A Look At Issue Of Homosexuality Religion Essay

A Look At Issue Of Homosexuality Religion Essay The response of the church to the issue of homosexuality is problematic; it is so because homosexuality now has become so evident and conspicuous. It is shocking how people are coming out in the open as being homosexual and how it is being discussed openly and even receives sympathy from some quarters in the church. The obvious fact is that it can no longer be ignored. In this paper I will discuss how the church in Africa should respond to this problem. ANALYSIS OF CONTROVERSY Homosexuality is a legal offence in most African countries, although in recent years there are attempts to legalize it in some countries, but it is legal in most American states. This is why it is a controversy to the Anglican Communion which is world wide. The definition of homosexuality according to Woods Jr (1968, p.135) â€Å"the word homosexual can be used to refer to various subtle gradations of erotic attraction or involvement between members of the same sex.† The moralist would dismiss moral obj ections on homosexuality basing on natural law, which they say natural law assumes that the structure of male and female genitals determine their function sexually. The early church also criticized same sex practices, for example Gagnon (2001,p.163) puts it very well that † Jews, like Greek and Roman critics of Homosexuality, rejected it on the ground that it was against nature, that is apart from the fact that the law forbade same-sex intercourse.† He says there are four reasons why only intercourse between male and female was considered to be in accordance with nature. The first he says is that there is no procreation in Homosexual intercourse and the second reason is that it is an affront to how God designed the male and female organs. The third reason is that there is no natural erotic passion in Homosexual sex says Gagnon and the last he says is that not even animals practice Homosexual intercourse. But some scholars would argue that apart from reproduction purposes , sex serves a number of functions. According to Woods Jr. (1968) â€Å"the judgment that sex is only for reproduction is as limited to an agrarian, low-population economy as the judgment that pearl are valuable is to a consumer economy.† The Lambeth conference resolution number 1.10 of 1998 states that in view of the teaching of scripture, that marriage should be between a man and a woman in a life long union, it recognized that there were persons who experienced themselves as having a homosexual orientation. Some of these people are church members and therefore need pastoral care, moral direction and God’s transforming power. The resolution was to listen to the experience of the homosexual persons and ensure them that God loves them. Although they called for the ministry of the pastoral care to all irrespective of sexual orientation, the resolution did not advise the legitimizing or blessing of the same sex union nor ordaining those in same gender union. Some would a rgue that in the Bible it is not clear what they meant by homosexuality. For example Bishop David Russell in his leaf let (page 3) wrote that the Biblical writers never ever contemplated the kind of homosexual that we are contemplating today, the Partnerships we are seeking to have affirmed in our time. I do not agree with him and others who think in these lines because the Bible is very clear on homosexuality. In Leviticus 20 :13, it is very clear that a man who has sexual relations with another man, both should be put to death because they have done repulsive thing. The other text, which condemns homosexuality in the New Testament, is Romans 1:26-27 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. it is therefore very clear that homosexuality is condemned in the Bible. If the homosexual of the Bible (Leviticus 20:13) is same as the homosexual of today, then homosexuality is an ancient form of sexual perversion.