to give props where props are due-nice review of the film. I haven't seen it or read the books, but you seem to have a great knowledge of them. However that is where I believe your knowledge ends.
I get one very clear impression from the non-review sections of your editorial, though it be fair it IS what it says on the tin-you ARE indeed a homophobic religious nut under the impression that, well, homosexuality is a 'lifestyle choice'. Have you been wronged in the past? Yes. Are all homosexuals/bisexuals, male or female, predators in the same way? F*** no!
I am not homosexual myself. I am an atheist that has attended a Catholic high school for the past five years. My mum is single and a feminist. So do you know what my general beliefs in life are? Religions have for centuries have attempted to persecute, oppress and outcast those who have not conformed to their idea of 'normality'. This is not just applicable to Christians-fundamentalist Islamic cultures in the Middle East have been responsible for the oppression of women for CENTURIES.
In short, I see your judgements and 'reasoning' as pure, illogical HATE-this is a hate article in which you justify your devout beliefs and blame your enslaving addiction upon...yes you guessed it, a single group of people you disapprove of. It's because of people like you that there is no equality in the world-ALL people of the same species should have the same rights, regardless of race, colour, gender or sexual orientation. It is my sincere wish to see gay marriage laws pass without utter condemnation, and those women oppressed in the Middle East liberated from tyranny.
There are a lot of things in this world that need to be fixed.
Oh look, it pretty much did become an editorial.
jojofmd
jojofmd - 11/4/2013, 4:32 AM
@Theawesomeavenger.

