THE CONTINUING
HOMOSEXUAL ISSUE
Editorial
July/August, 2002
Volume 37, Number 4
In Matthew 5, Jesus opens His remarks in the Sermon on
the Mount with a series of verses known as the Beatitudes. The second beatitude
in the list states, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
This mourning is not the same kind of grief that people experience when
a loved one has died. The mourning in Matthew 5:4 is the attitude of sorrow
that truly repentant persons feel toward their sins.
To mourn is to see sin as God sees sin, and to be heartbroken
over it as God is grieved over it. It is a deep conviction about how terrible
sin is. One way to tell if repentant sinners are sincere, is to try and
sense just how much they are mourning over their sins. If there is an attempt
to excuse or to take lightly the consequences of one's sin, it usually
indicates a lack of mourning.
It is important that the Church of the Brethren have an
attitude of mourning toward homosexual sins. The Scriptures cited in the
accompanying article give overwhelming evidence that all homosexual practice
is sin. The influences that lead to homosexual practice may be complex.
One's upbringing and environment may have been deficient in providing wholesome
development. There may be a touch of genetic weakness. But the bottom line
remains the same. Homosexual practice is sin. The Annual Conference said
so in the 1983 Paper on Human Sexuality. We need to continue to affirm
that position again.
In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul addresses a serious sexual problem
in the church. It had to do with an illicit "in-law" relationship. The
man had formed an illicit relationship with his own stepmother--a thing
which was forbidden in the Law (Leviticus 18:8), and was a revolt even
to the heathen. Paul rebuked the Corinthians for taking the matter lightly.
He says they "have not mourned" (1 Corinthians 5:2).
The Brethren Revival Fellowship has little interest in
encouraging an ongoing vigorous homosexual debate in the church. We have
tried to be restrained and have not published very many articles on this
subject over the last 25 years. But we are aware that some voices continue
to promote a wide-open acceptance of homosexual practice, and we cannot
always be silent. The featured article by Harold S. Martin seeks to capture
the Bible's instruction on the subject.
--James F. Myer
The Continuing Homosexual Issue
By Harold S. Martin
The major Protestant denominations, including the Brethren, are deeply
divided on the issue of how to address homosexuality. There are tendencies
for the church to follow the patterns of the culture around us, and America
has become one vast "Temptation Island." Nearly 90 percent of all movies
shown in theaters and on television feature some kind of sexual content.
Pay-per-view pornography is commonly available in motel rooms; strip
clubs have sprung up almost everywhere; college art departments are offering
courses on pornography; outrageous sexual perversions are slithering out
of the closet and are seeking to become socially acceptable. Homosexuality
used to be a private vice, and for years homosexuality was considered a
mental disorder; today, being against homosexuality is considered
a mental disorder.
Public schools are under increasing pressure
to accept curriculum materials which promote homosexuality as a normal
(even desirable) alternative lifestyle. The sexual abuse of children is
still generally frowned upon, but new books like the one titled Pedophilia
Reconsidered boldly declare that not all sex between adults and
minors is a bad thing.
The Church of the Brethren officially addressed the issue of homosexuality
at the 1983 Annual Conference in Baltimore, when the delegates passed a
paper entitled, "Human Sexuality from a Christian Perspective." The paper
dealt with the broad scope of sexuality, but included a lengthy section
on the topic of homosexuality. The paper distinguished between crude homosexual
rape and loving covenantal relationships. And while celibacy or conversion
to a heterosexual orientation were suggested, the Conference agreed that
even loving covenantal relationships between homosexuals were not acceptable.
The majority of the grass roots members of the Church of the Brethren
have been satisfied with the conclusions of the 1983 paper. But a vocal
minority within the denomination has been saying that the conclusions of
the 1983 decision are too narrow. Articles and letters and editorials have
continued to appear in the Church of the Brethren Messenger.
The
BMC (Brethren Mennonite [Gay] Caucus) has been granted the privilege of
having luncheons at Annual Conference during the last several years, and
now the 2002 Annual Conference to be held at Louisville, Kentucky is being
faced with a query from the Northern Ohio District called "Licensing/Ordination
of Homosexual Persons to the Ministry in the Church of the Brethren." How
will the Brethren deal with homosexual demands?
