HOW CAN THE CHURCH RESPOND TO HOMOSEXUALITY
IN A CHRIST-LIKE MANNER? |
The British Methodist Church, which is considered the Mother Church of Sri Lankan Methodism has stirred a hornet's nest all over the world by a decision taken at their Annual Conference in June 2021. The Church will allow same-sex marriages in the Methodist Churches of the UK. My attempt through this article is to encourage each other to make an informed response to what has taken place in British Methodism. While this has become disturbing news for us, the Asian and Sri Lankan Methodists, we must not react or think as if "all hell has broken loose" On the website of the British Methodist Church you will find what I quote below:
"The Conference recognises the differing views across the Connexion on the issue of same-sex marriage. The fact that the conference has consented in principle to the marriage of same-sex couples on Methodist premises does not change this, and local churches must understand that they are under no obligation to register. They are entitled to decide against doing so if they wish, or to decline to consider the issue altogether." https://www.methodist.org.uk/about-us/the-methodist-church/marriage-and-relationships/frequently-asked-questions-following-the-2021-conference-votes-on-marriage-and-relationships/
Methodists and other Christians all over the world have
begun to speak expressing their approval or disapproval of this decision. Some
have begun to ask whether the decision of the British Methodist Conference
could impinge on the Methodist Church, Sri Lanka? Since 1964 the Methodist
Church, Sri Lanka has functioned as an autonomous Church, governing our affairs
through the Methodist Conference in Sri Lanka. Therefore the Sri Lanka
Conference does not have any obligation to repeat what the mother Church is
doing. It does not refer to the British Conference to guide Sri Lanka affairs.
This is my humble understanding and opinion.
When writing this article I am very much conscious of the various research and studies that have been done and continue to be done in the fields of Medicine, Psychology and Human Behavioural sciences to grapple with the whole issue of homosexuality. The Greek adjective "homo" refers to the "same kind" which is different from the Latin word "homo" which means "Man". Hence in this article when referring to the Homosexual it refers to the Greek word "Homo" which means sexual relationships of men with men and women with women. The public attitude to homosexuality is changing. The advent of Gay liberation movement has created space for more homosexuals to publicly acknowledge their sexual orientation. People with a homosexual orientation are found in all religious, ethnic, socioeconomic and educational backgrounds.
As I reflect on some of the realities concerning
homosexuality during my youthful days, I see it as a time of learning lessons
of life. At the onset of puberty, my father spoke to me on homosexuality and
how essential it was for me to guard myself against it as it was not God's
design for a human being. Homosexuality was a common subject of non-serious
discussion among our school friends and the advice from my father was of
immense help to maintain my friendships within the Christian principles. He
also made me aware of some of the adults that we were already moving with as
family friends who were homosexuals and bisexuals. While the protective
boundaries were explained he also made me aware that some of them were
well-recognized personalities in the society as well as in the church who were
a blessing to others through various gifts and talents God had given them.
The time has come for the Christian Church to address
the issues related to homosexuality. When I say "address the issues"
I am fully aware of the risks involved. A church could either go to one extreme
of embracing everything about homosexuality leading up to the solemnization of
same-sex marriages in the Church or the other extreme of criminalizing and
condemning the human being who is a homosexual and disowning that he is my
neighbour.
During my tenure as President Bishop, the Methodist
Church Sri Lanka, I had the privilege of working with the Bishops of the
Methodist Churches in Asia to prepare a document for the Asian Methodist
Churches expressing a united stand on the practice of homosexuality. This was
accepted by the 2018 Asian Methodist Council held in Singapore, which is as
follows:
"We consider the practice of homosexuality and
same-sex marriage to be incompatible with Christian teachings. However, we do
recognise that homosexual persons are individuals of sacred worth. They need
the ministry and guidance of the Church as well as the spiritual and emotional
support of a caring fellowship.
In holding firmly to the Bible as the authoritative
standard for its faith and practice, we exhort Christians to care for all
persons and one another with the love of Christ our Lord. Our commitment to
care for same-sex attracted persons causes our member churches to keep seeking
appropriate and compassionate ways to relate and reach out to them with the
life-changing power of our faith, namely the gospel of forgiveness and new life
in Jesus Christ."
Is the practice of homosexuality and same-sex
marriage incompatible with Christian teachings?
What is written here by me is under the premise
"that marriage is a gift of God and God intends that a marriage should be
a life-long union in body, mind and spirit of one man and one woman." The
Church or state may have regulatory mechanisms to ensure the smooth functioning
of marriages, but the Church nor the State has been given any right to alter
the basic meaning and the structure of Marriage. Marriage was designed by God
for a man and woman who were both created in the "likeness or image of
God". The basic ingredient of the marriage relationship is the two are
equal because they both bear the image of God but are different because they
were made as man and woman. The difference between the man and woman, including
the sexual, speaks very clearly the nature of their relationship – it should be
complementary. The relationship is to "fill out and complete each
other" – a mutual supply of each other's lack. Masculinity and femineity
are designed by God to give themselves totally to each other. It affects
conjugal bonding which is "the core of marriage" between a man and a
woman. Such conjugal bonding is the proper context for sexual union providing
"mutual satisfaction" which leads them to the next step of becoming
procreators in obedience to the command of God "be fruitful and
multiply".
