Christianity and homosexuality

Christian theologians have written religious tracts discussing Christian views on homosexuality since the first centuries of Christian practice. Throughout the majority of Christian history, most theologians and Christian sects have viewed homosexual activity as immoral or sinful. However, the official doctrines and teachings about homosexuality and homosexual acts have varied throughout time and by religious group. Over the past century, some theologians and Christian religious groups have declared a wide variety of beliefs and practices towards homosexuals, including the establishment of some 'open and accepting' congregations that actively support LGBT members.

Historically, Christian churches have regarded homosexual sex as sinful, based on the Catholic understanding of the natural law and traditional interpretations of certain passages in the Bible. This position is today affirmed by most Christian groups, including the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, the LDS Church and most Protestant denominations, especially among Evangelicals such as the Southern Baptist Convention. However, there has been a minority of interpreters who have advanced a different understanding of these passages and have argued that homosexuality can be seen as moral. This approach has been taken by a number of churches, notably the liberal congregations within United Church of Christ, the Methodist Church of Great Britain, the Moravian Church, the United Church of Canada, Friends General Conference, and the Anglican Church of Canada. A new denomination, the Metropolitan Community Church, has also come into existence specifically to serve the Christian LGBT community. Perhaps taking a cue from this trend, many mainline Protestant denominations in the United States have removed language in their bylaws which suggest that homosexuality is a sinful state of being. The Book of Order used by the PCUSA reflects this change. Similar modifications in position can also be seen in the ELCA and Disciples of Christ. It must be noted that many of these denominations continue to limit leadership and clergy roles for GLBT persons; however, acceptance of GLBT laity has increased in terms of actual practice and in terms of church law.

The United Methodist Church is a divided denomination struggling to find consensus in a Church characterized by freedom of opinion. The divergent views of United Methodists are illustrated in the Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church. While on the one hand it states that "We recognize that sexuality is God’s good gift to all persons. We believe persons may be fully human only when that gift is acknowledged and affirmed by themselves, the church, and society" and affirms that "Homosexual persons no less than heterosexual persons are individuals of sacred worth. All persons need the ministry and guidance of the church in their struggles for human fulfillment, as well as the spiritual and emotional care of a fellowship that enables reconciling relationships with God, with others, and with self," it goes on to also state that "homosexual practice is incompatible with Christian teachings," and forbids "self-avowed practicing homosexual clergy" as well as same-sex union ceremonies by Methodist clergy or in Methodist Churches. The Book of Discipline also calls for civil laws defining marriage only as a union between one man and one woman. The contradictory views found together in the same paragraph illustrate the divided state of the Church today.

Within denominations which still officially regard homosexual sex as sinful, there are also theologians who do not. Many denominations have therefore experienced deep divisions over this topic, the most notable example being the Anglican Communion, with the consecration of Gene Robinson as a bishop in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, who was the first openly gay bishop in the Communion. It should be noted that the Episcopal Church in the United States, as of a recent Bishops' convocation in Texas, determined that homosexual Episcopalians were full and equal participants in the life of the church, and that "If that means that others reject us and communion with us, as some have already done, we must with great regret and sorrow accept their decision." It should also be mentioned that the current Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams has argued that "the scriptural text conservatives use to argue against homosexuality is misread." These two examples demonstrate significant acceptance of homosexuality by Anglican clergy and also point to additional movement on this issue for the denomination in the future.

The Bible and homosexuality

Main article: The Bible and homosexuality

The Bible is regarded by most Christians as inspired by God or at least recording God's relationship with humanity and includes within it certain moral teachings. Passages from the Bible commonly used in the debate over homosexuality include Genesis 19:4-29, Leviticus 18 and 21, Romans 1, 1 Timothy 1:10, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and Jude 1:7. The arguments over these passages have centered on the extent to which these passages are still relevant; whether they refer only to certain sexual acts or to homosexual orientation; and how they should be interpreted, understood and applied.

