Sexuality in the church

Sexuality
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Sexuality is a subject that has been intensely debated from the early ages of the church. It is a contentious issue in religion particularly today when people’s attitudes and values have drastically changed. Many humans across the world view sexuality through diverse angles and it has been a challenge for the church to take a firm position on specific issues of sexuality such as same-sex marriage and transgender people. Sexuality continues to be divisive in Christianity with many followers taking up different positions on the subject. The church now faces the problem of responding to the moral breakdown prevalent in the world today. It is critical for the church to discuss sexuality because it is a subject that comes up everywhere from school, colleges, homes, churches, and workplaces. This paper will examine the issue of sexuality to the church and will consider it within the context of tradition, reason, and experience.[. Foucault, M. (2019). The history of sexuality: 1: the will to knowledge]
Sexuality in the church
The church’s views on sexuality are based on divine revelation found in the Bible. The spiritual book lays down the divine standards about sexuality which humans must follow to gain God’s approval. The Bible promotes sexual morality where it expects Christians to follow a clean and holy life free from sexually degrading practices. From the beginning, God created males and females that is Adam and Eve. God meant for humans to have a satisfying sexual experience within the confines of marriage. So, the church must preach to its followers the significance of staying sexually moral in marriage. Sexuality is a sacred concept in the Bible as the book gives examples of instances where people were punished because of sexual immorality. Three examples illustrate why sexual immorality is a grave concern for the church.[. West, K. (2016). Embracing Sexuality and the Church.]
First, the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah suffered divine destruction due to sexual depravity. The cities were renowned for the high incidences of homosexuality as a result they were punished by God due to these immoral acts. Sodom and Gomorrah have even become metaphors to describe sexually immoral acts such as homosexuality. A second example in the Bible is Noah’s flood where divine intervention cleansed sexually immoral people in that world. During that period, angels materialized into fleshly bodies and had sexual intercourse with women on earth. This was an unnatural conception and was against God’s standards of sexuality. The children born called the “Nephilim” became giant beings with very violent tendencies. Due to the sexual breakdown of Noah’s day, God used a global flood to sweep away immoral humans. The third example is King David who committed adultery. He saw and coveted somebody’s wife and due to intense passion, he later had sexual intercourse with the woman. This broke God’s divine law on marriage and he was punished for his sexual immorality. These three examples from the Bible provide ample evidence of why churches should preserve the sanctity of sexuality. They show that sexual immorality in God’s eyes is a grave sin which in some cases is punishable by death.[. Peterson, B. N. (2016). What was the Sin of Sodom: Homosexuality, Inhospitality, or Something Else? Reading Genesis 19 as Torah.] [. Schweitzer, S. (2018). Biblical perspectives on sexuality. Vision: A Journal for Church and Theology, 19(1), 13-24.]
The church also views sexuality as a means to further God’s purpose of filling the earth. It offers a means for a man and his wife to procreate and start a family. God values families and it is the role of the church to help families to have biblical views about sexuality. However, churchgoers continue to be influenced by today’s moral decay. The church must remove members who engage in fornication, adultery, or homosexuality. This is in line with preserving pure worship in the church since God says sexually immoral people should not be found in the congregation.[. Schweitzer, S. (2018). Biblical perspectives on sexuality. Vision: A Journal for Church and Theology, 19(1), 13-24.]
The Ten Commandments found in Exodus and Deuteronomy form the basis of sexual education for the church. Examining the history of the Catholic Church shows that the Ten Commandments helped in the writing of ancient church manuscripts. They were the foundation for Christian education and so it is significant that two of the commandments cover the issue of sexuality. The sixth commandment warns against committing adultery which is a grave sin in marriage while the ninth commandment warns against covetousness where one desires their neighbor’s wife. Such commandments have laid the foundation for the modern church’s views on sexuality. So based on these arguments, it is evident that the church can only gain God’s approval if it maintains sexual morality. Any acts which go contrary to the purpose of sexuality alienates the church from God.[. Desplenter, Y., Pieters, J., & Melion, W. (2017). The Ten Commandments in Medieval and Early Modern Culture. Brill.]
Jesus' ministry on earth also provides the church with a solid foundation on sexuality. Jesus is the father of Christianity and many of today’s teachings are based on his preaching campaign. Jesus condemned any person who committed sexually immoral acts and even mentioned that they will not be part of God’s Kingdom. Jesus stated that the church should be free from homosexuals, adulterers, and fornicators. He mentioned these sexual sins within the context of murder showing the gravity of sexual immorality. Jesus' views on sexuality are best expressed in Mathew 19: 1-12 where he talks about divorce in marriage. He states that a man must stick to his wife because they are one flesh and it is God who has brought them together. Jesus then says “Whoever divorces his wife, except on the grounds of sexual immorality, and marries another ...