Orthodoxy & Homosexuality
I was listening to talk radio recently and heard about Fred Phelps and his “Baptist” Church that sponsors the “God Hates Fags” ministry. Apparently they had picketed the funeral of a soldier killed in Afghanistan claiming that America’s soldiers are dying because of America’s general acceptance of gays. The family of the soldier is suing the Phelps’ ministry. Terry Mattingly, an Orthodox religion writer, recently wrote an editorial about Fred Phelp’s “Church”
Homosexuality is one of the issues that not only divides Christians from non-Christians, but Christians from Christians. It seems every mainline denomination in America is debating the nature of homosexuality and the place of homosexuals inside and outside the boundaries of their Churches and ministries. Does God “hate fags”? Does God affirm them? Are they by nature sinners? Are they by nature homosexual? Can homosexuality be cured? Does it need to be? These are the questions whose answers will depend on a particular view of the nature of the human being, sin, God and sexuality.
The Orthodox view of homosexuality is grounded in scripture and in the Church’s understanding of “salvation” which is the healing of the human being. Below are two recent resources on the topic that our listeners might find helpful as introductions to the Orthodox Church’s view of homosexuality.
The first is a post on my blog. This is the text of an article I wrote for AGAIN magazine on “same sex attraction”. I’d encourage you to read the article and the comments and discussion that follow. Click HERE and it will take you to the article.
The second resource is a book written by Father Tom Hopko called Christian Faith And Same Sex Attraction: Eastern Orthodox Reflections. Fr. Tom draws on the spirituality of the Church and the centrality of the Gospel in forming an Orthodox perspective on homosexuality. The book is available from Amazon and if you go to our website’s Amazon search box and type in “Tom Hopko, Same Sex Attraction” you will be taken to a link where you can purchase the book.
Feel free to email me if you have any questions or comments on the blog. -Steve