God's Word for today

Sunday 3 May 2009

Spirituality, sexuality, and same-sex relationships

Every two weeks at our Phase One college we have a session on "Journeying in Faith", in which we explore different expressions of spirituality.

Last week we had a guest speaker, Johan Strydom, who came to address us on the connection between spirituality and our sexuality. He shared some of his background with us, particularly the trauma he went through during the time he took the Moreleta Park Dutch Reformed Church to court for unfair dismissal relating to his sexual orientation - a case that he won in the end.

Naturally this led us to a discussion around same-sex relationships - a subject that has been fairly hotly debated within the Methodist Church of Southern Africa since the first discussion document on this issue was released by the Doctrine, Ethics and Worship committee (DEWCOM) a few years back. Given the strong views that people on both sides of the debate sincerely hold onto, this document was an attempt at enabling the Church to look at this issue a lot more pastorally than in the past.

Views tend to move from the one extreme, being that those of same-sex orientation should not even be allowed onto church premises, to the other extreme, where those of same-sex orientation should be treated no differently to those of hetrosexual orientation, even including marriage. The passing of the Civil Unions Act in South Africa, which legitimises a legal form of same-sex relationship without going as far as to call it "marriage", has added further fuel to the debate, with many feeling that the Church is lagging behind the State in granting equal rights to same-sex couples. On the other hand, there are those who point to clear indications in Scripture where sexual activity between people of the same gender are prohibited.

Without wishing to state (or defend) a particular position, I have a few concerns that I am currently trying to grapple with:

1. I'm well aware of the danger of using certain so-called "proof texts" in order to defend a particular position. However, the other side of the coin the the danger in "cherry-picking" Scriptures in terms of which ones are contextual, and which ones are of universal application. One even finds both within the same passage of Scripture! I must be honest in saying that my theology is not sufficiently developed to be able to come up with any hard-and-fast rules as to how to discern the difference (if, in fact, such rules exist at all), but sometimes I wonder whether we base our findings on which Scriptures we agree with (therefore of universal application) and which ones we don't (therefore contextual). I know that I should be relying on the inner prompting of the Holy Spirit, yet there are sincere Christians who believe that the Holy Spirit is prompting them to hold onto a position that I am decidedly uncomfortable with.

2. Is the formulation of a particular position based on a sound interpretation of Scripture, or personal prejudice? I have to confess that as a person of heterosexual orientation, who could therefore not even contemplate being in a same-sex relationship myself, a degree of prejudice has to be a factor.

3. One could of course look to the Church for a definitive declaration on the matter. However, this is unlikely to bring about certainty for many people, and will most likely end up alienating a large number of people.

4. The question of other orientations would also need to enter the debate. How does one then discern which ones warrant legitimate expression sexually, and which ones don't?

Right now I'm keeping my head below the parapet as far as my own position on this issue is concerned, although I have willingly shared it with those who have asked - particularly members of the congregation, who have a legitimate right to know where their minister stands on this issue. But it remains a journey for me, and I need to get to a point where I am comfortable that I am being true to God's will.

At this point I believe that those of same-sex orientation should be pastored, just as any person we minister to should be pastored. Whether or not one believes that same-sex orientation is a chosen behaviour or part of what a person is should have no impact on how we share the love of Jesus with another person. How this impacts whether one should be celibate or not, issues of church leadership (including ministry), and marriage, is something I'm still trying to deal with.

2 comments:

Neill said...

My feling is that we should discourage the act, but nt the person. Only God has that right, however, we do have the right to speak to the person about the behaviour as it is laid out in the bible about how we should do it.

bugs said...

Congratulations on being brave enough to grapple with this issue and on being willing to embark on a journey. May God grant you all you need for the road ahead.