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Homosexuality and Christianity (view source)
Revision as of 02:18, July 7, 2009
, 02:18, July 7, 2009→Evangelical Lutheran Church: added Evangelical Presbyterian Church
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) officially holds to a liberal and subjective view regarding Scripture. It states that "God inspired the Bible’s many writers, editors and compilers", the mention of the latter entities indicating that it hold to the revisionary Documentary Source Hypothesis. It also seeks to "interpret Scripture by listening to the living Jesus in the context of the Church". As expressed, this holds that that the writer’s culture or personal experience or [[bias]] may have have resulted in "his missing what God was saying or doing, or that God now is saying or doing something new."<ref>What do Lutherans believe about the Bible?</ref>
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) officially holds to a liberal and subjective view regarding Scripture. It states that "God inspired the Bible’s many writers, editors and compilers", the mention of the latter entities indicating that it hold to the revisionary Documentary Source Hypothesis. It also seeks to "interpret Scripture by listening to the living Jesus in the context of the Church". As expressed, this holds that that the writer’s culture or personal experience or [[bias]] may have have resulted in "his missing what God was saying or doing, or that God now is saying or doing something new."<ref>What do Lutherans believe about the Bible?</ref>
As regards homosexuality, the ELCA affirms "... that gay and lesbian people, as individuals created by God, are welcome to participate fully in the life of the congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America." However, "The ELCA has no policy on the blessing of same-sex unions", and states, "It is the policy of the ELCA that all single rostered people, including those who are homosexual in their self-understanding, are expected to abstain from sexual relationships." <ref>http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/New-or-Returning-to-Church/Dig-Deeper/Homosexuality-and-the-ELCA.aspx</ref>
As regards homosexuality, the ELCA affirms "... that gay and lesbian people, as individuals created by God, are welcome to participate fully in the life of the congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America." However, "The ELCA has no policy on the blessing of same-sex unions", and states, "It is the policy of the ELCA that all single rostered people, including those who are homosexual in their self-understanding, are expected to abstain from sexual relationships." <ref>http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/New-or-Returning-to-Church/Dig-Deeper/Homosexuality-and-the-ELCA.aspx</ref>
===Evangelical Presbyterian Church===
Evangelical Presbyterian Church, a relative new denomination, fromed mainly by souls resisting increasing liberalism among churches, provides rather extensive explanation of their beliefs and positions, with both the Westminster Confession of Faith and ''Essentials of Our Faith'' documenting such.
As regards the Bible, it holds that,
The infallible Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is a complete and unified witness to God's redemptive acts culminating in the incarnation of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks. On this sure foundation we affirm these additional Essentials of our faith...set forth in greater detail in the Westminster Confession of Faith.<ref>[http://www.epc.org/about-the-epc/beliefs/westminster-confession Westminster Confession of Faith]</ref>
As regards homosexual practices, its Position Paper on Homosexuality states (compiled),
...the conviction of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church is that 1) homosexuality is a sin; and 2) God forgives repentant sinners.
...homosexual practice is a distortion of the image of God as it is still reflected in fallen man, and a perversion of the sexual relationship as God intended it to be.
We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the infallible Word of God, the final authority on all issues to which it speaks. Therefore sexual attitudes and behaviors are to be judged in the light of the Bible, rather than the Bible being reinterpreted, modified or overturned by current cultural trends in thought and behavior.
Even some Christian churches and their leaders are granting moral legitimacy to homosexuality. The prevailing ethic in the minds of many has become a “genetically-based morality.”...The EPC finds such moral logic to be significantly flawed....The EPC asserts that God’s law alone as revealed in the holy Scriptures is to be our basis for morality. We reject attempts to base morality on scientific study. The Bible teaches that since the fall of man, mankind has been born with a sinful nature. The Bible teaches that greed, lust, envy strife, etc., are characteristic of fallen man, and in that sense are our orientation from birth. But while they may be our natural orientation, they are still sin. Simply put, the Old and New Testaments consistently condemn homosexual practice and repeatedly affirm that God forgives the repentant sinner.<ref>[http://www.epc.org/about-the-epc/position-papers/homosexuality/ Position Paper on Homosexuality]</ref>
===Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod===
===Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod===