Juantoo brought it up-- again.
Why, thank you for remembering me!
Actually, in this instance
I didn't, somebody else did and I merely linked to them. I believe my words this time were to the effect of "seems I've heard this argument before." While you may not wish an association be made, the trouble is that the association exists,
outside of Christianity within medical science, using *the exact same argument* you have used.
Of course it seems to me that the discussion so far has avoided the slippery slope I pointed to earlier...in that with the "I was made this way" argument there are no bad or good behaviors, there are no saints or villains, there are no angels or devils, all's fair.
I do appreciate Path's marvelous attempt at maintaining a reconciliatory attitude, one I have apparently no eloquence for even though I have said much the same as she *all along* in this discussion.
It still does not abrogate our responsibility for our choices, to act upon or restrain ourselves from our primal nature. Else, free will along with everything that entails (which encompasses the major part of most major faiths) is an illusion, a farce, a conspiracy of subjugation, and nothing more.
I stand by my assertion that our behavior is not genetic...it is epigenetic. There is a difference, and epigenetics can be consciously (deliberately, thoughtfully, willfully) modified. Brainwashing is one example. Hypnosis and meditation, for example to stop smoking, are other examples. A lot has to do with how much we are willing to will ourselves to overcome our primal drives. This is *not* about love, it *is* about responsibility.
Or else, nobody is responsible for their actions...including axe murderers, pedophiles, and war mongers, let alone the stupid kid that walks into a school or shopping center with a gun and opens fire on innocent bystanders. Society cannot judge such as these, they can't help it if they were made to be murderers or otherwise threats to the greater society...
There are serious limits to the excuse of "I was made this way." If a person is capable of independent willful thought, free will trumps this excuse.