GAY TRUTH

Should gay people be accepted as members in the community of faith or ordained to church leadership? The Revisionist Answer The liberating ethic of love demands that a local church accept gays and allow them to participate fully in membership, including leadership. The Bible does not concern itself with the modern idea of mutually committed relationships of people who have been gay from birth. The Bible does not condemn such. It is obvious, then, that churches should ordain gay people for ministry. The Biblical Answer Ample evidence exists that the ancients knew and sometimes practiced gay relationships and mutuality. Paul’s discussion in Romans 1 , 1 Corinthians 6:9 –11, and 1 Timothy 1:8–10 must include this understanding of homosexual relationships .  In addition, Paul’s vice list—including “homosexuals” (arsenokoitai)—occurs in a broader context of those who “shall not inherit the kingdom of God” ( 1 Cor. 6:9–11) and who should, like the person involved in sexual

A response to Brad Chilcott.  Homosexual sin - the Law and the Old Testament Biblical support for legislation respecting homosexuality is not without importance, even for those who disregard the authority of the Bible. The Old Testament was the most important force in shaping the ethics and legislation of Western Europe and especially the United States and Canada.2 The Old Testament law’s position on homosexuality. Yet, this legislation takes its foundational principles from an ethic that derives from religious truth. The ethical system of the Bible rests on a creation ethic, which affirms that God created humankind as male and female in His own image and likeness (Gen. 1:26–27).  Created humanity bears the divine image as a rational, moral, and spiritual being. Human life is sacred. Society from the beginning has used legislation to punish murder because it destroys something sacred. From the Flood onward, God has ordained capital punishment for murder to preserve the divine