1. PRIMING THE BROTHERHOOD
During the past 25 years various forces within the Church of the Brethrenhave
been attempting to prime the denomination for the acceptance of homosexuality
as a valid lifestyle.
In 1978, an article in the June Messenger said that the
commandments against homosexual relationships in Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13
speak about homosexuality as an act that was unacceptable "in that community."
The writer concluded that the Bible stands against "antisocial, promiscuous
acts of homosexuality," but that for homosexuals who function within the
framework of a self-giving, loving covenant, there is no condemnation.
In 1979, the Friday night speaker at the Seattle Annual Conference equated
homosexuals with Gentiles, and declared that just as the early church had
to learn to accept the Gentiles, so we today must learn to accept the homosexuals.
The speaker, Virginia Mollenkott, a lesbian activist, expressed appreciation
for what "the Holy Spirit is doing through homosexual Christians." Her
book, "Sensuous Spirituality" speaks about her lesbianism and her belief
in a female god.
In 1980, the August Messenger informed us that
the General Board Committee studying the topic of human sexuality would
report to Annual Conference in 1981. The 1981 Conference rejected the report
and selected an enlarged committee which then reported to the assembled
Conference at Baltimore in 1983.
In 1983, the committee reported by presenting a paper covering the whole
range of sexuality, but with a relatively long section on homosexuality.
The report encouraged intensified efforts by Brethren to try and understand
how genetic makeup and childhood experiences may have influenced sexual
orientation and behavior. The report also called for open and forthright
conversations and dialogue with homosexuals. It acknowledged that all of
us have desires and drives that need to be channeled properly in order
to avoid sin and to build right relationships. Conference finally passed
the paper at Baltimore in 1983 when an amendment was added which clearly
said that even covenanted homosexual relationships are not acceptable.
At Annual Conference during the later 1980s and early 1990s attempts
were made at dialogue with homosexuals. During some years BMC was granted
a room where those who held various views about homosexuality could gather
for discussion. At a few of the Annual Conferences, structured presentations
were given from opposing points of view.
In 1991, the June Messenger reported that there is in
the Church of the Brethren, a "Supportive Congregations Network," a movement
on the part of a number of Mennonite and Brethren churches that wish to
further explore the issue of homosexuality in the church, and to support
gay, lesbian, and bisexual members. Their goal is "public advocacy in support
of homosexual and bisexual people." Currently, there are eleven congregations
in the Church of the Brethren which are listed as part of the Supportive
Congregations Network (SCN), the movement which welcomes gay, lesbian,
transgendered, and bisexual people.
In 1993, the issue was festering again--especially because the Annual
Conference Moderator approved more openness to homosexuals. Standing Committee
that year issued a paper called "Words of Guidance from the Standing Committee
to the Delegates of the 1993 Annual Conference" (held at Indianapolis).
The opening words of the statement from Standing Committee in 1993 were
these:
"The 1993 Standing Committee affirms the 1983 Annual Conference
Statement on Human Sexuality, which says that a homosexual lifestyle is
unacceptable as a Christian option, and believes that the tone of the 1983
Statement should be preserved." Standing Committee then called for,
and was granted, a period of informational sharing during one of the business
sessions. The block of time included a one hour forum during which attendees
were allowed to share their concerns; each speaker was limited to two minutes
at the microphone.
The issue of homosexuality continued to be very divisive, and during
the latter half of the 1990s there was a moratorium on the issue. It was
agreed that the Conference would not receive queries on the topic for a
period of five years. In the meantime more latitude was granted to the
Brethren Mennonite Gay Council. The homosexual caucus now prefers to be
labeled the glbt--the council for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered
concerns.
In 2001, the Manchester Church of the Brethren (South-Central Indiana
District) voted "to permit same sex covenant services as part of the congregation's
stance of treating same sex couples the same way it treats others" (Newsline,
March
8, 2002). The Manchester Church of the Brethren has been part of the SCN
(see above) since 1996. It is disturbing to note that a congregation formally
voted on a policy that clearly goes against the 1983 Annual Conference
paper on human sexuality. Brethren Revival Fellowship believes that such
action calls for some form of discipline.
