He tells of the changes in personality made by some at Corinth who had been indulging in fornication, idolatry, adultery, homosexuality, thievery, and so forth. What enabled them to change? Their newly found religion. “But you have been washed clean,” says Paul, “but you have been sanctified, but you have been declared righteous in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the spirit of our God.” (1 Cor. 6:9-11) Similarly, the apostle Peter writes of some who had left off such bad habits. These Christians, too, had made changes in their personalities.​—1 Pet. 4:3, 4.

But today there are some who do not agree. For example, there is a certain clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the University of British Columbia. To a leading “fundamentalist” magazine, he wrote a letter that was published under the heading “No Help On Homosexuality.” In it he objected to an article that had previously appeared in that magazine to the effect that homosexuality was not compatible with Christianity. According to him, it is too much to expect conversion to Christianity to effect a change in sexual orientation from homosexuality to heterosexuality. He referred to some who insisted that, at best, only 25 percent can change, and he quoted the evangelical British psychiatrist whose experience with 50 homosexuals caused him to conclude: “If anyone believes that the experience of conversion will take away sexual desires and lead to a normal attraction toward the opposite sex, then he is mistaken. . . . I have met no single case of a man being set free from them by spiritual measures.”

Why the contradiction? Who is mistaken? It could not be the apostles Paul and Peter, for they were not only intelligent and honest men but they wrote under divine inspiration. The only conclusion we can come to is that those who insist that conversion did not result in a change of personality did not use the right kind of “spiritual measures.” In other words, the professed believers were not converted to true, genuine, apostolic Christianity.

Why can true Christianity cause a change in personality regardless of the nature of the flaws? For one thing, because true Christianity inculcates strong faith in the Creator. He made us and he has the right to tell us what we may and may not do. Moreover, being the all-wise, just and loving Sovereign of our lives, he knows what is best for us. Faith in him will enable us to take his view on this matter, and his Word makes it very plain that he considers homosexuality a gross sin.​—See Genesis 19:1-29; Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; 1 Timothy 1:8-11; Jude 7.

So, from the first step onward, there must be an accepting of God’s view that this practice is bad and an obeying of God’s command to “hate what is bad.” (Ps. 97:10) Even as an ex-alcoholic must try to “hate” the inebriating effect of liquor if he would remain free from his addiction, so must the one who once was a homosexual “hate” his former sexual orientation. To be able to do this, he needs to heed the advice: “Quit being fashioned after this system of things, but be transformed by making your mind over, that you may prove to yourselves the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Rom. 12:2) This requires feeding the mind on God’s Word and thinking the right thoughts. (Matt. 4:4; Phil. 4:8) Yes, with the help of God’s Word and holy spirit, persons can strip off their old personality and “put on the new personality which [is] created according to God’s will.”​—Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:8-10.