Jan 02, 2010

Sexuality and the Church are generally mutually exclusive, no other area of debate cries taboo within Christendom as does sexuality, in particular homosexuality. In this essay I have attempted to approach the issue of homosexuality and the Church objectively rather than subjectively.

I have no wish to state who is right or wrong in this contentious issue, but merely to examine the issues, some of the arguments for and against and provide not a definitive answer but perhaps, a rational grace centred response.

What is homosexuality?

Homosexuality is the manifestation of sexual desire toward a member of one’s own sex or the erotic activity with a member of the same sex. A lesbian is a female homosexual. More recently the term “gay” has come into popular use to refer to both sexes who are homosexuals. Several Christian commentators however note that Gay people draw their identity form their sexuality,rather than from God.1

Cause of Homosexuality

Many psychiatrists tend to locate the origins of homosexuality in “maladjusted” family life, yet such an explanation is not altogether convincing. Too many homosexuals have strong and loving fathers, too many heterosexuals have dominating mothers, for any obvious connection to be seen. It is probable that in Western societies most mothers over-dominate their son’s and this fact is often disregarded by those concerned to discover an etiology of homosexuality.2

Elizabeth Moberly3 is a psychologist and she writes from psychoanalytic and Christian perspective; she emphasises the need to understand the cause of homosexuality in a hypothesis that proposes homosexuals have suffered from a deficit in relationship with a same sex parent,4 she contends that there is a corresponding need to repair this deficit through the use of same-sex homosexual relationships.5 Moberly takes the view that a homosexual

1 Hays, p 379

2 Mc Neil, p 33 citation from Homosexual Oppression and Liberation London: Allen Lane 1974, p4.

3 Moberly, Elizabeth R. Homosexuality: A New Christian Ethic.

4 Moberly, p 2

5 Moberly, pp 4-5

orientation does not depend on a genetic predisposition, hormonal imbalance, or abnormal learning processes, but on difficulties in a parent-child relationship especially in the early years of life.6 Homosexuality is a deficit in the child’s ability to relate to the parent of the same sex which is carried over to members of the same sex in general according to Moberly.7

Moberly argues that homosexuals are in reality engaging in pre-adult relationship; subsequently homosexual acts are prohibited not because they refute the man-woman relationship, but because sexual expression is not appropriate to pre-adult relationships.8 She sides with the traditional Christian position that homosexual acts are wrong, but for non- traditional reasons.

Jeffrey Satinover,9 in his book ‘Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth’ agrees in part with Moberly regarding the disconnection and disassociation, within a parent-child relationship. He likens homosexual behaviour to other forms of compulsive behaviour; involving innate compulsive impulses which lead to reinforced choices by which central activities become embedded in the brain or engraved on the heart. Satinover states that homosexuality is not a true illness, but in a spiritual sense it is a soul sickness stemming from fallen human nature.10 Interestingly as both a psychiatrist and a Christian, Satinover is speaking from the experience of a unique perspective, he does endorse that psycho-behavioural modification programs are beneficial and have been successful in modifying homosexual behaviour, however he does not state exactly what the successful modifications have been, he does however attribute

6 Moberly, p 2

7 Moberly, p 5

8 Moberly, pp 24-48

9 Satinover, Jeffrey, Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth

10 Satinover, p 20

significant spiritual damage as a cause of homosexuality.11 Satinover however makes the point that he who condemns the homosexual person of his behaviour rather than the behaviour itself commits a far more grievous sin.12

What does the bible really say? The Old Testament

More… see http://localtheology.com/?p=450