Homosexuality and Pass the SALT: There was a time when Presbyterians didn’t tolerate musical instruments, choirs, or crosses in church. Nor did they tolerate divorced people (ordained or otherwise) or the ordination of women. Not so, anymore. Beginning in 1969 (the year following its decriminalization) the Presbyterian Church in Canada has discussed and reported on various aspects of homosexuality. Its discussions have, by and large, been related to acceptance of homosexuals, although more especially their ordination. Across the years it has proclaimed moratoria on the subject, then allowed its reintroduction. Most recently, the 141st General Assembly gave Canadian Presbyterians a year (2015/2016) for study and prayer regarding human sexuality. All manner of materials have been provided to expedite this, among individual members and the courts of the church. Then what?
Across history, the “curse of Ham” story in Genesis 9:20-27 has been used by members of the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic religions, to justify racism and the enslavement of people of African ancestry. This appears to have been dropped by the wayside, at least by a majority of Canadian Presbyterians. The passage in 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 created a major stumbling block to the ordination of women, despite its being an apparent contradiction of what Paul wrote earlier, in 1 Corinthians 11:5 about women praying and prophesying. But most Canadian Presbyterians seem to have found a way around this impediment. Also, in 1 Corinthians 11:5 and throughout the next several verses, women are told to cover their heads in church. This, too, has dropped by the wayside.
Genesis 1:27 says: “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Does this include those born with physical and mental differences that set then apart from what is considered to be “the norm?” Likewise those whose skin pigmentation or ethnic traditions, etc., differ from what some might consider “normal?” Along with these, the church needs to consider if homosexuals, in all quadrants of that spectrum, are part of humankind, created by God, in His image. If not, are they to be considered an aberration, to be shunned, cast aside and made unwelcome among Presbyterians?
PSALT claims to have been “born as Presbyterians around the country felt the need to respond to a well-orchestrated lobby, first online and then in the courts of the church, which aimed at taking the church in a direction away from its traditional understanding of biblical sexual ethics, and toward the affirmation of homosexual practice, now commonplace in our culture.” Sadly PSALT is several years too late. Calling an apparent movement toward “full inclusion” of homosexuals and homosexuality a “well-orchestrated lobby” could be flying in the face of a movement of the Holy Spirit. A 2012 poll suggested that five per cent of the Canadian population consider themselves homosexual, while 1.9 per cent of Canada’s 25 million people consider themselves Presbyterian. Do the maths and, numerically speaking, and with all due respect, there seems insufficient capacity for Presbyterian homosexuals and their likely equally thin on the ground, liberal minded, heterosexual supporters to mount a “well orchestrated” anything. This is an issue that is not about to just go away. Quite simply, Presbyterians need to decide whither or not homosexuality is a sin as they see it in the eyes of God.
Robert C. Campbell, Toronto