I would ask you to open your mind a bit. You have a very jaded and uneducated view of religion. I agree in part on the oppression of women in Islamic cultures, however you seriously miss the message of what is and isn't a "right".
DatNerdyKid
DatNerdyKid - 11/4/2013, 4:40 AM
Well what do you believe a right to be then? Should people not be allowed to have equal standing instead of being treated as second class citizens?
EntertainmentAddict
EntertainmentAddict - 11/4/2013, 5:04 AM
Thank you, AwesomeAvenger, you definitely have your mind open. I find it odd that the people I have encountered who truly practice the teachings of Jesus tend to be Atheist or Agnostic. Sad state of affairs, but it is true. If you watch the video of the link I provided above, you will see the PREACHERS in it say that homosexuality is NOT condemned in the Bible, except where it was CHANGED from "Sodomite" to "masturbation" to "homosexuality" and I do not know how you can change the word of God and still say it is God's word. In reading Stephen King's 11/22/63, I learned the same thing going on with the gay community as far as rights today is EXACTLY the same argument they used to oppress the black community in the 60s. How does Jesus OR God teach to oppress a group because they are different when Jesus accepted ALL people, lepers, prostitutes, thieves, and so on...
DatNerdyKid
DatNerdyKid - 11/4/2013, 5:26 AM
@Entertainment Addict
If I believed in your hell, I would surely be going there for this. I don't particularly care about a person that *coughs* 'lived' 2000 or so years ago-fact is fact. The liberal-minded politicians have allowed their beliefs to influence their policy-making (as all 'good' politicians do) and prevented the homosexuals of society from achieving the same status as others-until they are allowed to marry they will continue to be second class citizens. The fundamental Muslims deprive women of essentially ALL their rights, and are used merely as breeding machines/punching bags. These are indeed two instances of oppression, be they involving 'physical violence' or not. (Fyi I am 99% sure that as I have now graduated I will never again have to listen to another preacher so...yeah. Not gonna be watching that link.)
@GliderMan
Who are you to judge whether or not a person's sexual preference is 'right'? Shouldn't our society be one in which people do not have to hide who they are because of the INTOLERANCE promoted by your 'Bible'? True people may go through a 'phase' of sorts but that DOES NOT mean that what they are feeling is unnatural, wrong, or something that they should be converted from.
jojofmd
jojofmd - 11/4/2013, 6:02 AM
@preacherfan666, No one asks to be molested. That is truly hateful speech. Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean you have the right to disparage and attack them.
@AWESOMEavenger How is it not equal standing. I can understand if one is getting fired for being homosexual etc. However, marriage is a relationship. The homosexual relationship isn't equal to that of a heterosexual one. it can never be procreative and that was and is the whole point of marriage. To have a stable home to raise children. Yes it has other qualities and one wants it to be loving etc. However you cannot strip away the most fundamental part of it and still call it "equal" and "the same" because it isn't.
jojofmd
jojofmd - 11/4/2013, 6:07 AM
@entertainment addict. Homosexuality, genetic or not isn't sin unto itself. It is the action that is sinful, like masturbation, sex outside marriage, stealing, lying etc. You brought up religion so I will discuss in that context. Jesus called people out on there sins, but he also forgave. That is where my faith is, but for forgiveness to happen one must admit that what one did was wrong and want to change. That is where the modern "gay lifestyle" is errant. It feels it is doing nothing wrong. That is why it is at odds with Christianity. Christianity accepts everyone, but it wants to change you into what God wants for all of us. To be the best version of ourselves. Jesus is also very clear on what he expects a marriage to be.
bazinga85
bazinga85 - 11/4/2013, 6:17 AM
Good review, but as an Athiest, I disagree with your stance on homosexuality. As said by others above, not all homosexuals choose to be gay and they're not bringing down "God's" society.
GinjaNinja
GinjaNinja - 11/4/2013, 6:24 AM
good words. but I must refrain from argueing with anyone about gay right lol
EntertainmentAddict
EntertainmentAddict - 11/4/2013, 7:03 AM
@jojo, watch the link I posted, and you will see how the Bible has been changed.
I am not overly religious, but I do know the difference between right and wrong. You cannot quote the Bible without admitting the Bible has been changed repeatedly BY MAN. You also cannot say homosexuality is a choice because you did not choose to be. To say that being straight comes naturally is an ignorant statement. Just because it comes naturally to ONE group of people does NOT mean it comes naturally to another group.
@avenger, I was suggesting you watch the link to see the preachers go against what is normally thought of in religious circles. It was not trying to push religion on you. I have a very dear friend who is an atheist and I date an agnostic...
DatNerdyKid
DatNerdyKid - 11/4/2013, 7:20 AM
@EntertainmentAddict fair point. I've had a long day.
@VIRILEMAN I'm not even gonna start on you.
@jojo So what is your classification of 'stable' then? Do you expect a household in which two men or women are married to be...'unstable', explosive, or even abusive? Actually...same as VIRILEMAN.
@preacher You are my new favourite person among these comments. We have pretty much the same opinion but I decided to...restrain myself a bit. Wise words
bazinga85
bazinga85 - 11/4/2013, 7:20 AM
@VIRILEMAN
You have a warped view of atheism. We do believe in right and wrong(well at least I do), but not because some god told us what's right and what's wrong. It's because some things truly are RIGHT and some things truly are WRONG, so yes, we can argue his discriminate beliefs. And you truly are a dumbass if you think having sex with another man automatically gives you a disease.
DatNerdyKid
DatNerdyKid - 11/4/2013, 7:23 AM
@bazinga85 2nd favourite person
fortycals
fortycals - 11/4/2013, 7:54 AM
Just have one question. Why so much focus on the this particular sin. My problem with this is not that you speak up for what you believe in, it's the focus on this one issue. Why not speak up on pre martial sex as a whole. Are you trying to outlaw that to. Or coveting thy neighbors wife, should that be against the law to. What about gluttony, are you trying to outlaw fat people overeating. The Bible speaks about a lot of things more frequently and harshly about other sins, but some make this their focus. Why is this the sin, that you speak on, is it because this is one you committed? I'm sure this wasn't the only one. What makes one sin worse than the others? Why is this the down fall of your great country, and not the violence, hetero sex, greed, and oppression?