History of Christianity and homosexuality

Main article: History of Christianity and homosexuality

Early Christianity

Many Church Fathers condemned homosexuality [1]. In his fourth homily on Romans [2], St. John Chrysostom argued in the fourth century that homosexual intercourse is worse than murder and so degrading that it constitutes a kind of punishment in itself, and that its enjoyment actually makes it worse, "for suppose I were to see a person running naked, with his body all besmeared with mire, and yet not covering himself, but exulting in it, I should not rejoice with him, but should rather bewail that he did not even perceive that he was doing shamefully." He also said:

But nothing can there be more worthless than a man who has pandered himself. For not the soul only, but the body also of one who hath been so treated, is disgraced, and deserves to be driven out everywhere.

The Council of Ancyra (314) prescribed a penance of at least twenty years' duration for those guilty of "bestial lust" [3]. There is dispute whether this reference is to homosexuality or bestiality [4].

Not everyone agrees that the wealth of condemnations are fully characteristic of early Christianity. Namely, historian John Boswell has argued that Adelphopoiesis, a Christian rite for uniting two persons of the same sex as brothers or sisters, amounted to an approved outlet for romantic and indeed sexual love between couples of the same sex. He drew attention to Saints Sergius and Bacchus, whose icon depicts the two standing together with Jesus between or behind them, a position he identifies with a pronubus or "best man".

Saints Sergius and Bacchus

Others have argued that the union created was more like blood brotherhood; and that this icon is a typical example of an icon depicting two saints who were martyred together, with the usual image of Christ that appears on most religious icons, and therefore that there is no indication that it depicts a wedding. In Boswell's essay The Church and the Homosexual [5], he attributes Christianity's denunciations of homosexuality to alleged rising intolerance in Europe in the 12th century, which he claims was also reflected in other ways.

The Middle Ages

St. Thomas Aquinas

The most influential theologian of the Medieval period was Saint Thomas Aquinas, regarded by Catholics as a Doctor of the Church. His moral theology contained a strong element of teleological natural law. On his view, not all things to which a person might be inclined are "natural" in the morally relevant sense; rather, only the inclination to the full and proper expression of the human nature, and inclinations which align with that inclination, are natural. Contrary inclinations are perversions of the natural in the sense that they do seek a good, but in a way destructive of good. [6] [7] [8]

This view points from the natural to the Divine, because (following Aristotle) he said all people seek happiness; but according to Aquinas, happiness can only finally be attained through the Beatific Vision [9]. Therefore all sins are also against the natural law. But the natural law of many aspects of life is knowable apart from special revelation by examining the forms and purposes of those aspects. It is in this sense that Aquinas considered homosexuality unnatural, since it involves a kind of partner other than the kind to which the purpose of sexuality points. Indeed, he considered it second only to bestiality as an abuse of sexuality [10] [11].

File:StPeterDamian.jpg

St. Peter Damian

An earlier Doctor of the Church, St. Peter Damian, wrote the Liber Gomorrhianus, an extended attack on both homosexuality and masturbation [12]. He portrayed homosexuality as a counter-rational force undermining morality, religion, and society itself [13], and in need of strong suppression lest it spread even and especially among clergy [14].

Hildegard of Bingen, born seven years after the death of St. Peter Damian, reported seeing visions and recorded them in Scivias (short for Scito vias Domini, "Know the Ways of the Lord" [15]). In Book II Vision Six, she quotes God as condemning same-sex intercourse, including lesbianism; "a woman who takes up devilish ways and plays a male role in coupling with another woman is most vile in My sight, and so is she who subjects herself to such a one in this evil deed".

Her younger contemporary Alain de Lille personified the theme of sexual sin in opposition to nature in The Complaint of Nature by having nature herself denounce sexual immorality and especially homosexuality as rebellion against her direction, terming it confusion between masculine and feminine and between subject and object. The Complaint also includes a striking description of the neglect of womanhood:

Though all the beauty of man humbles itself before the fairness of woman, being always inferior to her glory; though the face of the daughter of Tyndaris is brought into being and the comeliness of Adonis and Narcissus, conquered, adores her; for all this she is scorned, although she speaks as beauty itself, though her godlike grace affirms her to be a goddess, though for her the thunderbolt would fail in the hand of Jove, and every sinew of Apollo would pause and lie inactive, though for her the free man would become a slave, and Hippolytus, to enjoy her love, would sell his very chastity. Why do so many kisses lie untouched on maiden lips, and no one wish to gain a profit from them?[16]

