Homosexual and Heterosexual

The words 'homosexual' and 'heterosexual' refer to mutual sexual attraction between persons of the same sex and the opposite sex respectively. These words were originally adjectives; now they are very often used also as nouns, a usage which the Core Group regrets, since it may imply that this is the most important fact about a person's identity. The word 'gay' was chosen by homosexual persons to describe themselves in the 1960s, as a positive adjective in place of the earlier use of 'queer'. Originally 'gay' was applied to both men and women; more recently it has been applied to men, and the older term 'lesbian' (based on descriptions in the poetry of Sappho from Lesbos in ancient Greece) is used exclusively for homosexual women. The term 'bisexual' refers to someone who is sexually attracted to persons of both sexes.

'Sexuality' was originally defined narrowly as a general description of sexual behaviour (and this narrow sense is used in many Anglican documents, particularly the statement and resolutions of the 1998 Lambeth Conference). However, today it is usually used more broadly to describe the whole way of reacting to the world as a male or female. As such it reflects attitudes which are as much conditioned by society and culture as by biology, if not more so. This latter sense is the one in which it has been used in the discussions within the United Reformed Church since 1993.

A 'sexual relationship' refers to intimate sexual contact between two people involving either penetrative sexual intercourse or mutual genital stimulation. From such a point of view the term 'active sexual relationship' is tautologous, since sexual relationships have been defined as 'active'; but this is also the sense in which the word 'practice' is used with 'homosexual' or 'heterosexual' as an adjective. It should be noted that the words 'active' and 'passive' are also often used to denote respectively the partner who takes the initiative in intercourse and the one who responds.

A distinction is often made between 'sexual orientation' and 'sexual practice'. In this case 'orientation' refers to inclinations and attitudes without the expression of these inclinations and attitudes in sexual activity. 'Sexual practice' refers to sexual intimacy, as described above. Some have argued that this distinction is artificial: in the view of the Core Group and several other Churches to whom we have talked, this distinction is vital. This would be particularly so if we were considering the position of bisexual persons, since in our view, if a bisexual orientation were to lead to simultaneous homosexual and heterosexual relationships, this would necessarily involve being unfaithful to one or more partners. 'Abstinence' refers to the deliberate refraining from particular acts or activities. 'Celibacy' refers to a vocation to live a single life in which one's sexuality is fulfilled in other ways than by sexual activity or relationships.

Bibliography

Augustine "On the Good of Marriage", in collections of Augustine's works Classic treatment by an influential Christian theologian

Jack Babuscio "We speak for ourselves" SPCK Case histories showing how lesbians and gay men view themselves

Karl Barth "Church Dogmatics", vol III/4, para. 54 T&T Clark 1961 Important discussion from a significant theologian of the 20th century

Mark Bonington and Bob Fyall "The Bible and Homosexuality" Grove Biblical Booklet no.1 Conservative treatment of biblical texts and perspectives, co-authored by a URC minister

T Bradshaw (Ed) "The Way Forward" H&S 1997 A range of Anglican writers respond to the evangelical St Andrew's Day Statement

Alan Brash "Facing our Differences" WCC Risk 1995 Senior ecumenical figure reflects on pastoral experiences

Robert L Brawley "Biblical Ethics and Homosexuality" Westminster John Knox Press 1996 Study material used in Presbyterian Church (USA) discussions

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