Response To Robin Sam’s Article On Christian Messenger

This is one of the stupidest articles I have read in a very long time. Congratulations. Sorry Mr. Sam, but your slippery slope doomsday scenario is simply not going to happen, because even a lot of pedophiles like Todd Nickerson don’t want that to ever happen.

So pedophiles want “equal rights” too! Well, yes, they’re called “human rights” after all, and they apply to all humans, not just to those you like. And no, human rights don’t include having sex with non-consenting (or not capable of consenting) partners. Heck, they don’t include having sex at all. What they include is being treated fairly and equally, and being judged by one’s actions and not by what or who one finds sexually attractive. They include being innocent until proven guilty, which is a core tenet of our modern society. They include not being discriminated based on one’s beliefs or desires, but only based on one’s actions. So yes, pedophiles should (and actually do) have equal rights, except that for them not to be trumped they need to stay in the closet, dealing with their attraction on their own, always afraid of being discovered and hated for something they never chose to be.

You’re also having trouble understanding what the word pedophile means. I suggest a dictionary, or talking to someone that actually knows what they’re talking about. Or reading this, or this.

Pedophilia is not a “behavior” (or “alternate lifestyle”) any more than heterosexuality. One is not classified a pedophile by who one has sex with, but by who one finds sexually attractive. Just like the celibate priest may still be heterosexual (or homosexual) even if he never has sex with anyone, people that are sexually attracted to children are pedophiles even if they never have sex with a child. In fact, plenty of pedophiles are married and have sex with adults very much like lots of homosexual men were married to women and had sex with them when the stigma was so strong that they were afraid to come out, and they were still homosexual. Some had a double life having sex with other men behind their wives’ backs, but I’m sure many remained loyal and deeply loved (emotionally, if not physically) their spouses throughout their lives. Same applies to pedophiles.

The reality is the there are millions of pedophiles in the world (conservative estimates say ~1–2% of the world’s male population, plus add female pedophiles), and the vast majority just want to be able to live their lives peacefully without being stigmatized and treated like criminals for their attractions only. No one chooses to be attracted to children, any more than you chose to be attracted to women or than gay men choose to be attracted to other men. What one can choose is one’s actions, and most pedophiles choose to never harm a child sexually, yet they are still hated, despised and prosecuted for their thoughts alone.

Your slippery slope argument falls apart because society at large (and even very many pedophiles) acknowledge children’s inability to provide meaningful consent, therefore just because pedophilia is “accepted” as just another sexual orientation doesn’t mean a pedophile’s rights trump a child’s right to grow up free from sexual abuse.

You should be ashamed of calling yourself a Christian. A Christian, more than anyone, should know that having sexual desires does not automatically mean acting on them, since Christians are supposed to wait until marriage to have sex to begin with, and many Christian occupations and vocations require celibacy. A Christian should know that one should be judged by his actions (sins) and not his desires (temptations), and that every man is a sinner and is tempted to do many awful things throughout his life.

DISCLAIMER: I am a pedophile, I discovered — not decided — that I was sexually attracted to children when I was 14 years old. I have never touched a child sexually and I’m committed to never doing so, because I know it would be wrong and I don’t want to cause harm. I am also a Christian, and a better one than you at that.