The tone of the denunciations often indicate a more than theoretical concern. Archbishop Ralph of Tours had his lover John installed as bishop of Orleans with agreement of both the King of France and Pope Urban II [17]. In 1395 there was a transvestite homosexual prostitute arrested in London with some records surviving [18], and the Twelve Conclusions of the Lollards included the denunciation of priestly celibacy as a cause of sodomy [19].

Early Modernity

File:Kjv.png

Frontispiece to the first edition of the King James Version

King James I of England and VI of Scotland commissioned the translation of the King James Version of the Bible, also known as the Authorized Version, which is generally considered the most important Bible translation into English, having extensive influence on Anglophone Christianity, English literature, and the later development of the English language itself. Some revisionist historians have said, based upon an assortment of contemporary accounts, that James had male lovers throughout his life, beginning with Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, and was not much interested in his wife. This was open enough that the saying "Elizabeth was King: now James is Queen" has survived [20]. Responding to criticism of his sexuality, James adopted a severe stance towards sodomy. His book on kingship, Basilikon Doron, lists sodomy among those “horrible crimes which ye are bound in conscience never to forgive.”

An Italian text published anonymously in 1652 by Antonio Rocco, L'Alcibiade fanciullo a scola, was about a teacher's successful attempt to persuade the much younger Alcibiades to have sex with him. Although set in ancient Greece, it includes much anacronistic material, especially pertaining to Christian arguments, and denounces the story of Sodom and Gomorrah as a fiction made up by the Hebrew elders. [21]

In France a similar text, Histoire de Dom Bougre, Portier des Chartreux, written in 1741, mocks biblical injunctions and extols same-sex love, as does Voltaire's The Bible finally explained (1776). It was followed by the Marquis de Sade who in his Dialogue entre un prêtre et un moribond of 1782 denounces religion (and other morality codes) as "man-made." In England the pseudo-Byronian poem "Don Leon" (written in the voice of Byron but of uncertain authorship, published in 1866) vehemently denounced the abusive treatment inflicted on homosexuals as based on a dubious tale.

I grant that casuists the Bible quote,

And tell us how God’s tardy vengeance smote
Lot's native town with brimstone from the sky,
To punish this impure delinquency,
Unmindful that the drunkard's kiss defiled
(Whilst yet the embers smoked), his virgin child.

But reason doubts the Jewish prophet’s tale.

Modern theological interpretations

Many of the debates among Christians have roots in questions about the sources of authority different Christians believe represent God's purest or most definitive message. More generally: which kinds of arguments should be persuasive to Christians, and which do not possess the weight necessary to determine opinions and policies. Such is also the case with the issues related to the morality and inclusion of LGBT persons in Christian life.

In conservative strains of Protestant Christianity, Scripture is understood to be the only truly definitive authority (a position called Sola Scriptura). Exegesis, or the reasoned study of the text to discover its own meaning, is the central concern for believers in Sola Scriptura. The classic formulation of Sola Scriptura regards "good and necessary deduction" from Scripture as authoritative; what these deductions might be is a frequent subject of controversy. [22] [23] [24]

Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianities regard Sacred Tradition and Ecumenical councils as co-authoritative with scripture, and the ordinary Magisterium is authoritative in Catholic theology [25]. Methodism derives doctrine from the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, which consists of an evaluation of the synthesis of Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. [26] There are also differing positions about how great a role is played by continuing revelation (see Cessationism and Secular theology).

