David French responds to criticism of “Christianity, stigma, and suicide” column

ADF Attorney David French responds to Robert VerBruggen’s (NRO) criticisms of his “Christianity, stigma, and suicide” column: “First, the argument that comes largely from external (typically Leftist) critics of Christianity is that Christian opposition to homosexual behavior creates a ‘climate’ conducive to suicide. I think this is frankly absurd . . . what is the Left’s argument? That the mere existence of people who think homosexual behavior is wrong makes it more likely that a person who identifies as gay will kill himself? . . . My argument is that sin affects the conscience in ways that can be quite profound — and that effect often exists regardless of the existence of any external moral critique. Within orthodox Christian theology, it’s understood that the ‘requirements’ of God’s laws are written on the human heart. In other words, people do, as you put it, ‘naturally process a given behavior as sinful,’ at least until hearts are hardened or consciences corrupted.”