2. DEALING WITH OBJECTIONS
There are those who say, "If you don't agree that the homosexual lifestyle
is good, then you don't love us." But when God declares certain acts
to be sinful, is it loving for us to tell such persons that their active
sexual conduct is not sinful? That indeed would be a shallow kind of
love. We should love homosexual persons enough not to bless them in a style
of living which the Bible teaches is a perversion which will eventually
destroy them! Making a complete break from homosexual practice will undoubtedly
bring pain and frustration and loneliness. But just because it hurts does
not mean that it is unloving. Radical surgery is often painful. However,
apart from true repentance, there is no promise of pardon and forgiveness.
The church should say to practicing homosexuals what it says to all others
who are violating God's laws: "Those who have sinned do indeed inherit
the kingdom of God, but only after they have turned to the Lord in genuine
repentance, and have been justified by faith in the work of Jesus Christ
on the Cross."
Persons who have been practicing homosexuals, but are eager to do God's
will in the area of sexual morality, we believe, can make use of the resources
of grace, and can receive God's power to transform their desires and arrest
their active expression. The old life of bondage to sin can be transformed
into a new life of freedom in Christ. The stubbornness of homosexual orientation
may
be slow to lose its grip, but one can be lifted by the Holy Spirit's power
so as to become free from homosexual activity. Acts 3:19 says, "Repent
therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that
times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord."
Brethren Revival Fellowship believes that it is a loving act to call
to repentance those who openly practice sinful ways of living.
Another objection given to those who oppose practicing homosexual lifestyles,
is that there is a difference between homosexual rape, and loving covenanted
homosexual relationships. Some homosexual activists condemn homosexual
lust and rape, but say that a loving covenanted same sex relationship is
okay. They declare that homosexual expression is acceptable, but should
only occur within a loyal lifelong partnership.
The Scriptures make no distinction between gay lust and gay love. Homosexual
"love" is never explicitly approved in the Bible. Indeed, whenever homosexuality
is named, it is condemned. At no place in holy scripture are homosexual
relationships commended. While biblical sexuality includes the concept
of personal satisfaction, the primary aim for sexual relationships is to
provide interpersonal
completeness (Genesis 2:24; Mark 10:8).
Homosexuality, whether defined in terms of lust or love, is not a valid
model of sexuality, for it affirms incompleteness.
Perhaps the most often named objection given to those who oppose accepting
homosexuality as being blessed of God, is this: They say that homosexuals
"are born to be so." The argument is that homosexuality is built into some
persons' constitutions, and that homosexuals are not responsible for their
same sex tendencies any more than they are responsible for small ears,
a large nose, blue eyes, or creeping old age.
There is disagreement about whether homosexuality is a result of genetic
makeup, or whether it is a learned behavior. But many geneticists are slow
to believe that homosexuals are "born to be so" because any gene clustering
(in an embryo stage of a new life) that cannot lead to reproduction and
the perpetuation of a species gene pool, is by definition "maladaptive."
Such a clustering is counterproductive to the fundamental purpose of genetic
behavior. In these terms, homosexuality (if it is genetic in origin) cannot
be reproductive of the race, and therefore represents a deviation from
genetic norms. It violates the genetic purpose.
3. EXAMINING BIBLE TEACHINGS
The Bible classifies homosexual activity as a violation of the will
of God. The creation account in Genesis 2:24 establishes heterosexual monogamy
as the norm. The text says, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and
mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." The
only one flesh experience that God approves is monogamous, permanent, heterosexual
marriage. In Matthew 19:4-6, Jesus quoted the Genesis 2:24 passage when
He said, "He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,'
and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and
be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' So then, they
are no longer two but one flesh"--and then He added, "Therefore what God
has joined together, let not man separate."
The question is: What has God joined together? The answer is: Male and
female! Jesus endorsed the male/female union in marriage.
The biblical passages in Leviticus, Romans, and 1 Corinthians are clear
prohibitions against homosexual activity.
