THE CHURCH'S PERSPECTIVE ON HOMOSEXUALITY
(Tuesday) The consecration of Gene Robinson as a bishop in the Episcopal Church highlights the fact that homosexuality is the issue that just won't go away. From the perspective of a traditional Christian this is very frustrating. However, as I see it, it is helpful to begin to realize that there are at least three camps of people arguing for the "pro-homosexual" (for lack of better terminology) side of things:

1. There are those who say, "The Bible isn't really speaking against homosexual behavior per se. If you look at all the contexts of the 'homosexual passages' you can see that they are all about extreme forms of homosexual behavior -- abuses -- but not about homosexuality as a lifestyle or an orientation."

Because we Evangelicals are biblical people we are most comfortable addressing the issue on this level. We like to point to the outstanding exegetical resources which have more than adequately dealt with this argument -- e.g. The Moral Vision of the New Testament (Richard Hays) and The Bible and Homosexual Practice (Robert A.J. Gagnon).

2. There are those who think that in light of the new revelation of social science the scriptures are not authoritative on this issue -- regardless of whether the scriptures speak out against homosexuality or not. As I was listening to Gene Robinson say that tradition and scripture don't really matter, I realized that he was thinking of himself as Peter in Acts 11, when the apostle had the vision of the unclean food and God told him to eat. "If God says something is acceptable don't say it isn't." (vs. 9)

For these folks there is a new revelation that supersedes anything that has been said before. Evangelicals have not done as good of a job at addressing the issue on this level because it involves not only hermeneutics but also the confrontation of philosophical presuppositions -- an area where most pastors have little real training.

3. Then finally, there are the ordinary people in the pews who are quickly growing weary of all of the disagreement. For them it doesn't matter. "Homosexuals in our culture are gaining more freedoms -- and that's fine -- as long as they don't bother me. And this ongoing fighting over the issue is bothering me. So stop it and just let these people be." Libertarianism.

This is going to be the hardest argument to address because it isn't based in reason but feelings.