Gender and Sexuality

Issues in Christian Beliefs

Presented Kristina Larson
by: Emily Fletcher
Ryan Holmquist
 Historical Background
Behind Current Gender
Dynamic & Homosexuality
 Women in ancient Israel,
through time of Christ
Restricted, with no positions of authority

Stay at home, don’t talk to strangers, wear double veil

Inferior to men, forced to obey them

Excluded from worship and teachings

Women during the time of
Christ
Jesus’ teachings regarding women were revolutionary
for the time period

Preached with a lot more equality for women: taught

them, spoke with them, allowed them to follow him
 After Jesus
Situation for women slowly digressed to the way it
was prior to Jesus

Some theologians believe parts of the Bible was

forged to reflect these more “societal views” of
gender norms

Quotes of prominent leaders are negative towards

women
 Reasoning
Guilt of Eve – women are responsible for the sin in
the world, for the condemnation of the world
Women are temptresses, the reason behind sexual sin
Men are perfect, women are defective, made for men,
only to be used for childbirth
Like all indigenous peoples, the Jews were not overly
concerned about male homosexuality, where two men lived
together in a monogamous, sexual relationship. As a rule, it
did not get any notice....The Talmud does not record a single
instance of a person being brought before the Sanhedrin on
the charge of homosexual activity.”
-Rabbi Gershon Caudill
 Same-sex encounters in
Ancient Israel
-Armies would use anal rape to humiliate the men they
defeated (this was not consensual)

-Same-sex intercourse and orgies by male prostitutes in

Pagan temples (Hebrew law condemned this)

-Sex viewed as an activity between a dominant and a

passive person – men being in a submissive position (as
in same-sex intercourse) puts men in a woman’s position
and is frowned upon

-Men in the Roman Empire often kept boy prostitutes

“Be fruitful and multiply” --couples encouraged to
procreate

-People did not believe in an afterlife-- the only

way for their line to live on was through their
children

-Israel was often under attack by other countries,

so they also valued having a large army-- higher the
population, the larger the army--heterosexual
couples were more valued because they could
reproduce
Taking a Look at the Bible
 The Bible
-The Bible is a collection of sacred scripture of both Judaism
and Christianity. Different denominations have their
own/preferred translations

-The Christian Bible is made up of 2 different books - The Old

Testament and The New Testament. The Old Testament is
made up of 39 smaller books. The New Testament is made up
of 27. All of these books are divided into chapters and each
chapter contains many different verses.

-Interesting point: The Bible is the best-selling book in history

with approximate sales estimates ranging in the billions
 Gender/marriage roles
-Deuteronomy 22:5 – “A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear
women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.”

-Timothy 2:11-12 – “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I

do not permit a
woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.”

-Ephesians 5:22-33 – “Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you

do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of
the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to
Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.”
-Submit ≠ Obedience
-A wife’s duty includes: love, respect, assistance, purity, submissiveness,
development of a gentle and quiet spirit, and being a good mother/caretaker
of the home.
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the
church and gave himself up for her to make her holy,
cleansing her by the washing with water through the
word, and to present her to himself as a radiant
church, without stain or wrinkle or any other
blemish, but holy and blameless”.

The husband is the head of the wife and family.

He must fulfill the family’s spiritual and domestic

needs, love and protect his wife,
remain faithful to the marriage, and show
appreciation and understanding.

“However, each one of you also must love his wife as

he loves himself, and the wife must respect her
husband.”
-Husbands and wives are supposed to
complement one another. Like peanut butter and
jelly.
 Homosexuality
Leviticus 18:22 - "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman, that is
detestable.”
Homosexuality is a disgraceful offense to God.
Some Christians believe this no longer applies, because it is part of the
Old Testament.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 - “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the
kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor
idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor
thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit
the kingdom of God.”
Interesting… This original passage only refers to “male” prostitutes.
Sodom and Gomorrah! – The Emily Fletcher version! Please refer to Genesis
for the real deal.
John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Denominational Differences
Introduction to Denominations
Denomination: A religious body originating as a
Christian movement or sect and generally classified as
a Christian body regardless of its doctrinal orthodoxy.

Why are there so many denominations?

What qualifies as a Christian church? What do

different denominations hold about others?
Mormons? Jehovah's Witnesses?
-Each denomination is a separate Christian
church that, for the most part, agree on who
Christ is, but have differing views on doctrine,
emphasis on certain aspects of God or different
traditions, as well as interpretation
-Mormonism/LDS (revelation of Joseph Smith
in America in the 1800’s, added another
scripture, questions of authenticity are
common) and Witnesses (believe that we are
living in end times since 1914, theological
differences like no Trinity, etc, beliefs that are
core to mainstream Christianity are changed)
believe they are Christian, but commonly
refuted
-All these denominations are included
under Christianity in the census
 History of Denominations
The Great Schism of 1054
Broke Christianity into two parts
Eastern (Greek) and Western (Latin), which later became Eastern
Orthodox and Roman Catholic, respectively.
-Each belivies they are the single, Christian, holy church.
-Both are similar, but there are a few differences in
practice and leadership, notably the Catholic Pope (who is a direct
descendant of St. Peter), and regional bishops in the Orthodox
church.
Reformation
-Established Protestantism in the 16th century as a reaction to
Catholic practices that were disagreed with, such as indulgences and
hierarchy
-Martin Luther, a German monk, led the Protestant Reformation
Current denominations/movements
History of Denominations
History of Denominations
Protestant timeline since the Reformation
 United Church of Christ
Basics of the UCC
Pluralistic; takes a liberal stance
on social issues such as gay
rights and women’s rights

Video

Theology
“God Is Still Speaking”, “Don’t
Put a Period Where God Put a
Comma”
 -Take a reformed stance, but not nearly as
conservative as other reformed
churches
-Pluralistic; takes a liberal stance on social
issues, like gay rights and women’s
rights

