The lack of equal rights for Homosexuals is something that this generation will be ashamed to have been associated with. The poor acceptance of our society to embrace and try to understand homosexuals is an indictment on our governments, social insitutions and churches. 50 years ago, if you were divorced you were ostracised by the church. Today you can be divorced multiple times and be a minister. While we have progress in this area, we are still sorely behind with the rights of gay men and women. I find it hard to fathom why the church still has this fear of homosexuality. The Salvation Army is the biggest charity in Australia, it has a reputation of being fair and equitable. Below is a part of the salvos position statement on homosexuality:
"Homosexuality is broadly defined as being sexually attracted to, having a definite sexual preference for, people of the same gender. It is The Salvation Army's belief that, whilst recognising the possibility of such orientation, (the origins of which are uncertain), the Bible expressly opposes homosexual practice, seeing such activity as rebellion against God's plan for the created order."
This statement is the basis for the salvos to oppose homsexuality as a legitiamate sexual orientation and one in which God condones. But where is this biblical evidence they speak of? there is no direct scriptual references attached to this statement but they follow it with this:
"The Bible teaches that God's intention for humankind is that society should be ordered on the basis of lifelong, legally sanctioned heterosexual unions. Such unions (marriages), having the potential for procreation, lead to the formation of social units (families), which are essential to human personal development and therefore to the stability of the community."
The bible teaches statement is interesting as the heterosexual unions of the bible involved one man, many women and the exchange of cattle. In our society we are opposed to bigamy and selling people, but biblically speaking this is what constituted 'Gods intention for humankind'. It is a flimsy response to a very complex and sensitive issue. If reproduction is the basis of union, then those who cannot have children should not be able to marry. This is of course a ridiculous statement, but it is a direct outcome of this kind of thinkning. I have seen families that have been horrible examples of humanity, heterosexual couples that should not be parents and are evil abusers of their children, but because they are heterosexual, this union has been blessed by God. There is imbalance in this view.
The biblical world view is not our world view, and just as we have altered out thinking of biblical expectations of marriage and divorce, so too must we alter our view of homosexuality. Jesus spoke against divorce very strongly, but never raised the issue of homosexuality. Yet we accept divorced ministers and castigate homosexual ones. Perhaps in this regard it is best to take our lead from the guy we are meant to be mirroring our actions on.
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Hello! :)
ReplyDeleteI think this is the closest you've gotten to fulfilling the 'rant' part of this blogs title. Well done! :)
ReplyDeleteI can't help but agree with you. Our grandchildren will be absolutely dismayed at the church's treatment of homosexual people in our time.
How depressing it is that the church seldom champions human rights. But I guess if the Christian church can condone slavery, racism, murder and genocide then why would we expect to see an exception for those of homosexual orientation?
And on the Salvo position statement, I must say, it's an interesting concept to site a source that 'expressly opposes' something of which you believe 'the origins... are uncertain'.
At the same time, let it be said that there is no such universal agreement on any issue, in any body or organisation.
Jesus always managed to accept and love those who were 'other' to him, continually conquering any xenophobic tendencies. And yes, we would do well to pay more attention to what he taught and take our lead from him.
Now I'm ranting!
I do hope though, that before we reach retirement age, we can place an 'All Welcome' mat at the front of every Salvo Corps and Centre, and ensure, as an organisation, that we live up to that welcome.
Hi Andrew - Thanks for joining the discussion. I too would like to see that the salvos and all churches for that matter, welcome everyone. The interesting thing about the army is that they make comment that they do welcome everyone into worship. But this is prefaced by the statement that homosexuality isn't part of God's plan and should not be practiced. The subversive hypocrisy in this is astounding. I have come across this in regards to addicts and the marginalised folk who come along to our churches. On the one hand we say 'welcome, its great to see you!', and on the other we say, but you cant officially be part of the group unless you dont drink, use or even smoke anymore. It is a double standard that allows alot of pretenders to become part of the community, by encouraging falsehood and denies access to those who are messed up, but honestly seeking and trying to find their way. I have seen a few examples of where this hasn't occurred, Ringwood 5 years ago being one. But overall, the church has distinct boundaries of who's acceptable and whos not. But as Christians we should be on the side of those who are not being allowed to fully be human, and if in any way we are subverting this process, then we are the ones committing the sin.
ReplyDeleteNothing to argue with Troy, ha. :)
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