Sorry I know I said one question. I'm not trying to bash your beliefs. I'm just trying to get a little deeper inside your thinking. You see I believe God, I believe in the Bible for the most part. I don't believe that it is perfect, because it is written by man who is fallible. So even if it is inspired by God, once it touched man's hands it is no longer the true word of God. I'm not trying to sway your faith or any thing, just putting mines out there. I grew up in a religious household where I had to the read the bible every day. Ive read it several times front to back, and not just skipping around to verses I like taking them out of context to fit my needs like some do. I know my stuff, but I don't practice the same way most do, because I do not follow man, I follow God.
jlabatman
jlabatman - 11/4/2013, 8:09 AM
Wow, knew this would be an interesting comments section with the words homophobe reviews enders game. That being said, I think it took alot to tell your story and it is commendable. However, on this topic I believe your religious choice or choice not to have one is a personal decision and I believe in Jesus as my Savior. I will not condemn others who choose not to believe. Do I find homosexuality to be a sin? Yes, but so is lying, cheating, and many others. Am I guilty of lying and other sins? Yes, I choose to hate the sins, even the ones I'm guilty of and not the person committing them!
DatNerdyKid
DatNerdyKid - 11/4/2013, 8:29 AM
'NPaMusic 'incredible story'? One man trying to make excuses for being a sex addict while hypocritically disapproving of gays who have done not a fraction of the harmful things he has done. To use a relatable metaphor, it is like a psychopath such as the Joker saying "I am who I am today because of how my parents abused me". Is whatever abuse this may be terrible? YES. Does it give the Joker an excuse to murder thousands of people for 'fun'? NO. Same here-just because he was bullied at school and raped at an early age by a bisexual, does that JUSTIFY his condemnation of homosexuals/bisexuals? CERTAINLY NOT.
I do find it interesting though that he hasn't thought to return to this yet...
Tainted87
Tainted87 - 11/4/2013, 8:35 AM
Ok so you didn't like the pacing and the detraction? Got it. You really liked what accuracies there were? Cool.

You really don't need to go into a life story to explain that.

Oh but you want to explain why you're homophobic so that you can try and defend the author? Yeah ok.

I love how you use your environmental and social factors to reason why Ender's Game is so appealing to you, as if to justify your reasoning for how you believe homosexuality is an influence and a choice, rather than wiring.

To counter, I'll tell you a story about a kid who went to an acclaimed international studies magnet school in one of the worst neighborhoods of Tampa, after being homeschooled for two years prior. He dressed in clothes that didn't fit him, or if they did, they weren't loose enough to be in style. This happy-go-lucky kid got transferred from an advanced block to an average block because of a scheduling error, and was preyed upon... by a girl. She asked him if he was gay, and without thinking, he sarcastically replied "yeah, I'm gay." Only a matter of time before the whole grade knew about it in one way or another, and most probably didn't actually think he was gay, but it became a popularity battle. You wouldn't talk to this kid because you'd be a looser too. Punching and shoving him was fair game, though, as was asking demeaning questions. Teachers turned a blind eye because they thought he was just starving for attention. Boys and girls would spit on him in the hallways and at the gym.

What I took from that story was a world of distrust. I learned that people of all races and both genders are capable of being monsters, for whatever reason they can fathom, for whatever scapegoat excuse they can muster. I used to have a problem with homosexuality because I was a kid and blamed it for my bullying. Then my best friend from the BSA, who I shared a tent with all the time on camping trips.... "turned out" to be gay. He didn't tell me because he thought he knew how I'd react... and no, he was NOT attracted to me at all. I learned to get over it, I matured, became an adult.

Sounds like you left something behind.
Orphix
Orphix - 11/4/2013, 8:37 AM
There are no excuses for this level of discrimination.

"but for forgiveness to happen one must admit that what one did was wrong and want to change...Christianity accepts everyone, but it wants to change you into what God wants for all of us. To be the best version of ourselves."