In Leviticus 18:22, homosexual practice is called an "abomination."
And those who claim that the Leviticus passage does not apply to us since
we live under grace and not under the law-must explain why we should not
also be willing to accept incest, adultery, bestiality, and human sacrifice
as well. All those acts are condemned in the very same passage from Leviticus.
In Romans 1:26-27, homosexual intercourse is referred to as a "vile
passion" (or a "depraved passion"/NRSV). In the same setting, homosexuality
is said to be not only a violation of the law of God, but it is also clearly
said to be unnatural. This does not mean that it does not feel natural
to the practicing homosexual. Any habit that is repeatedly practiced, whether
wholesome or harmful, will come to feel natural to those who are practicing
the habit. And any attempt to lay aside the habitual practice will seem
totally unnatural! Ask any cigarette smoker!
It is true that the New Testament Gospels have no record that Jesus
ever directly addressed homosexuality in His teachings-but to argue that
homosexuality is acceptable to God because we have no direct words from
Christ--is to say by the same logic, that we must approve the activities
of child pornographers, cocaine traffickers, and wife beaters, because
Jesus never addressed those matters either!
God created the sexual relationship. The pattern is clear in the Genesis
creation account--one man cleaving to one woman, bearing children, raising
them up to serve the Lord. Homosexuality by way of contrast, mocks God's
loving design for propagating the race. It is a radical rebellion against
God and rudely rejects God's authority.
There is no question in our minds, but that the Bible clearly and specifically
condemns homosexual behavior. Wherever it is mentioned in Scripture, homosexual
practice is uniformly condemned.
4. CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS
It is our purpose not to condemn the people who have embraced the homosexual
lifestyle, but only the sinful practice. Those who commit homosexual acts
are not to be feared, ridiculed, or hated. Their sins can be forgiven and
their lives can be transformed. In New Testament times there were those
who had been delivered from the sins of adultery, homosexuality, sodomy,
covetousness, thievery, etc. -- and were cleaned up and freed from those
sins (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
Committed Christians look with compassion towards homosexuals, and see
their struggles, sympathize with their rejection, and are saddened by their
personal agony. It is not easy for a gay or lesbian person to lose a job
or to be rejected by their own families. We remember too that all of us
have tendencies and drives which can be just as wicked as homosexual conduct.
The one basic difference is that most homosexuals are saying, "My gayness
is good. My sodomy is not sinful. God made me this way. God accepts my
style of living as good. It is natural to me, and it's time for you folks
to accept me as I am, and to join me in saying that a homosexual style
of living is acceptable." Most other sinners are not saying that; we
are not seeking to have anyone tell us that our sins are okay.
The avowed, practicing, and unrepentant homosexual is engaged in a great
wickedness, just as the practicing unrepentant adulterer or robber or idolater
is engaging in great wickedness. All who by the grace of God will repent
of their evil behavior, and turn to Jesus Christ, seeking God's grace for
salvation and a new type of living, may be assured of God's forgiveness
and acceptance by the vast majority of Christians everywhere.
The Church of the Brethren has spoken out clearly on some of the prominent
social issues. Matters such as war, nuclear energy, racism, and the arms
buildup have been the subject of many Annual Conference resolutions --
clearly stating that the Brethren call such enterprises sin. Should
not the Church of the Brethren speak out just as clearly on the matter
of homosexual practice? Brethren Revival Fellowship calls upon the Annual
Conference to respond to the query coming as a business item in 2002, with
just a few clear sentences, stating that we do not consider homosexual
activity to be compatible with Christian teaching.
Furthermore, the church should condemn moves to legalize homosexual
"marriages." We should denounce efforts to compel the church to accept
unrepentant homosexuals as members (let alone as ordained ministers). We
must decry attempts to indoctrinate children by means of curricula that
portray homosexual activity as normal. At the same time, we must remember
that the Apostle Paul (in Romans 1:30-31) cautions Christians against becoming
"arrogant" and "boastful" and "heartless" and "ruthless" (NIV). All of
us must guard our attitudes, lest in the heat of our hatred for sin, we
lose our compassion for the welfare of our fellow human beings.