The U.K.s The Times has a remarkable article by a four-one year old pilot named Patrick Muirhead that contains one of the most surprising titles Ive ever seen in a mainstream newspaper: The day I decided to stop being gay
Choosing an excerpt that does justice to the piece is difficult so I encourage you to simply read it in its entirety .
Although Ive heard similar stories beforemostly from friends in the ex-gay movementthey have all been motivated, in some part, by Christian beliefs. If Muirhead was motivated at all by faith, he doesnt mention it. Instead, his decision to, as he says, stop being gay, was based on a response to natural law or common grace. The primary motivation for Muirhead is a desire to be a father. He wants to have a child the old-fashioned wayby natures means of procreation rather than by the laboratorys path of reproduction.
Muirheads article is refreshingly candid and personal. While he makes some extrapolations from his own experience, he doesnt try to argue a larger political or sociological point. He mostly relates his own story, sharing his aspirations, desires, and motives, and explaining how they conflict. It is a shockingly clear-eyed assessment and a reminder that no matter what innate desires might orient our choices, we are ultimately responsible for how we choose to live.
Muirhead appears to be an extraordinary manwhich is quite a shame. The world would be a much better place if all menwhether gay or straightshared his affection for the natural family.