Sdagh

Homosexuality in the Church

With homosexuality being more visible and more accepted in our modern,

liberal society, the church, which has always been founded on very old and

very conservative views, must now struggle to decide where homosexual

Christians fit into the church. Several questions have been raised

surrounding this issue, such as the argument of right versus wrong, and the

debate on how people "become" gay.

Hayes and Furnish, in the first section of the book Homosexuality in the

Church, express their opposing views on whether or not the Bible clearly

answers the question of right or wrong. In examining various biblical

passages in order to prove their conflicting points of right or wrong, they

both come to one similar conclusion: one cannot simply use passages in the

Bible to prove without a shadow of a doubt that homosexuality is wrong, nor

to prove it should be an accepted part of the Christian lifestyle.

Hayes, a New Testament scholar, bases his discussions from a conversation he

held with his dying homosexual friend. Because of this, his views are much

more readable, and are also more substantial due to the context of his

views. Hayes and his friend both feel that the writings of the gay

apologists "did justice neither to the biblical text, nor the depressing

reality of the gay subculture (4)."

Furnish throughout his essay looks at " how the given passages functioned in

its original, multidimensional context (18)." According to Furnish, one can

rarely base specific moral views on direct quotes from the bible, especially

moral issues from modern society. In this case, he examines the idea that

no concepts nor terms existed for heterosexuality, homosexuality nor

bisexuality. He also points out that one must be wary of translations, and

argues the entire context of a word is just as important as its modern

translation.

The first biblical passage they discuss, is The Men of Sodom found in

Genesis verse nineteen. Hayes believes "the gang-rape scenario in this

passage exemplifies the wickedness of the city, but there is nothing in the

passage pertinent to a judgment about the morality of consensual homosexual

intercourse (5)." Furnish also views the theme of this passage not to be one

of homosexual behavior but the intent to do violence to strangers. " Sodom'

s sin is identified with inhospitality in general, without any sexual

reference at all (5)."

In the next passage that appears in Leviticus, the opinions of the two

authors differ on what they believe the Holiness code states. Hayes finds

the passage as an explicit rule regarding homosexuality, as it reads, "You

shall not lie with a male as with a women; it is an abomination (Lev.18:

22)(5)." Whereas, Furnish believes that the Holiness code must be looked in

the context of the culture. If looking within the context "defilement does

not mean moral defilement but uncleanness in a literal, physical sense

(20)." Furnish determines the "Holiness Code prohibits such things as

breeding animals 'with a different kind,' sowing a field 'with two kinds of

seeds,' and wearing a garment that is made 'made of two different materials

(Lev. 19:19)' (20)."

These two authors have proved that you cannot base an argument for or

against homosexuality strictly from the reading of scriptures. Rather than

arguing the acceptance of homosexuals in Christianity, Stanton Jones, Don

Workman and Chandler Burr discuss the origins of homosexuality in order to

raise the issue of "rehabilitation" of Christian homosexuals.

Jones and Workman believe that homosexuality is a choice, as both

individuals feel that the issue of homosexuality is " biblical, theological,

ethical, and ecclesiastical;