If sexual orientation were indicated by anything that people could feel or touch, like a colored dot on the back of the hand, then people would soon abandon this idea that they could alter it through God-assisted mental will.

They would realize that they needed a miracle that was of the same order as, for example, an amputee having their missing limb suddenly reappear.

But because sexual orientation is encoded in neurons and because neurobiology is not yet advanced enough to pinpoint which neurons those are, people are under the illusion that it will alter through thought-bombardment alone.

If you think about how the brain actually works, you will realize that just because something appears as thought doesn't necessarily mean that it is subject to being altered by thought. It may or may not be. You can't convince your mind to interpret hot as cold, for example. The difference is hard-wired and no amount of praying will make boiling water feel like an ice cube to you.

It is a real challenge for people to accept a reality that isn't symbolized to them by a touchable placebo. Remember doubting Thomas, who couldn't believe the resurrected Christ was real until he touched him.

Well, people can be doubting Thomases about their sexual orientations for their entire lives, because they will never be able to put their finger on the neuron labelled "boys."

But there are other epistemic standards besides believing only what you can touch, taste and see with your eyes.