-Carri is actively serving at one in Duluth

-Barack Obama has been a member

“God is still speaking”, “Don’t put a period

where God put a comma”
-In other words, UCC believes that the
Bible isn’t a means to an end and that
times have changed; we should be
interpreting it to our progressively pluralistic
society
-UCC believes that the Bible should be read in
a way that gives the reader an open mind to
others, instead of closing off and tears people
apart
Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America
Basics of the ELCA

Changes to social
statement in 2009: Gay
pastors
Led to disputes, many
left ELCA congregations
-It is a synod (basically, a separate
denomination) of the Lutheran branch
-Seventh largest religious body in the
States, and largest Lutheran synod.
-Have traditionally always allowed
women to serve as pastors or deaconesses

-Changes to statement in August 2009:

-This lead many to leave their ELCA
congregations in search of churches of different
synods. Some churches are still experiencing
the hurt in loss of membership, some have even
died off.
-It begins, obviously, with the belief that
homosexuality is a sin, out of a timeless,
inerrant view of the Bible that strictly states
this. To opponents of this ruling, open
homosexuality implies that one acknowledges
this sinful nature and refuses to repent of it, and
instead holds it as a valued part of their
identity. Then, when a gay pastor is ordained
and leads, the teaching reflects this unrepentant
and un-Biblical belief.
 Acts 29 Network
Basics
Name: Only 28 chapters in Acts

Complementarianism: theological view that men and

women have different but complementary roles and
responsibilities

From the Acts 29 doctrine page:

“We are not egalitarians and do believe that men should
head their homes and male elders/pastors should lead
their churches with masculine love like Jesus Christ.”
-Founded by Pastor Mark Driscoll of the Mars
Hill Church in Seattle
-Part of the Reformation branch,
tends to be more radical and conservative.
-Reformed churches as a whole have
Calvinist doctrine (predestination: God saves
the elect) and is very missional/Evangelical
(meaning, seeks to spread the Gospel to the
world, start more churches)
-Name: There are only 28 chapters in
the Book of Acts, so it’s their way of saying
that God is still building His church and
expanding His Kingdom through the use of the
Gospel
 Catholicism
Basics

Catholicism has doctrine and dogma

that is seen as unnecessary by most
other mainstream Christian churches
The Pope
Papal Infallibility

Pope Benedict XVI on HIV/AIDS

and condoms

Priests and sexual abuse

-Roman Catholicism is the largest denomination in the world
-Separate from the Protestant denominations and movements previously
covered
-Penance, intercessory prayer through saints; even smaller issues like
transubstantiation of the eucharist (also known by Protestants as communion). Priest
celibacy as well, pertains to this class
-Unique in that it is lead by a Pope who is believed to be infallible with the
guidance of the Holy Spirit; common misconception is that he’s worshiped or prayed
to
- Pope Benedict XVI (the sixteenth) has issued statements about slowing the spread of HIV/AIDS, ways to do so being chastity,
fidelity in marriage and anti poverty efforts, and he rejected the use of condoms

-Pope’s statement on condoms/Africa/AIDS: “I would say that this problem of AIDS cannot be overcome
merely with money, necessary though it is. If there is no human dimension, if Africans do not help, the problem cannot be overcome
by the distribution of prophylactics: on the contrary, they increase it. The solution must have two elements: firstly, bringing out the
human dimension of sexuality, that is to say a spiritual and human renewal that would bring with it a new way of behaving towards
others, and secondly, true friendship offered above all to those who are suffering, a willingness to make sacrifices and to practise self-
denial, to be alongside the suffering.”
-Basically, condoms encourage sex when abstinence and remaining faithfully sexual to one is more suitable

-Beginning mid-1980’s, media started giving more attention to cases of priests

sexually abusing children
-In defense of the Catholic church and to combat the “pedophile priest”
image that media began to create, a professor at Penn State named Philip Jenkins
stated that the media over-emphasised the sex abuse in the Catholic church, noting
several hundred similar cases in non-Catholic churches.
Westboro Baptist Church
Independent Baptist church
from Topeka, Kansas

Extreme views against

homosexuality

Disowned daughter
Video
-Independent Baptist church based in Topeka, Kansas
-Founded by Fred Phelps
-Known for extreme views against homosexuality. They
believe that God hates gays and furthermore America as a
whole, because of it’s acceptance of homosexuality. They have
picketed many funerals of troops that have been fighting in the
war, an appliance store because it sold Swedish vacuums, and a
memorial of the 2006 Sago mine disaster, all tying back to
homosexuality in one way or another.
-Nobody can be a part of the church if they don’t agree
with the belief of God’s hatred towards gays.
-2:07-3:29
-Lauren, from the video, was kicked out of the church and
disowned by her family. Later, she gets emotional and wishes
she was a part of her family again, even if they believe
something she doesn’t.
 Sources

http://home.earthlink.net/~ecorebbe/id3.html
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_bibi1.htm
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_bibh2.htm
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/ChristianityBranches.svg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox_Church
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East%E2%80%93West_Schism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_church_of_christ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-zLzwo7QV4&feature=related
http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/denominations/comparison_charts.htm
"A Biblical Guide To Orthodoxy And Heresy Part One: The Case For Doctrinal Discernment" (an article
from the Christian Research Journal, Summer 1990, page 28) by Robert M. Bowman.
http://www.usccb.org/nrb/johnjaystudy/litreview.pdf
www.vatican.va
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4081276.stm
http://www.acts29network.org/about/doctrine/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complementarianism
http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/Social-Issues/Social-Statements/JTF-Human-Sexuality.aspx
http://www.ucc.org/beliefs/theology/dunkirk-colloquy-2000.html