I find that statement totally chilling.
DatNerdyKid
DatNerdyKid - 11/4/2013, 8:46 AM
@Orphix and Tainted you two NEEDED to happen to this conversation!
fortycals
fortycals - 11/4/2013, 8:56 AM
@orphix
I thought so too. The problem I have with that statement is that, by their teachings, it is God who forgives sins, not man. So who are they to place themselves in God's place. I'm not saying that is what the op is doing, but it is awful close. A lot of Christians bash others sins, while committing their own. Even the hate the sin not the sinner crowd over step their place. The Bible shouldn't teach you hate in any form, it should teach you compassion above all else. If you learn to hate from the Bible imo you aren't taking away the right lessons.
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 11/4/2013, 9:17 AM
Interesting read, and I am very sorry that you had to endure such a nightmare at such a young age, BUT, the man that put you through that didn't do so because he was gay, he did it because he was an evil bastard! They come in all shapes and sizes, all races and creeds, and yes, all sexual orientations. Now you bring God into it..and that's where I get off, because you can't have a proper debate with someone who will always fall back to his faith for a rebuttal (no offence), but just know that I have plenty of gay friends that are not "deviants" (though the very way they practice sex would cast them in that light to you you doubt). Your experiences have tarnished your view of all homosexuals..understandable to a point. But you also seem like an intelligent, articulate person so I would hope that you could find a way to see the bigger picture, and look at the world with eyes not only shaped by the religious faith you've chosen.
NovaCorpsFan
NovaCorpsFan - 11/4/2013, 9:17 AM
You know the bible says you shouldn't lie with another man. I know a homosexual who's sworn to sellabacy.
DatNerdyKid
DatNerdyKid - 11/4/2013, 9:30 AM
@RorMachine you come again to save the day! Very true and competent words
TheYoungMan
TheYoungMan - 11/4/2013, 10:03 AM
papasnoopy
papasnoopy - 11/4/2013, 12:02 PM
@RorMachine and everyone else kind enough to comment:

Thank you for responding, and I apologize for provoking the debate but I needed to defend this man, this movie, this book and my faith. I am not a Mormon, and while I disagree with Card's theology, I stand shoulder to shoulder with him in heartache over the grief we cause our Creator. We are blessed to live in a country where such debate is still allowed and I must take advantage of it while I can, because I fear that won't be the case for much longer.

As many of you said, why did I pick this sin? Because it is the closest to me, of course. We write what we know, and I can only speak truthfully of things I have experienced first hand and can verify. There are so many lies being told about AIDS, pornography, Christians and the Bible that even my own children come home from school spouting BS as truth. I must speak truth when called upon and defend where able, or else what kind of man would I be? The only good Christian nowadays is one who keeps his mouth shut, but I cannot play the coward. I will not stand before my creator with blood on my hands, and no one within the sound of my voice will say I did not do all I could to protect the innocent from the vileness I experienced.

Having said that, I agree that not all homosexuals are predators. In fact, many of them are kind and compassionate and victims of brutality themselves. Yes, more violence is done by straights infected with their own demons, and yes, there are plenty of other injustices and outrages to complain about. Of course I lament every form of rebellion against God, but when I write I don't speak as much to non-believers as I do to those who claim to know and follow Jesus. I can't expect Christian behavior from non-believers, and it seems clear from scripture that Jesus said as much. God spanks his own kids first before he ever turns to the neighbor kids.

America has long claimed to the world to be Christian, or at least to have the favor of a Christian God. And yet, I don't blame a Muslim for one minute for shielding his daughter's eyes from the filth we produce and send over the satellites to the world. Make no mistake about it, we are being judged. When 9/11 happened, I felt in my gut that we had it coming and that God allowed it.

Jesus said, "my sheep hear my voice, I know them and they know me." And so I write as an ambassador for Christ to call the sheep to repentance, never mind what the pagans do. The scriptures say, "Who are you to judge the servant of another, to his own master he stands or falls." Pagans do what pagans do, atheists do what they do - let their own master judge them, but there is no excuse for the followers of Christ to engage in a lifestyle he abhors, or ANY BEHAVIOR contrary to God's commands.

As Christians, we know we are to pray and be kind to the enemies of God, and so I speak just as violently against bullying. There is no excuse for a Christian to do violence in the name of God - we are taught to love our enemy, pray for him, feed him and show him the love Christ has for him and hope he turns. Judgment will come from God in His time, not from our hand. Often, there is more kindness coming from God's enemies and Christians should properly hang their heads in shame.

Thank you again for letting me post and for sparking this debate. I wish nothing more than peace to all of you, and a heavy heart to those of you who say you know our Messiah.

fortycals
fortycals - 11/4/2013, 1:09 PM
@virileman
That is the problem with labels. What they mean to you isn't exactly what it means to them. Labeling atheism a belief systems, would offend some of the atheists I know. Ive taken many college level philosophy classes(and religion classes), and we made sure to distinguish the difference from right/wrong and good/evil. There is a difference. While most atheists do believe in right and wrong on a personal level, good and evil is a whole other subject matter. Even then you would be hard press to find 2 atheists who would agree on a list of what is right or wrong.
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