| Primary focus needs to be on marriage, not sexuality BY TEX SAMPLE The case of Bishop Gene Robinson of the Episcopal Church raises the issue of whether a bishop engaged in a homosexual relationship ought to be confirmed. I contend that on a matter of this kind, the primary focus of the church needs to be on marriage, and in this case, homosexual marriage. Lets look at this question in terms of Scripture and the tradition of the church. The term homosexuality as we understand it today appears nowhere in Scripture. In fact, the word was not coined until the 19th century. Moreover, there is no evidence that the Scripture addresses the matter of sexual orientation as that characteristic is now understood. In Scripture, the attention is given to same-sex practices. It is a minor concern and appears in only five passages. (I exclude two passages on same-sex rape. Rape of any kind is wrong.) Biblical scholars hotly contest all of these passages. Two passages in the Hebrew Scriptures prohibit same-sex practices. These passages, in Leviticus 18 and 20, are known as the Holiness Code. There is little question that a good deal of the Holiness Code has been surpassed and transformed by the teaching of Jesus and the New Testament church. In the New Testament, three passages cast same-sex practices in a negative light. 1 Corinthians 6:9 names two groups that will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Two Greek words are used for these groups, and their translation is a matter of contention among New Testament scholars. One of the words, malakoi, means soft and effeminate, morally and in other ways. The translation of the other word, arsenokoitai, is highly contested. This word is also used in 1 Timothy 1:10. Some claim that it refers to an active or superior man engaging in intercourse with a passive, inferior one. Others maintain that it is a reference to same-sex prostitution. Still other studies suggest that the acts cited in these passages involve some kind of economic exploitation, and so on. In none of these cases can one move to a blanket condemnation of all same-sex practices. The most important text is Romans 1:24-27. Here, Paul is addressing the idolatry of Gentiles. In this idolatry, God gives these Gentiles up to degrading passions expressed in same-sex relations by both men and women. The same-sex practices in this passage result from idolatry. To be sure, sexual practices growing out of idolatry should be condemned, whether they are homosexual or heterosexual. In short, all of the references to same-sex activity in Scripture are negative. It is not condoned anywhere. Yet, each passage either occurs in a biblical context that has been surpassed and transformed (the Holiness Code), or it addresses specific instances that cant be generalized. To address Christian homosexual marriage, one must look at the tradition of the church. St. Augustine is the major figure in the churchs teachings on marriage. For him, marriage is an office, a duty in which one serves the church and the larger society. He sees marriage serving three purposes. - Raising children for the Kingdom of God.
- Enabling couples to learn faithfulness to each other and to God.
- Fulfilling a sacramental end, in which Augustine emphasizes that marriage cannot be dissolved.
The point is that marriage in the Christian tradition serves a number of purposes. What is striking is that all of these ends can be met by homosexual marriages, even the procreative end when the procreative end is understood as raising children for the Kingdom of God. On these grounds, it is appropriate for gay and lesbian Christians to be married in the church, and it is not in violation of Scripture or tradition. Biblical teaching does not address a host of same-sex practices, among them homosexual marriage. Moreover, the ends of marriage as understood in the tradition of the church are ends that homosexual marriage can fulfill. So the issue in the confirmation of a bishop in a homosexual relationship is not whether he or she is gay, nor even whether he or she is a practicing homosexual. The question is: Is he or she married to this partner, and if so, does this marriage meet these ends? The Rev. Tex Sample is the Robert B. and Kathleen Rogers emeritus professor of church and society at Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Mo. In this commentary, he is indebted to the work of Daniel M. Bell Jr. | 
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