Okay, so as usual I’m about three months behind on the pop-culture scene. My brother always gives me a hard time about this. However, just the other day I learned that Weird Al has a new song being released. It’s called “Perform This Way.” I heard a snippet and wanted to find out more about the original it is based on. After all, those songs are always funnier when you actually know who he’s lampooning. So I asked my daughter about Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.” Then she sang some of the lyrics to me and I said, “Wait! What?” “Oh, Dad, it’s not about that.” “Really, what’s it about then?” “It’s just about her tough childhood and her mom telling her she’s born to be a superstar.” “Oh, okay,” I said, somewhat relieved. Then, last night on the way home from Bible class the song came on the radio. I was stunned to say the least. Tessa said I was missing the point. So we looked up the lyrics when we got home. The disappointment simply continued.
That’s right, disappointment. Why? Because I really liked the song. For the most part, it sounded like a great 80s pop song. And you just gotta love 80s pop songs. Additionally, parts of it had a great message. As creations of God, we are all valuable no matter what we’ve done or who we are. We are works of the Master’s hand and have intrinsic value because of His creation and His love for us. Therefore, as I’ve taught before, no matter who we are or what we have done we can love ourselves.
I especially appreciate the message about racial diversity and disabilities. Whether you are Lebanese, Oriental, White, Black, or Hispanic, love yourself. It’s okay. Whatever disabilities you have, no matter what anyone else thinks of your abilities, love yourself. I think that is a wonderful message.
But I have a major problem with this song that is now being touted as an anthem for a new generation.
In the middle of this song, Stefani Germanotta (Gaga’s real name), switches from talking about issues of birth to issues of behavior. In the midst of celebrating differences of race, culture, and ability Germanotta sings:
NO MATTER GAY, STRAIGHT, OR BI,
LESBIAN, TRANSGENDERED LIFE
I’M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN TO SURVIVE
Before we even discuss whether homosexual sex or cross-dressing is right, I want to consider a deeper problem. Does any generation really want their anthem to be that the reason they behave the way they do is because they were born that way? Really? “I hope you all will understand why I do everything I do. It isn’t my fault. I was born that way.”
How many behaviors can we justify with that anthem? Why not write:
YOU LIKE TO RAPE OR BEAT YOUR WIFE
OR LEAD A PEDOPHILE’S LIFE
YOU’RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
YOU WERE BORN TO SURVIVE
I know that edit is going to take a lot of heat. But why can’t I sing that? If one behavior is automatically right because I was “born this way,” why aren’t all behaviors right for the same reason? Where does the line of justification stop?
I’m actually surprised at this song and it’s swell of support by the homosexual community. Do those who practice homosexuality really want their behavior justified because it is just like being born with a disability such as Down’s Syndrome or Muscular Dystrophy? Are we to view homosexuality and cross-dressing as an abnormality that needs to be overlooked because it is on par with Tourette’s Syndrome? Are we supposed to walk away from this song saying, “Yeah, cross-dressers are wrong, but they can’t help it. We just need to pat them on the head and love them anyway”? Are we supposed to say, “I know homosexuality is abnormal; they have a brain malfunction and a chemically based disability. Therefore we should overlook this behavior”?
I know I don’t want to think that about my behaviors, whether they’re behaviors I think are wrong or right. I personally would rather think that people who practice these things are normal people making choices. We may disagree about the rightness of the choices and we can discuss that. But what I’m really getting from this song is that I’m not supposed to even question or discuss whether the behavior choice is right. I’m supposed to overlook it because it is a genetic abnormality. The video suggests I’m evil if I question whether the behavior is right or wrong instead of just overlooking it like a birth defect.
I don’t want do to do anything because I was born that way. I want to do what is right because it is right. I honestly don’t know what the answer is regarding the influence of nature and nurture regarding sexual behavior. I don’t fully know what the influence of nature versus nurture is on pretty much any behavior. However, I am 100% convinced that nothing is right based on the influence of either nature or nurture. Further, I am 100% convinced that nothing is good for me based on the influence of either nature or nurture.
