Homosexuality: Reaction in Black Churches
JAMII 5:41 PM
Homosexual behavior is a fault line splitting Christian denominations in two — Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics — there's even a wide gulf between young and old Evangelicals. But nowhere is this question more fraught than in African-American churches, says Tony Evans. He pastors the 9,000-member Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas. One reason, he says, is cultural.
"The breakdown of the family is the single greatest challenge that we face today," he says.
Evans and others say the black family is in crisis — a majority of babies, for example, are born to single mothers — and that's why black ministers are often the most vocal opponents of same-sex marriage. Asked about the argument that this is a civil rights issue, Evans bristles.
"The issue of race is not an issue of choice. It's an issue of birth," he says.
Does that mean that homosexuality is a choice?
"The Bible is clear on that one, too. And that is, sexual relationships are to be between men and women within the context of marriage," Evans says. "That's not only related to the issue of homosexuality, but adultery, or fornication or bestiality. All of that is proscribed in the Bible."
Envisioning God's Kingdom
Graylan Hagler, the pastor of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in Washington, D.C., says "of course it's a civil rights issue."
Hagler notes that there are plenty of blacks who are gay, and they, too, should have access to the God-given institution of marriage. To him, legitimizing marriage for committed gay couples is precisely what the Bible envisioned.
"I just think of the words from Galatians where it says, 'There is neither Greek nor Jew, male nor female, slave nor free,' " he says. "And what is happening there is that they're pointing to what the kingdom of God looks like ... it's open to everybody and everybody has equal status."
Of course, conservatives say that the best blueprint for God's kingdom on earth does not spring from what you read between the lines of the Bible, but what you read in black and white.
"The breakdown of the family is the single greatest challenge that we face today," he says.
Evans and others say the black family is in crisis — a majority of babies, for example, are born to single mothers — and that's why black ministers are often the most vocal opponents of same-sex marriage. Asked about the argument that this is a civil rights issue, Evans bristles.
"The issue of race is not an issue of choice. It's an issue of birth," he says.
Does that mean that homosexuality is a choice?
"The Bible is clear on that one, too. And that is, sexual relationships are to be between men and women within the context of marriage," Evans says. "That's not only related to the issue of homosexuality, but adultery, or fornication or bestiality. All of that is proscribed in the Bible."
Envisioning God's Kingdom
Graylan Hagler, the pastor of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in Washington, D.C., says "of course it's a civil rights issue."
Hagler notes that there are plenty of blacks who are gay, and they, too, should have access to the God-given institution of marriage. To him, legitimizing marriage for committed gay couples is precisely what the Bible envisioned.
"I just think of the words from Galatians where it says, 'There is neither Greek nor Jew, male nor female, slave nor free,' " he says. "And what is happening there is that they're pointing to what the kingdom of God looks like ... it's open to everybody and everybody has equal status."
Of course, conservatives say that the best blueprint for God's kingdom on earth does not spring from what you read between the lines of the Bible, but what you read in black and white.
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