Sexual Ethics - homosexuality Flashcards
key terms
Paternalists – argue for an authority limiting the freedom of a group or individual, e.g. would advocate FGM
Libertarians – argue that, as long as voluntary informed consent is given, sex is permissible
Homosexuality – same sex relationships
Extra-marital sex – sex outside marriage i.e. not your husband/wife
Premarital sex – sex before marriage
Cohabitation – living together with your partner in a sexual relationship
Introduction – Stats which show how social context is changing -homosexuality
- In 1990-1, 1 in 4 men and 28% of women thought that same sex partnerships were ‘not wrong at all’. The figure has increased to half.
homosexuality general
- Celebrities: Elton John and David Furnish, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia etc.
- Relevant dates
o 1533 – HVIII made gay sex punishable by hanging
o 1895 – trial of Oscar Wilde, openly gay public figure. Sentenced to 2 years in prison with hard labour under 1885 act
o 1967 – gay sex decriminalised for men over 21 years and in private
o 1994 – House of Commons voted to reduce gay male age of consent to 18
o 1999 – House of Lords ruled that same sex partners should be treated a family, have right to succeed a tenancy
o 2000 – Gov lifts ban on gay/lesbians serving in the armed forces
o 2001 – age of consent lowered to 16
o 2002 – gay couples can adopt
o 2004 – Civil Partnership Act
o 2005 – first civil partnerships
o 2013 – marriage act, CofE banned from doing services
o 2014 – first gay marriages - 1999 nail-bombing of a gay bar, Soho
o Illustrated the extent of hostility
o Hate crime against LGBTQ+ community - Still no openly gay premier league footballer player
- Gareth Thomas Welsh – rugby player came out as gay
homosexuality and bible
• Fundamental Xians
• Leviticus 18:22 – To lie with a man as to lie with a woman is an abomination
• Leviticus 20:13 – If a man lies with another man as one lies with a woman, they must be put to death
• Gen 19 – story of Sodom and Lot
• Romans 1:24-27 – Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for perversion
• Corinthians 6:9-11 – Neither the sexually immortal nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders will inherit the kingdom of God
• However…
o Lack of context, it is focused on gay sex, not homosexuality as a whole. JC said nothing about it
o Reflect context, Paul was responding to horrors in Corinth, do not see other side of letter
o Homosexual acts in Bible are often about men who are married or are having sex with prostitutes
o Do not talk about relationships between 2 people who are exclusive, don’t mention quality of relationship
o No references to lesbian relationships
homosexuality is wrong because
o Homosexuality is wrong because: ♣ Procreation • Only happens with hetero sex • Important for Xians to ‘go forth and multiply’, Genesis 1 ♣ NL • Homosexual sex is an apparent good • RCC – disordered society, procreation, worship of God (against his nature), education of children (not teaching morality in right way) ♣ Xian marriage • Man and woman, 2 become 1 • Vows are man and wife ♣ Scripture
homosexuality and Ancient Greece
o Pederasty was common – sex between man and prepubescent boy
o Athenia – formal bond between man and adolescent boy
♣ UC wanted to teach the young about cultural values
♣ Loving and sexual relationships
homosexuality and RCC, 2013
o RCC – Pope Francis
♣ 2013, discussed homosexuality with a reporter, ‘who am I to judge?’
• revealed that he used to receive letters from homosexual persons, who are ‘socially wounded’ because they tell me that the feel like the church has always condemned them. But the church does not want to do this. A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. I replied with another question, ‘tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person?’ WE must always consider the person.
homosexuality and RCC, 2014
♣ October Synod, 2014
• Pope wanted the final report to say that the Church accepts and values homosexuals, but this was rejected by 2/3 of the bishops
• Final report:
o The church teaches: ‘no grounds whatsoever exist for assimilating or drawing analogies, however remote, between homosexual unions and God’s design for matrimony and the family’. Nevertheless, men and women with homosexual tendencies should be accepted with respect and sensitivity.
homosexuality and cofe - general
♣ Opposed same sex marriage and requires gay/lesbian clergy in same-sex relationships to remain celibate
♣ Created tensions with Anglican community
♣ Kuala Lumpur Statement on Human Sexuality, 1997
• The ordination of practising homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex unions call into question the authority of the Holy Scripture.
homosexuality and cofe - some issues in human sexuality
♣ Some Issues in Human Sexuality, 2003
• House of Bishops groups noted that CofE remains divided on:
o Whether homosexual relationships can have ethical validity
o Whether it is right to give a blessing to long-term same sex relationships
o Whether practising homosexuals are suitable for ordination
o Whether the normal requirements of heterosexual monogamy are applicable to bisexuals
o Whether a person’s God-given sexual identity is determined by their physical nature or self-perception
homosexuality and cofe - marriage and same sex relationships
♣ Marriage and Same Sex Relationships after the Shared Conversations, 2017
• Reaffirms that marriage is between one man and woman
• It seeks to affirm the place of gay men and lesbian women in the Church
• A minister of the CofE cannot conduct a same-sex marriage although a minister may pray with a couple after a state ceremony
• Clergy in same-sex relationships are expected to remain celibate
• Bishop’s proposal was rejected by General Synod
united methodist church and homosexuality
♣ All people are equal, made imago dei
♣ The United Methodist Church does not condone the practice of homosexuality and considers this practice incompatible with Xian teaching. We affirm that God’s grace is available to all. (…) We implore families and churches not to reject or condemn lesbian and gay members and friends.
nl and homosexuality
o Aquinas mistakenly supposed there was no homosexual behaviour in the natural world (basic premise is thus flawed)
o Any sexual act must be of the ‘generative’ kind if it is to be moral
o Paul Weitham – homosexual acts, like contraception, impede the true purpose of the sex organs, which is to reproduce
o PP
♣ Procreation, need new life through heterosexual sex
♣ Worship God, homosexual sex does not worship God
♣ Ordered society, need order through family structure and homosexual sex can lead to AIDs etc.
♣ Education, not using reason, against nature
positives of NL and homosexuality
+ Unambiguous
+ Augustine, sex is for procreation
+ In line with Bible
+ Ensure procreation continues and family structure is maintained
+ John Finnis, homosexuality is always harmful and degrading, cannot lead to procreation. Using one’s body instrumentally
- But Finnis puts procreation at the centre. If you were to put love/companionship at the centre of marriage instead, there would be no reason to object to homosexual relationships.
negatives of NL and homosexuality general
- Negates wider unifying purpose of sex
- Not applicable to today’s society, 11% follow RCC teachings
- Can lead to homophobia
Doesn’t look at positives of homosexuality inc. adoption, love etc. - RCC view and cofe varies
