Sexuality and Christianity

Sexuality and Christianity
RELATED TOPICS	Marriage Homosexuality In the news United States and Canadian Anglican dioceses asked to split from the world-wide Anglican communion over the issue of homosexual unions and priests Connecticut becomes third U.S. state to allow same-sex civil unions (October 3, 2005)
SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OPINIONS	* Homosexuality and Christian liberty: Question and Answer (justforcatholics.org)
CONTENTS

Few issues cause as much division in today's church as issues related to sex outside of marriage and homosexual relationships. Conservative Christians state that the Bible clearly states that God shows us that the only right place for a sexual relationship is in a marriage between a man and a woman, and that outside of this, it is a sin against God. Some liberal Christians argue that sex outside a marriage, including homosexual relationships are not wrong if they are between two loving partners. In the developed world, especially North-Western Europe and North America, some church denominations have embranced the liberal viewpoint often causing large splits in congregations.

One of the major developments in recent years has been in the Episcopal Church of the USA, in which an openly practicing homosexual man, Gene Robinson was ordained as a bishop. This has caused enormous divide within the Anglican Communion and resulted in 2008 in a conference (GAFCON) being called to rival the once in a decade Lambeth Conference. This may be leading to a schism.

Biblical passages

But we know that the law is good, if a man uses it lawfully, as knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave-traders, for liars, for perjurers, and for any other thing contrary to the sound doctrine; - 1 Timothy 1:8-10

"'You shall not lie with a man, as with a woman. That is detestable. "'You shall not lie with any animal to defile yourself with it; neither shall any woman give herself to an animal, to lie down with it: it is a perversion. "'Don't defile yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations which I am casting out before you were defiled. - Leviticus 18:22-24

"'If a man lies with a male, as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. - Leviticus 20:13

Or don't you know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortioners, will inherit the Kingdom of God. - 1 Corinthians 6:9,10

For this reason, God gave them up to vile passions. For their women changed the natural function into that which is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural function of the woman, burned in their lust toward one another, men doing what is inappropriate with men, and receiving in themselves the due penalty of their error. Even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting; - Romans 1:26-28

Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them, having, in the same way as these, given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire. - Jude 7

and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly; - 2 Peter 2:6

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