WHEN CHRISTIANS GET IT WRONG In Dealing with Homosexuality

1. WHEN CHRISTIANS GET IT WRONG In Dealing with Homosexuality

2. This is a controversial subject and class members will have different points of view on homosexuality. Most young adults agree that gay and lesbian persons deserve love, compassions, and respect and that too many Christians fail to show it to them.

3. This is an issue that threatens to split the United Methodist Church. There is a division of opinion based on geography with the northern and western Methodist churches taking a more liberal stance.

4. There is also a division of opinion based on age. For example on same sax marriage: 32% of the people born before 1945 favor it 37% of baby boomers (1946-1964) favor it 48% of Gen X (1965-1980) favor it 64% of the people born after 1980 favor it

5. The purpose of this study is for us to learn how to discuss homosexuality with these various demographic groups so that we turn people toward God and not away from God.

6. Last week we saw that there was no mention of homosexuality in the Methodist Discipline until 1972. We looked at how the Methodist church split over the issue of slavery in 1845 with both sides claiming to be Biblically correct. They reunited in 1939.

7. We looked at how Methodists only began allowing women to be ordained in 1956. We looked at verses in the Bible that some used to keep women from being ordained. Read 1 Timothy 2:8-15 How do you justify this in light of what the Bible says in these verses?

8. We looked at the correlation between denying women the right to be ordained and the current restriction on denying homosexuals the right to be ordained. Read 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11 No matter which one of these things we are guilty of doing, we are all justified in the name of Jesus Christ.

9. One question a young adult might ask is, In the Bible, there are several laws against sex outside of marriage including fornication, adultery, incest and bestiality. These verses also include several other areas. Is it fair to only single out homosexuals and say they can’t be ordained? How would you explain your stance on this question, pro or con, on the ordination of homosexuals in a way that would turn someone toward Christ?

10. Can same sex marriages be performed in the UMC? ¶Marriage 341.6 We support laws in civil society that define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions shall not be conducted by our ministers and shall not be conducted in our churches.

11. In recent years, mainline Protestant denominations — which are different from evangelical Christian churches that read the Bible as literal truth — have one by one changed rules that had prohibited marriage and ordination of gays and lesbians. The Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Church of Christ at one time all barred same-sex wedding ceremonies and ordination of gay clergy members, but they have changed those rules over time. The last holdout among major mainline Protestant groups has been the United Methodist Church

12. There is a growing grassroots movement within the United Methodist church to change the Book of Discipline, our denominational book of policies, that includes a statement prohibiting churches and clergy from performing marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples.

13. Nearly 700 United Methodist clergy and laypersons from throughout the nation met in Huron, Ohio, to discuss efforts to change their denomination’s rules barring ordination of gay clergy and the blessing of same-sex unions. If their efforts fail to change church law at next year’s General Conference — and many reform advocates expect they will be outvoted — a growing number of ministers plan to disregard the rules and start performing same-sex marriages.

14. Some say this debate has distracted the Methodist church from its central mission to make disciples for Jesus Christ. Some say we should just go back to the pre-1968 Discipline language on homosexuality which is none so we can concentrate on more important subjects like evangelism, mission, eliminating hunger, poverty, etc. If you feel that something like this should be done, how would you explain it to others?

15. Some are saying that just because society is moving towards finding homosexuality acceptable, that the church should not mirror popular culture but rise above it. The church should stand against culture when culture is moving in a direction that the church understands to be not Biblical. If you think that this is the path the Methodist should take, how would you explain it to someone?

16. The 1,000 delegates to the April, 2012, conference in Tampa have already been elected by their regional bodies and will vote on resolutions to change the United Methodists’ Book of Discipline, notably its statement that “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.” How would you explain your stance, pro or con, on same sex marriage in a way that would turn someone toward Christ?

17. Does the UMC believe all persons, regardless of sexual orientation, should have equal rights? Equal Rights Regardless of Sexual Orientation Certain basic human rights and civil liberties are due all persons. We are committed to supporting those rights and liberties for homosexual persons. . . . Moreover, we support efforts to stop violence and other forms of coercion against gays and lesbians.

18. Do you believe that this position is compatible with Christian teaching? Why or why not? How would you explain your position to someone outside the church?