Taiwan: Biblical scholar says being born gay does not make it ‘natural’
A biblical scholar in Taiwan has responded to the idea that someone can be born gay by comparing it to the condition of someone “born with a cleft lip,” insisting that neither can be considered “natural.”
The Liberty Times reports Immanuel Chih-Ming Ke, an Associate Professor at Taiwan’s Providence University, recently attended a public service broadcaster PTS to debate same-sex marriage alongside various advocates.
Mr Ke was asked towards the end of the broadcast whether he thought being gay was “unnatural.”
“Of course,” he said. “A person can be born with a cleft lip, or just one hand, but you cannot say he is natural just because he was born like this.”
The scholar’s remarks instantly sparked controversy online on Providence University’s LGBT society page, with one student writing: “I was born with a cleft lip. I am not unnatural.”
Society members have since called on their vice-chancellor to address the damage Mr Ke’s comments have caused, with a petition which reached over 2,500 signatures within a day.
National Taiwan University student Bell I Ching said on Friday the remarks were “really very inappropriate.”
She added: “Human rights mean we should not discriminate against people born with a cleft lip, or with missing legs. We want him to rethink his words.”