Liberal Christians tend to regard the Bible as the record of human doings, composed of humans encountering the Divine within their specific historical context. They often interpret passages of the Bible as being less a record of actual events, but rather stories illustrating how to live ethically and authentically in relation to God. Such Christians might, for instance, see Christ's death and resurrection in terms not of actual physical reanimation, but in terms of the good news of Jesus' teaching: that God's children are no longer slaves to the power of death. A liberal Christian might regard the Gospel of Matthew's insistence of Jesus' virgin birth not as an actual fact, but as a jibe by the author at the Roman Emperor, who claimed to be a god and who also claimed to have been born of a virgin. Alternately, they might note stories of the Virgin Birth as a much-needed position to be taken with the Gospel's Jewish audience, lest that audience imply that Jesus' birth was illegitimate, therefore making Jesus ineligible for the title Messiah, a primary claim which Christians had to protect in order to be taken seriously by Jews.

Modern gay theologian and apologist Justin R. Cannon teaches what he calls "Inclusive Orthodoxy." He explains on his ministry website: "Inclusive Orthodoxy is the belief that the Church can and must be inclusive of lgbt individuals without sacrificing the Gospel and the Apostolic teachings of the Christian faith."[27] Cannon's ministry takes a unique approach quite distinct from modern liberal Christians. His ministry affirms the divine inspiration of the Bible, the authority of Tradition, and affirms "...that there is a place within the full life and ministry of the Christian Church for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Christians, both those who are called to lifelong celibacy and those who are partnered."[28]

Most professional exegetes consider the Bible, to a greater or lesser degree, to be a document of its time (see form criticism). While they may hold the document as sacred, and most certainly as central to Christianity, they are also aware of the historical and cultural context in which it was originally written through archaeological and form critical study. Some scholars feel that in addition to its spiritual components, portions of the text merely reflect the human authors' beliefs and feelings about God at the time of its writing, and their cultural sensibilities. The influence of such persons may reflect a heightened spiritual consciousness, or may simply represent people attempting to explain the world as best they could given the tools of the time. Such scholars purport that passages in scripture related to slavery, war, genocide, female marginalization, and homosexuality may not necessarily be about God's wishes, but rather about the predominant culture's opinions at the time of the passage's writing.

Choice and free will

The existence and nature of free will is a topic in philosophy of mind and theology. Incompatibilism is the view that determinism is at odds with free will, while compatibilism holds the two are not contradictory. Compatibilists such as Hobbes generally claim that a person acts freely only in the case where the person willed the act and the person could (hypothetically) have done otherwise if the person had decided to; what matters, Hobbes believed, is that choices are the results of desires and preferences, and are not overridden by force. (See Compatibilism and incompatibilism.) [29] [30]

In the history of theology, debates about the issue have happened between Augustine and Pelagius [31], Martin Luther and Erasmus, and the Calvinists and Arminians [32] [33]. At the Councils of Orange, Western Christianity officially adopted a form of compatibilist determinism known as original sin, according to which the sin of Adam and Eve has corrupted the whole human race such that humans are unable to refrain from sin, yet remain accountable, and cannot even desire holiness apart from Divine intervention [34]. However, belief in free will remains popular and many even regard free will as a basic doctrine of Christianity.

Among those who assert that homosexuality and Christianity are incompatible, the question of how voluntary homosexuality is, and what voluntariness might mean in this context, is a central concern in considering its morality. The Catholic Church regards homosexual intercourse itself as sinful, not homosexual attraction, although the attraction is still considered as a temptation to sin [35]. The ex-gay movement believes that homosexual orientation is also a choice, or changeable, and claims cases of people who have ceased to be homosexual [36]. Long-term studies conducted by the American Psychiatric Association have observed that sexual orientation is not chosen (although there are psychologists in the employ of Exodus Ministries and Focus on the Family who take an opposite view; see Robert Skinner), and many homosexuals state that they do not choose to be homosexual [37]. PFOX, Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays, claim changes in sexual orientation are possible; claiming that the existence of Ex-Gays proves homosexuality can be overcome. The existence of ex-gays notwithstanding, The American Psychiatric Association evaluates all "ex-gay" operations such as those enacted by Exodus International to be emotionally destructive to its recipients and has noted quite high failure rates among such cases.

Positions of specific denominations

Main article: List of Christian denominational positions on homosexuality

The many Christian denominations vary in their position on homosexuality, from seeing it as sinful, through being divided on the issue, to seeing it as moral. Among those that see it as sinful, there is further variance regarding whether it is the homosexual orientation that is immoral, or only homosexual acts.

