HOMOSEXUALITY: A BIBLICAL ANALYSIS AND A PROPER CHRISTIAN RESPONSE

2009

In recent times, the text of Leviticus 18:22, has attracted the attention of Old Testament scholars, clergy and the laity alike. In my view, such an attention has been inspired by the readers’ quest to the possible light which the text can shed on the subject of homosexuality. The latter topic is one of the burning issues raised in present day South Africa. It thus comes as no surprise, that interpreting texts such as Leviticus18:22 becomes pertinent in our context. This paper aims at coming up with a constructive dialogue between the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (hereafter referred to as MCSA)’s readings of this text and scholars’ interpretation of the same. Through the use of methodologies such as the literary, textual, redaction criticism as well as socio-scientific criticism, Leviticus18:22, will be brought to bear with its MCSA’s readings with a view to making a necessary contribution to African biblical hermeneutics.

In recent times, the texts of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 have attracted the attention of Old Testament scholars, clergy and the laity, alike. In my view, such an attention has been inspired by the readers' quest for a possible light that both biblical texts shed on the acceptance and practice of homosexuality among societies. Lately, homosexuality has been one of the topical and burning issues in the present day South Africa. Therefore it does not come as a surprise that interpreting texts such as Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 becomes pertinent in our society. This research aims to explore the inability of MCSA to provide a sound rationale to reject homosexuality. In addition, this study endeavours to establish that acceptance and or rejection of homosexuality as a love relationship cannot be based on Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. Using methodologies such as the literary, textual, canonical and socio-scientific criticism, Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 will be examined, particularly in light of how MCSA read and interpret these texts. This argument is intended to make a necessary contribution to African biblical hermeneutics.

Introduction to the book volume, Christianity and Controversies over Homosexuality in Contemporary Africa (London and New York: Routledge 2016).

This article deals with same-sex marriage from a Biblical Christian perspective. It is not a treatise on homosexuality from either a Biblical or sociological point of view. The article deals with homosexuality, per se, only in as much as is necessary to examine the question of the Biblical Christian stance concerning same-sex marriage. The article starts with a brief overview of the South African civil legal history of same-sex ‘marriage’ partnerships leading up to the current ruling by the Constitutional Court. The debate then starts with the Biblical definition of marriage before mining down to the two main arguments in favour of same-sex marriage and the homosexuality that underpins it – the appeal to the concepts of justice and love. Only then does the focus turn to the Biblical prohibitions concerning homosexual activity. The second part of the article deals briefly with implications for church life, firstly from the perspective of how the church approaches same-sex marriage in general society, and then from the perspective of those within, or seeking to join, the church.

University of Pretoria, 2011

The primary aim of this study is to develop a pastoral response to homosexuality and a strategy for ministering to homosexually orientated people from an African Evangelical perspective. The issue of homosexuality is perceived to be an imported

Stellenbosch University: SUNScholar Research Repository (Master of Theology thesis), 2019

