A pastoral response to 'the homosexual question'

by Brian McLaren

The couple approached me immediately after the service. This was their first time visiting, and they really enjoyed the service, they said, but they had one question. You can guess what the question was about: not transubstantiation, not speaking in tongues, not inerrancy or eschatology, but where our church stood on homosexuality.

A:

Okay, there are differences within Christianity, and differences between Christianity and other faiths. There are also similiarities, e.g., the belief in a supernatural power, called God, or YWHW, Allah, or something else. The trick is to discern the leading of the Holy Spirit in a specifically Christian context. In order to do this, we don't follow the way of our sinful natures, culture and society, the wisdom of the world, but we follow the traditional sources of Christian authority, scripture, the Church, and the personal revelation of the Holy Spirit.

I don't believe that the teaching on sex is the most important Christian doctrine, far from it. But I believe that sex is the canary in the coal mine. Because sex is such a powerful force, conflicts between the flesh and the spirit show up there almost before anywhere else. To me, the issue is NOT homosexuality or even the where the church stands on homosexuality. Instead, the issue is where the church stands on the issue of faithfulness to the teaching of Jesus Christ and the requirements discipleship.

Yes, there will be unfaithful men and women who call themselves Christian. Read the letters to the seven churches in Revelation for examples. There will be people who follow these unfaithful men and women because what they teach conforms to the wisdom of the world rather than the truths of God. But a pastor is not being pastoral if he substitutes the truth about God for a lie. See Romans 1.

I do not know what this pastor told this young couple. I would hope that he discussed the traditional teaching of the Church and the precepts contained in scripture. If you carry the cross you cannot carry other things. In particular, you cannot carry a life style that is contrary to the things of the Spirit. If this means giving up a part of your life that is important to you, or even seen as essential (such a particular aspects of physical relationships), that is the cost of discipleship.

B:

Yes. There is a distinction between *love* between people of the same sex, and sexual acts. The Church is not in a position to condone sexual acts, because it would be in contradiction with the most straightforward interpretation of scripture. However, that of itself does not preclude affirmation and acceptance of the loving *relationship* between this couple's respective fathers. The Bible does give positive examples of love between people of the same sex (but NOT sexual acts between them).

In the UK, the Anglican position (as far as the clergy are concerned) is to require Priests who are in a same-sex relationship to declare their celibacy. No such requirement to actually state their celibacy (as far as I know) is put on people in the congregation, or lay members - but the teaching is that any sexual activity between them would be sinful.

Certainly in the church I attend, the two fathers would be welcomed. No-one would pry into their private lives, however, neither would anyone want them to display any indiscretion with regard to sexual matters. They would sort-of be assumed to be celibate. But then, I wouldn't want anyone to be going on about their sex-lives.

I think the understanding is, we ALL sin, and if they sin, it's no different to any of us sinning. It is up to them to bear responsibility for having a proper attitude to sin, and it is up to the church to ensure people have a good and wholesome comprehension of Christian teaching. If an individual disagrees with that teaching privately, the responsibility and consequences are theirs - but if they teach *others* the same, that is a much more serious matter.