Hey Dakota,

I think that you and I have been coming to this subject with different points right from the beginning.

You have been saying that you think man/boy sex is harmful often enough to never risk it.

I have been saying we need to view man/boy sex in such a way as we don't get swept up into the "all pedos are monsters" propaganda and end up hating ourselves and regreting our lives.

We both agree that man/boy sex is to be avoided, and we both agree that God forbids it.

A major part of my point is that one of the reasons it IS so harmful (when it is) is BECAUSE of the "pedos are monsters" propaganda. To me it is important that we don't buy into that propaganda thereby perpetuating it and I have tried to emphasise that.

Of course the people who aren't interested in something are not going to promote it; who would on any subject? I agree that boylovers who want something badly (like anyone who wants something badly) will be biased towards a favourable result. However there is enough intelligence in the BL community to be aware of that and to factor it in. We Christians are not the only ones honest enough to admit the dangers, risks and problems.

Coming to the issue of God's ways being connected to what's best for us. In some respects I don't agree with you on this subject. We (as rationalists) want to have an explaination for everything. It is difficult in our world view to imagine God doing something for no apparently logical reason. However, I think the Scriputre is clear that God often does things for no apparently logical reason (at least from our point of view). I have heard people use the food laws as an example saying the condemned foods were harmful... but honestly... that is just crap. As soon as the NT kicked in God commanded Peter to eat of them in his vision and the reason was because God had suddenly declared that they were now "clean". It was irrelevant of health bennefits; God commanded they obeyed. Why should Moses have been punished for striking the rock to bring forth the water, when God had commanded him to strike the rock on a previous occasion? Because obedience not formula was required. Surely wearing clothes of two different materials can't be harmful! Yet it was condemned.
If anything, the harm caused by disobeying these apparently "harmless" commands is that in so doing you put yourself out of the favour and blessing of God and so how can things go well for you. Can a man engaged sexually with a boy expect to have the relationship blessed by God, I think not. And in as much as it lacks His blessing, how can it ultimately be a good thing (Deut 28).
Even human need has to be subjected to obedience to God. No amount of sexual frustration or horniess can ever be used to justify sex outside of marriage. If you are not married, the biblical expectaion is clearly self-control no matter what pain that causes you.
I believe too little attention and honour is given to the holiness of God. People are too busy running about trying to evaluate the harm or benefit of things. But even if you could PROVE that a certain something was COMPLETELY harmless and even VERY beneficial (loving even!), the fact that God said "NO" would be more than enough to avoid it totally. If we play the harm vs benefit game we always run the risk of someone PROVING it's NOT harmful and then where can we go?

We may not like "God said so" commands in our generation, but we know too well that on the day of judgement THEY will be what matters and EVERONE will know it. On that day, all the people who say and believe, "I've lived a good life, I've never hurt anyone" are in for a big shock. It's just SO not about harm.

Blessings
Cat.