While I tend to discount the “born that way” arguments, what if I’m wrong? What if people are “born this way” when it comes to their behavior choices? I may be genetically predisposed to be an alcoholic. That isn’t going to keep me from getting cirrhosis of the liver. I may be genetically predisposed to eat fatty foods and scarf 5000 calories per day. The genetic predisposition isn’t going to keep me from getting Diabetes or having an early heart attack. Further, I may be genetically predisposed to want to have sex with as many women as possible. That doesn’t make it right. I may be genetically predisposed to think might makes right and so I bully my way around all the people I disagree with or don’t like. I may even bully my wife and kids. That doesn’t make it right.
Perhaps this is why Jesus and the Bible talks so much about rebirth, renewal, and recreation.
“Jesus answered and said, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.'”–John 3:5
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”–2 Corinthians 5:17
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”–Ephesians 2:10
“…to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”–Ephesians 4:22-24
“Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”–Colossians 3:9-10
“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”–Titus 3:4-7
“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God…”–1 Peter 1:22-23
Behaviors aren’t right or wrong based on birth or genetics. For that matter, they aren’t right or wrong based on parental upbringing or cultural socialization. They are right or wrong based on God’s Word. If we are doing what we were born to do, we are probably doing the wrong thing. What we need is rebirth. Then we need to behave in the way we were reborn to behave.
In a YouTube video, I witnessed Stefani Germanotta break down in tears because she still feels like a loser sometimes. I get that. I do too sometimes. In the same video, she says a prayer and makes the sign of the cross. I know from that that Lady Gaga believes she is somehow connected to Jesus on the cross. So, I’d like to share with her and with everyone else in this new generation that the answer to our loss is not to celebrate acting the way we were born (if that is the reason we have acted the way we do). Rather, it is to celebrate a rebirth in Jesus Christ and His death. And the great thing about that is real issues of birth do not keep us from Jesus. As Romans 2:11 says, God shows no partiality. No matter our race or birth, we can be reborn in Jesus Christ and overcome any behaviors we have that are wrong.
Instead of this misplaced anthem that has so rocked the world, may we learn to sing:
NO MATTER WHAT I HAVE DONE,
OR HOW I ONCE LIVED MY LIFE
I’M ON THE RIGHT TRACK NOW
I WAS REBORN; I’LL SURVIVE
NO MATTER BLACK, WHITE OR BEIGE
CHOLA OR ORIENT MADE
I’M ON THE RIGHT TRACK NOW
I WAS REBORN HIS WAY
What do you think? Should Germanotta’s song be our new anthem or should we consider our behaviors based on another standard? Click the following link to add your input: Post a comment.
GREAT thoughts! I thought your message was very fair and objective.
I particularly appreciated what you shared about being reborn his way.
Thanks, Edwin!
Thanks for the assessment. I think rebirth is the Biblical response to this whole idea of being “born that way.” Even if “born this way” does really apply to issues of behavior (which I’m not convinced it does), Jesus says we need to be reborn. That means I can’t just say, “I was born this way. Acting the way I was born to act is obviously okay.”
Great article!
Thanks, Misty.
“Behaviors aren’t right or wrong based on birth or genetics. For that matter, they’re not right or wrong bases on parental upbringing or cultural socialization. They are right or wrong based on God’s word.”
Of course, this presupposes the existence of divine revelation. I agree however, even in the absence of a communicated “will”, that the above justifications are invalid for morality. The only acceptable guide in that case would be empirical sociological evidence. In other words, something is *wrong* if it can be objectively shown to cause harm to an individual, community, or society, regardless of how the disposition toward the behavior was developed.
I find it interesting that so many of the things the Bible condemns (homosexuality, for instance) have never been shown by any responsible social-scientific inquiry to have any adverse affects on human society. To me, this doesn’t speak well for the claims of divine revelation.
Thanks, maple.
:-/ It’s very easy to argue and debate, to make excuses. But when it comes down to it, we just need to move past all of the stumbling blocks and continue forward towards Christ. We may never know all the “reasons”, but we can know the way out.
I don’t usually respond to blog posts but I stumbled on this
and felt compelled to comment. As a Christian I am deeply disturbed and fed up
with this kind of ignorance masking itself as my world view. I know I’m supposed
to provide feedback in the form of two positives and a negative but I don’t
have that kind of time, so here are two quick criticisms that I pray you’ll
consider.
a)
A) When used in reference to a person the term “oriental”
is derogatory and offensive. In the future you might want to refrain from using
a racial slur in the same sentence you declare your appreciation for diversity.
b)
B)Does anyone need to justify their being born
black, left handed, or female? No, contrary to some popular opinion, being born
outside of the accepted majority is not a sin. That’s the point of the song. In
terms of homosexuality the song isn’t making the switch from birth to behavior.
