Welcoming But Not Affirming: An Evangelical Response to Homosexuality

Just mentioning the word "Homosexuality" or its derivative words, and many Christians will feel uncomfortable, uneasy, and reluctant to talk about. There is no doubt that in the Church, the sin of homosexuality seems to be elevated above all sins and possibly to be at the same level as the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. But homosexuality is a pardonable sin and the Church must look at it in such a way in order to reach out in love to those who commit said sin. The Apostle John stated in 1st John 5:17 that "All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death." Ronnie Fortenberry (SAGU student) said it best when he stated that When dealing with this explosive subject we need to first and foremost remember that Jesus loves the homosexual. We need to remember that Jesus died for the homosexual just like he died for me. In thinking about the church's response to the homosexual we need to keep in mind that homosexuality is just one of the many sins that scripture lists, it is no "better" or "worse" than any other sin. A homosexual will go to hell not because they are homosexual but because they died a sinner without the Savior Jesus...So God wants the church to love the homosexual and to remember that we are called to minister to all persons, including gays and lesbians in the midst of their brokenness. That love includes supporting them before salvation and also offering them support after salvation when they are fighting to stay celibate. Along the above truthful statement, the Church must understand that all members are not perfect and that at one point in their past lives they "used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil - the commander of the powers in the unseen world." The Church must also remember that the devil "is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God" ; in this case, people who are homosexual. Lawrence Morgan (another SAGU student) rightly stated that "Somehow people lose the focus that the church is a place for sinners, even the ones that are saved, and that no one is perfect." He further stated that "If there are not any sinners in the church, then it may as well be a tea party." The Church is a hospital for the sick soul and as such, it includes gays and lesbians; and a training facility for those who are spiritually well. Addressing the issue of homosexuality, especially within the halls of the church, is no easy task; it should be dealt with love but without compromising the revealed truth about this practice the Church understands to be God's view; homosexuality is an abomination. Secondly, the Church must also view or review the historical stance of Christians of the past; in other words, to look at the history of Christian Theology concerning this issue. Thirdly, the Church must also look at the present culture that it exists within and share the message of hope in a way contemporary to its hearers. A proper Christian theological method

I spent a fair amount of effort looking for some reasoned writing against same-sex marriage, as it seems that most of the research in the debate is on the "for" side, with only politicians and opinion columnists publishing "against". Grenz's book goes a long way towards filling that niche; he carefully considers the biblical, historical, and pastoral arguments both for and against, and draws a reasonable conclusion from his data. I have two major objections to Grenz: first, we weigh the data differently; he dismisses arguments that I find to be of utmost importance-he has, for example, not read John Boswell's second book, _Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe_, which reputedly addresses many of the historical issues he raises in dismissing Boswell's first book, _Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality_ (mind, this is reputation only, as I have yet to acquire a copy of either book-though I have read several reviews of both, one set of which is re-printed in Andrew Sullivan's anthology, _Gay Marriage Pro and Con_), and gives what I would consider undue weight to the social construction theory of sexuality. Second, his conclusions are valid for a Baptist minister considering what pastoral stance to take on the issue of homosexuality; he never addresses what political stance should be taken. Of course, he is also Canadian, so I would have distrusted anything he said about American politics anyways.

I welcome Stanley Grenz' book 'Welcoming but not Affirming' for several reasons:(1) Each generation has, it seems, the defining touchstone debates in Christianity, that seem to reach to the core of religious practice and community (interesting that subsequent generations rarely sustain the emotional importance attached to those issues of previous generations). In the current generation, acceptance or rejection of homosexuality is one of these (I would say abortion and the status of women are the other two). Grenz, a noted theologian, tackles this issue directly.(2) Because of the emotional level that such touchstone debates reach to, there is often a tendency to sacrifice scholarship and reasonable dialogue to diatribe and immovable pronouncements, on both sides. Grenz presents a fairly balanced view with his own bias present in the title of the work. (3) This is a book that will make both sides of the debate variously comfortable and uncomfortable. That in itself is a positive, because it will spur people on to thinking and reflection. A mature faith requires examination, in my opinion.These things having been said, I have a few criticisms of the book. In the first half, Grenz presents what his view is of the welcoming and affirming side, i.e, those who argue for full acceptance of same-sex unions and open ordination of gays and lesbians. Grenz tends to concentrate only on the same-sex union aspect of this, and Grenz does a pretty good job at this, although there is every so often the tendency I think to make the arguments into a straw figure he can later torch. I would have preferred a little more development of the opposing side, so the arguments weren't so easily refuted.In his refutation and presentation of his openly-stated bias (that of welcoming, but not affirming, i.e., welcoming the homosexual as a human being, but still viewing that homosexuality as a sin that should not be affirmed), Grenz also lacks a little in the argumentation. Grenz does use scripture well, and avoids many of the pitfalls that both sides often seem to fall into. However, I would have to wonder just how welcome a homosexual would be in this church. While not denying that gays or lesbians can be Christian and receive the Holy Spirit (Grenz is an evangelical himself), he still falls into the trap of not being able to explain why certain scriptural prohibitions are important while others are not. However, far be it for me to criticise anyone for not being able to settle this debate! I am far from being able to do it myself.

At last we have a sane, moderate, compelling voice taking the "traditional" (but not reactionary) viewpoint, that homosexuality can be compassionately discussed and homosexual persons compassionately ministered to, without wholesale affirmation of their orientation and behavior as God's will for their lives. To demonstrate this book's credibility in the conversation now going on within Christian circles, James Nelson, an articulate theologian with a "gay-affirmiing" viewpoint, adds his highest recommendation. There is nothing "homophobic" in Stanley Grenz's approach, and as an eminent ethicist, he is not writing a moralistic diatribe. His is a reasoned and refreshing antidote to the more strident "right-wing" denunciations of homosexual sin, yet he maintains the clear and unequivocal position, based upon the overwhelming consensus of scripture and tradition, that the Christian faith does not and cannot affirm gay and lesbian behavior, nor same-sex unions, as "normative" or "alternative" lifestyles within the church. That the church should support the "civil" rights of homosexual persons, there can be no doubt, but the church cannot extend a "blessing" in the same manner as it does to marriage. Gay friendships, even when most exemplary of fidelity and longevity, are not, nor should they be construed as analogous with, the marriage of a man and a woman. The only missing dimension to the book, from this reviewer's point of view, is a discussion of the inextricability of sexuality and spirituality, and how this reality must fuel future conversations about Christian sexuality. We are all "fragile" in our sexuality, such that condemnations and judgements have no place, least of all within a Christian community, where healing and reconciliation ought to be emblemmatic. Such healing will often carry us to depths of intra- psychic transformation we dare not have thought possible. Alice Miller's "The Drama of the Gifted Child", a brilliant and recently revised treatment of this corollary topic, makes an excellent companion volume to Grenz's.