The way I understand scripture on the functioning of a
marriage is not only for procreation. It is also about the union between the
marriage partners." Genesis 2:22-24 describes the woman being taken out
from the man and how the union is realised through the joining of the man and
his wife to become one flesh. Therefore, just as the woman was from man, God's
design and image of the marriage union can only be attained through the joining
of the male and female as one flesh.
The rightful place for a heterosexual relationship
filled with joy and pleasure is highlighted in The Songs of Songs in the Old Testament.
I cannot see, how a homosexual relationship could be compared with the same?
However, there is a school of thought among the
Christian churches that homosexual marriages can be allowed within the
boundaries of a monogamous, covenantal relationship sighting St. Paul's letter
to the Ephesian 5: 22-23. Their position is that the marriage relationship
between homosexual partners can function like the relationship between Christ
and the church - caring, and honouring the partner as your own body. They take
the position that the covenanted love between two homosexual partners can
enable them to fully function as a married couple without "gender
complementarity and procreative capacity". The argument is made that in
solemnizing the same-sex marriage between two committed partners, within the
boundaries of a monogamous, covenantal relationship the church prevents the
homosexuals from becoming exposed to health hazards.
Here is a pertinent question we all have to grapple
with: Is the stance taken by the pro-gay (homosexual) movement reducing the
authority of Scripture over our lives to "legitimize and normalize
homosexuality in the eyes of the Christian?". The Church and every
believer in Christ have "a divine call and a responsibility to preserve
the Scriptures as the rule of authority for faith and practice". It is the
starting point and guiding light for all moral issues.
What is the scientific understanding of
homosexuality?
In studying the history behind Scientific research and
understanding of homosexuality, it can be placed along a continuum. Before 1975
homosexuality has been seen as an illness. Doctors, Therapists and Religious
leaders have made utmost efforts to reverse homosexuality to heterosexuality
using psychoanalytic therapy, prayer and spiritual interventions. Some
homosexuals have been sent through electric shock, nausea-inducing drugs,
hormone therapy, and surgery to cure them of homosexuality.
However, in the year 1975, a complete veto was carried
out by the American Psychological Association by removing "homosexuality
from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual". Since then the psychological
profession has wanted to make clear that homosexuality is a perfectly normal
orientation.
What is sexual orientation?
Various researches have been carried out in the following fields to determine how the orientation for homosexuality is caused :
· Do the hormones influence prenatal fetal development and have an impact on the brain and sexual orientation of a person?
· Does the disturbing relationship between parents during childhood lead to adult homosexuality?
· Is sexual orientation acquired through social learning while the hormones possibly play a facilitating role via body build or gender-role behaviour?
However, this nor any of the research carried out so far has been conclusive to determine how homosexual orientation takes place. "Most scientists agree that sexual orientation (including homosexuality and bisexuality) is the result of a combination of environmental, emotional, hormonal, and biological factors." In other words, many things contribute to a person's sexual orientation, and the factors are different from person to person - it is more complexed than one could understand.
Can homosexuality be reversed?
There are certain health professionals and Christian
ministries who continue to promote "reverse therapy" to change the
sexual orientation of a homosexual. In recent times reverse therapy has been
severely criticized even by Christian Churches because of certain appalling
practices. People with homosexual orientation have been forced to engage in
sexual activity with someone of the opposite sex, seeking to change their
sexual orientation from homosexuality to heterosexuality. There are also
reports of certain homosexuals been subjected to exorcism and deliverance
ministry to change their sexual orientation which has turned out to be chaotic.
Exodus International is a world-famous Christian
Ministry that asserted that reorientation of same-sex attraction, is possible
through conversion therapy. The Ministry was founded
in 1976 by Michel Bussee who had confessed that "I was once gay but now I
am straight". Bussee even went into marriage and had a child, believing
that he has been converted to be a heterosexual. However, in 1979 he left the
Exodus Ministry confessing that he was again in a gay relationship with Gary
Cooper, a leader within the ministry of Exodus. They both divorced their wives
and lived together until Garry died from AIDS in 1991. Around 2016, after 40
years of founding the Exodus Ministry, has confessed "I can honestly say
that I have never met a gay person who became heterosexual through conversion
therapy or ex-gay programs. Yes, some stayed celibate for a time. Some even
married and said they were happy. But most of those marriages ended with very
painful divorces". I am aware that this information will bring mixed
feelings and disappointment to all of us over what happened to Exodus, a
well-accepted Christian Ministry, among the evangelical and conservative
Churches.