You are. The song is declaring that a person is born gay the same way a person
is born with blond hair and brown eyes. It’s all a part of the God’s plan when
He formed us in our mother’s womb. The song’s message isn’t that you should
excuse someone’s homosexual transgression because
they were born that way. The message is
that there isn’t anything to excuse to
begin with. You might not agree with a song’s message but willfully misunderstanding
it makes you, and by extension the faith you claim to represent, look bad.
I apologize if these comments seem harsh or if I have
possibly misunderstood your intentions but I’m tired of combating willful
ignorance parading around like righteousness. Also, I understand that by commenting to this drivel at all I have probably fed in to exactly the kind of negative feedback you were looking for. Congratulations.
Dear Believer,
Thank you very much for your concern. While I was not looking for any negative feedback, I appreciate your willingness to express your thoughts here. I hope that demonstrates that whatever you think about me, you see this blog as a place where disagreements can be discussed and expressed in honorable and godly ways. Also, sorry for the length of this reply, but you hit on some deep issues.
First, I want to apologize for the offense caused by my use of the term “Oriental.” In this case, your charge of ignorance is accurate. I was completely unaware that anyone ever used or has taken this term as a racist and derogatory slur. I assure you I meant no such slur and have never used this word to mean anything other than simply someone whose descent came from the east or “Orient” versus the west or “Occident.” In fact, I only used the word in my post because in that sentence I was mirroring a line from the song. Gaga sang: “You’re black, white, beiga, chola descent, you’re Lebanese, you’re Orient…”
Second, I do not believe your charge of ignorance is accurate in your second accusation. I have not willfully misunderstood anything. I may have misunderstood it, but it was not willful.
Having black skin, brown skin, red skin, or white skin is not a behavior. It is not anything that anyone does. In fact, it is racial stereotyping that equates any of these issues with behavior. On the other hand, sex is a behavior. What kind of clothes one wears is a behavior. No matter what kind of sex someone is involved in or how they dress, that is a behavior. It is not the same as having physical characteristics based on ancestry. Therefore, to equate “black, white, beige, chola descent, you’re Lebanese, you’re Orient” with “gay, straight, or bi, lesbian, transgendered life” is moving from matters of birth to matters of behavior. Sadly, it is a subtle shift that many today are too ready to make as testified to by this song and by your defense of it.
With that in mind, I’m going to stand by my post saying that even if I have a genetic disposition to a particular behavior, that doesn’t make the behavior right. Further, we need to be careful with that defense. If I can use it as a defense for homosexual behavior, then I can use it as a defense for violent behavior.
I understand that Gaga was not saying homosexuality was a transgression that should be overlooked. Rather, my point is that is the logical progression of her defense. Just as the disabilities she refers to are not the norm but don’t mean the person with Down’s Syndrome should be looked down on as “wrong,” she treats homosexuality as something that, though abnormal, should not be considered wrong because it is a birth thing. Sure, I don’t think she meant or intended to do that. But she did do that.
We can argue semantics about whether the point is there is nothing to be excused or if the excuse is “I was born this way,” but I think that misses the real point. The real point, in my mind, is simply we cannot equate being a certain race or being born with a physical or mental disability with sexual behavior or any behavior for that matter. Further, I think that those who are of different races or abilities should take offense at this connection. That their very real claim about how they are born is being used to justify any behavior is disturbing to me. But even more, I think those who practice these behaviors should be offended as well. I don’t want any of my choices justified by saying, “I couldn’t help myself; I was born that way.” I would rather they all be laid on the table as my choices that I am free to make and now let’s discuss whether they are right or wrong choices.
So, again, sorry for any offense. Thank you for your concern. I didn’t think you were harsh at all. And I hope we can all feel free to discuss any disagreements in an honorable way.
Yes, you’re correct in that a natural orientation does not equate to virtuous behavior. It is wrong to rape, kill or molest another person, even if you were born with an affinity for such behavior. But these are violent acts against an unwilling victim.
The good Lord made us to love those He saw fit, not those that we see fit. And whenever two or more of us are gathered in the name of love, we see the will of God.