Rethinking - sexuality

Some points of faith are never up for negotiation, like the belief that Jesus is the Son of God and that through His death and resurrection we can enjoy eternal life in God’s presence.  But there are some practices and culture changes that have occurred as humanity has progressed through the centuries – e.g. we no longer accept slavery as a way of life or burn people at the stake as witches because they use herbal remedies.  These practices we consider to be part of the ‘Dark Ages’.  And so today I think that there are issues that we should address and not remain with a dinosaur mentality.  I have been rethinking a number of such issues and hope to share my thoughts over the coming days/weeks.

We have heard much in the media lately about same-sex marriage and the whole sexuality issue.  I have looked at Bible-based arguments of Christians against homosexuality and have found that there are also verses which the pro-gay lobby also quotes in their favour.  It seems that whatever your stance, you will probably find some Biblical verse to support your claims.  Most people will quote Leviticus – the Jewish book of Law and Practice.  But Paul in Galatians says that we are no longer under the law but under the grace of God.  So my first question was – as a Christian, am I bound by the Jewish Law as it is written in Leviticus?  Other parts of the book we easily disregard but hold onto these verses about sexuality. 

On the other hand, research has been carried out over several decades in various countries and the conclusion is that most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation.  And I keep going back to the verse in Matthew 19v12 where Jesus Himself, when talking about marriage, says, ‘For some are eunuchs because they were born that way, others were made that way by men … … ‘  Does that mean that some are born castrated or that they are born not being attracted to the opposite sex?  Would such people today be classed as gay/lesbian?  Yet Jesus accepts that this is a reality, some people just are that way inclined.

In the church of the 1^st century, Philip was told by God to go to the desert road where he encountered an Ethiopian eunuch who was reading the book of Isaiah, searching for truth.  Philip explained to him about Jesus and the eunuch was baptised.  Philip never questioned the man’s sexuality and as the directive came from God it is clear that God accepted him as he was.  Here was someone who would never be able to become heterosexual, no matter how much prayer and re-education he may receive (as many Christians believe is the answer nowadays) yet God cared for him and sent Philip to show him the way and baptise him, while still being a eunuch.

I have recently read a very well-written article by Steve Chalke (for the non-British he is a very well respected church leader) where he talks about the debate of the moment of same-sex marriage.  He says,

I'm worried that the noise of the arguments around gay marriage will cloud and confuse the real question for the Church, which is about the nature of inclusion. I am convinced that it is only as the Christian community grapples with this that we will find wise answers, not only regarding gay marriage, but also to related questions around the Church's wider attitude to gay people.

(You can read the full article here.) 

 Time and time again Jesus says and shows by his actions that His message is an all-inclusive gospel.  If we are to be brutally honest with ourselves, gay and lesbian people on the whole are not accepted in Christian circles.  We may accept them – on our terms but not as they are – unlike Philip in the book of Acts.  It is not our place to judge – that is God’s prerogative.  As Christians we are simply told to spread the gospel message, the rest is up to God.  Jesus died for all, regardless of sexual orientation.  He understood that some are that way inclined and said so.  So it seems to me that it is because I am a follower of Jesus that I should treat all with the same inclusive attitude and not exclude them from the kingdom where only God is judge.