Allan Chambers was the President of Exodus who worked
closely with Michel Bussee who has a different kind of approach to same-sex
attraction. He has been a person who had been in gay relationships but later on
turned over to be a heterosexual. He married his wife in 1998 and adopted two
children. According to his testimony, they have had "difficulties to
consummate the union for eight months" but he says their sex life is now
"good". "While many relationships are built on sex, ours just
includes sex," Chambers says. "We love it and value it because we worked
hard for it." Despite his personal experience of changing over from
homosexuality to heterosexuality he moved on to honestly and objectively
re-examine the ministry work of Exodus among those same-sex attracted -
"We have ceased to be a living, breathing organism". His conclusion
was: "For quite some time, we've been imprisoned in a worldview that's
neither honouring toward our fellow human beings nor biblical." In 2013
Alan Chambers closed down the Exodus Ministry work which was a fatal blow on
those who believed that sexual orientation can be changed by choice.
Chambers describes his current sexual orientation as
"complicated." While he is still attracted to men, he also says that
he and his wife have a healthy marriage with robust sex life. But he no longer
claims that every person with same-sex attraction should follow his path. He
holds on to the view: "those who cannot reconcile their faith and
sexuality, they can be affirmed in their choice of celibacy and devote their
lives to causes more life-giving than 'ridding themselves of the demon
homosexuality,'" Chambers says. "And the gay Christian community can
be affirmed in who they already are: beloved."
How can the Church recognize homosexual persons as
"beloved" - individuals of sacred worth?
The Church is called to be a place of welcome, help and
encouragement to all sinners including the homosexual. Every sinner (that's you
and me) including the homosexuals are the object of God's affection. The
homosexual is also created in God's image. He desires them to be conformed to
the image of Jesus Christ. However, we need to honestly examine the current
attitude and practice of the Church towards the homosexual.
A few years back at a Church meeting a lay leader said
to me that he would not allow any homosexual to step into the church. His
reasons were that homosexuality is an abomination to God – (sounds very
Biblical?) and the Youth and Children of the church have to be safeguarded from
homosexuals. Yes, the Church is full of stories of those who have been sexually
abused both by homosexuals, bisexuals and heterosexuals within the ministries
of the church. Sadly, most of these have been swept under the carpet by Church
authorities. Therefore the Church has to take all safety measures adequately to
protect its community from any misuse or abuse of privileges granted.
While the Church has invited all people to come in, it
also has a bad track record of keeping people away from it for various reasons.
The Church is now called upon to see how it could be an inclusive community
than being an exclusive one. It has to emulate Christ who stood against sin but
welcomed the sinner. When the woman caught in adultery was dragged and brought
before him, first he said to those who brought her "Let him who is without
sin cast the first stone", but there was no one qualified for that. When
thinking about the response of the Church to homosexuality, we have to look at
the whole issue from the position that none of us in the church are qualified
to cast the first stone.
The time has come for the Church to hold a balanced
view instead of pitching its camp in either of the extremes. It can never
compromise on God's moral standards. But, it also has to understand that God
has called us "to accept people where they are and move them to a place of
life transformation." It is the experience of many that life-dominating
sins do not go away overnight, even when a person has truly repented and found
his Salvation in Christ Jesus. There is a process that moves the person to greater
holiness and freedom which we call Christian perfection. The Methodist
tradition, from which I come, believes that Christian perfection is both
instantaneous and gradual.
The Penal Code 1883, Section 365 speaks of - Unnatural
Offences – it criminalizes "carnal intercourse against the order of
nature". However, prosecutions under these laws are very uncommon in Sri
Lanka. The successive Governments in recent times have maintained the position
that there should be no discrimination against LGBT persons which I believe is
a good move. It does not mean that Sri Lanka has opened the flood gates for the
sexual activities of the LGBT. The state has acknowledged the presence of an
LGBT community that have equal rights and privileges as any other citizen.
Organizations seeking human and political rights for
the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender community have been granted permission
to operate here. Their activity is rather inaudible when compared with the
Western countries.
The general public's view regarding LGBT people in Sri
Lanka has always been seen as a threat to the culture, religion, and
traditional values of Sri Lanka. Over the years the Christian Church in Sri
Lanka has made efforts to be a Church that is incarnated in the cultural values
of the land while sharing the faith in the community. When addressing the
issues, challenges of the LGBT community and standing up for their equal rights
the church in Sri Lanka has to keep in mind that everything which is done in
the western culture cannot be photocopied here. The Church should never attempt
to move in the direction of promoting same-sex marriages in the Sri Lankan
Church.
My observation of the Christian Church is that the
condemnatory voice and the compromising voice are pulling the issue of
homosexuality into two extremes. The church has to remember the command of
Jesus to “love the neighbour as you love yourself” also includes the
homosexual. The issue of homosexuality cannot be addressed while in a state of
lovelessness in the Church. The scriptures call upon the Church to “Carry each
other's burdens, and in this way, you will fulfil the law of Christ” (Galatians
6:2). We who are in the Church are not saviours nor judges. But we are fellow
strugglers on the pathway of seeking perfection having received our Salvation
through Christ. On that pathway, there are no higher or lower gradings of
sinners. All are equal, having fallen short of the glory of God. Nothing but
the grace of God we all need. We are struggling together!
Rev. Asiri P. Perera
August 18 2021
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