Activism against Christian policies

Some Christian groups have been the target of protests by gay rights groups such as ACT UP and Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence because of practices they consider oppressive towards LGBT people.

See also

• List of Christian denominational positions on homosexuality
• Blessing of same-sex unions in Christian churches
• Religion and homosexuality
• History of Christianity and homosexuality
• Ex-gay movement
• Homosexuality in the Roman Catholic priesthood
• Queer theology
• Dennis Jernigan
• List of LGBT Christian organizations
• The Bible and homosexuality

References

• Bates, Stephen (2004). A Church at War: Anglicans and Homosexuality. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1-85043-480-8.
• Boswell, John (1980). Christianity, social tolerance, and homosexuality: Gay people in Western Europe from the beginning of the Christian era to the fourteenth century. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-06710-6
• Crompton, Louis, et al.; Homosexuality and Civilization Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-674-01197-X
• Gagnon, Robert A.J. (2002). The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics. Abingdon Press. ISBN 0-687-02279-7
• Harvey, John F., O.S.F.S. (1996). The Truth about Homosexuality: The Cry of the Faithful, introduction by Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R.. Ignatius Press. ISBN 0-89870-583-5.
• Helminiak, Daniel A. (2000). "Frequently Asked Questions About Being Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender and Catholic" Dignity USA. <<http://www.dignityusa.org/faq.html>>
• Hildegard of Bingen, "Scivias," Columba Hart and Jane Bishop, translators; New York: Paulist Press, 1990
• Johansson, Warren "Whosoever Shall Say To His Brother, Racha." Studies in Homosexuality, Vol XII: Homosexuality and Religion and Philosophy. Ed. Wayne Dynes & Stephen Donaldson. New York & London: Garland, 1992. pp. 212-214
• Saletan, William (29 November 2005). "Gland Inquisitor". Slate.

External links

• 10-20 Gay Christian Teens Popular discussion group for gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth and young adults.
• Integrity A witness of God's inclusive love to the Episcopal Church and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.
• Dignity USA DignityUSA works for respect and justice for all gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons in the Catholic Church and the world through education, advocacy and support.
• TruthSetsFree.net "The Bible, Christianity, and Homosexuality" by Justin R. Cannon
• Homosexuality and Hope - statement of the Catholic Medical Association
• Soulforce Activists for gay rights in Christian denominations.
• JN1034 Inclusive blog/website for Eastern Orthodox Christian gay communicants.
• RobGagnon.net Author and seminary professor's site with many resources, arguing that homosexual behavior is sinful
• Sexuality, the Modern World, and the Catholic Church
• Homosexuality in the Thought of the Church
• Homosexuality: Fact and Fiction - Christian Research Journal
• Christian response to a homosexual claiming biblical/Christian support for his views
• Homosexuality and Christianity does not see homosexuality as a moral sin.
• Homosexuality and the Bible believes the Bible does not condemn homosexuality.
• Whosoever.org explains how various passages in the Bible have been mis-translated and mis-interpreted to present a strong condemnation of homosexuality.
• Religious Tolerance.org presents the prevailing Christian pro and con points-of-view on homosexuality.
• Gay Christian Online Providing Encouragement, Support, Counseling, and Information for the Gay and Lesbian Christian.
• Family Fundamentals from PBS' P.O.V..
• Bible Scholars and religious leaders interpret and debate Scripture's references to homosexuality from PBS.
• Understanding Male Homosexual Problems: An Introduction for Latter-day Saints (A Mormon view of male homosexuality)
• PERSPECTIVES: Homosexuality and the Church
• Living with Tension a position paper on the issue "Homosexuality and the Church" of the Evangelical Church of Germany (in English)
• Homosexuality and Religion (a liberal Christian perspective)
• The Catholic Church and Homosexuality
• Courage - Catholic apostolate to those with same-sex attraction
• Gay Christian Movement Watch, a Christian blog which discusses gay Christianity and homosexuality from a polemic/apologetic perspective