The Pentecostal theological notion of being “born again” stems from the mainstream Evangelical doctrines of “sin,” “salvation” and “baptism in the Holy Spirit” that are inextricably interwoven into the fabric of the Pentecostal church in general. Most theological discourses in Pentecostalism are founded upon these notions. Sexual morality is expected to be grounded on the principle that “marriage is an institution created by God in which one man and one woman enters into an exclusive relationship for life, and that is the only form of partnership approved by God for sexual relations.” This study uses the Grace Bible Church (GBC) in Soweto, a dominantly “black” township west of Johannesburg South Africa, as its case study since the church declared in its Statement of Faith (SoF) that it will only allow persons to become members in the church if they adhere to these heterosexual, monogamous, heteronormative principles. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ) lifestyles are in most general cases pathologized as being a transgression, spiritual deviance among the conservative and fundamentalist Bible-literalist churches, particularly the Pentecostal-Charismatic churches. They are regarded as sinful “unnatural” acts that may result in divine judgement whilst other go as far as asserting that same-sex sexual activities are demonic and “Un-African”. This is mainly because of the widely accepted binarism views and assertions that according to the Bible God created humans as either male or female. This binary view of gender has been largely upheld within the South African religious community while gender diversity has been ignored. People born intersex have been forced to live according to this gender binary. The gender bipartite also problematizes people that are transgender and excludes people that are gender diverse. Gender identity is widely accepted as a person’s private sense of being male, female, both or of the other gender. This may or may not match the biological sex assigned to them at birth. Due to the gender binary that promotes heterosexist theological positions, sermons are preached from the most conservative Christian pulpits with the intention that non-heterosexual members will repent, be ‘delivered’, and transformed by the power of God. Such sermons are viewed by some as being derogatory and discriminatory against members who are of LGBTIQ sexuality. Their argument is based on the premise that these churches do not consider queer members’ lived experiences, but instead insist on a literalist hermeneutical approach on the Bible exegesis and the traditional heteropatriarchal views ascribed to the Biblical worldview. Moreover, such views hold that human sexuality promotes only the heterosexual perspective as a religious and societal norm. Queer persons experience a negative impact from stigmatization and victimization due to patriarchal, heteronormative and cisnormative societies, that is even argued to be dominated by the hegemonic masculine mindset. This study shows that international and South African research has found significant negative effects are caused by exclusion and other forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation and queer gender identity. Sexual orientation-based discrimination presents the same risks of psychological and other harm as discrimination based on race, religion or gender. Notably, among youth who already identify as, or think they may be homosexual or bisexual, research has found that family rejection and exclusion, as well as bullying by peers, correlates highly with a range of high-risk behaviors and outcomes ranging from truancy to substance abuse to attempts at suicide. Much of the evidence shows that this stigmatization leads to deep-seated and widespread prejudice, discrimination and violence in Africa toward those who are not heterosexual. Furthermore, many gay and lesbian people suffer from stress due to ill treatment by a homophobic society, especially when confronted with religious condemnation. Public religious speeches can lead to not only grave psychological, but also social consequences, as such speeches may contain a strong element of humiliation and degradation that may promote corrective rape, bullying and belittlement. Religious homophobic speeches may cause a polarization of society as people unconsciously absorb the hidden agenda that is intended to show that people who do not conform to the heterosexual norm are inferior and should be shunned. Research and observation have found that gay and lesbian people are referred to as “detestable” or “unnatural”, which could constitute religious hate speech. Due to what is believed to be a religiously infused homophobia, the LGBTIQ church members and activists have started protesting their churches. While some leave churches, others choose to remain “in the closet” and celibate so that they may be accepted by the Christian community and participate in church activities. In other instances, some closeted LGBTIQ members in Pentecostal-Charismatic churches are experiencing heightened homonegativity when anti-gay sentiments are uttered. It is therefore, the purpose of this study to investigate issues related to gender, law and theological discourses within the context of a selected Christian denomination –the Grace Bible Church in Johannesburg South Africa. This study is interdisciplinary, since it is positioned within the fields of Christian theology, the sociological concept of human sexuality with a specific interdisciplinary dimension on the intersection between gender, law and religion. The interconnectedness of the notions on gender, law and religion is the foundational basis of this study. This is pertinent since, historically, law and theology have been accepted as the fundamental grounds of the universal notion of the recognition of the inherent dignity of persons, and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family. Such laws form the foundations on liberty, justice and the pursuit of happiness of all members of human family in the world. These laws are also contained in the liberal Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996. The South African Constitution, recognizes and protects, in Chapter 2 Section 9 of its Bill of Rights, the human rights of LGBTIQ persons to not be discriminated against on the ground of their sexual orientation or gender identity. While there appears to be some tension with regard to understanding the Constitution’s definition of religious freedom, churches seem to be generally free to formulate the conditions of their faith and church membership and free from state intrusion and doctrinal entanglement in such matters as relating to faith dictates. Hence this study considers these issues, focusing on human sexuality, theological and legal notions of human dignity, human flourishing, and human rights jurisprudence.

2016

This is an electronic version of an article published in the Journal of Homosexuality, 59:1 (2012), 114–138. Journal of Homosexuality is available online at www.tandfonline.com. The published version of the article can be found at

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 2016