Reflections on Singleness and Sexuality
A few weeks ago my colleague, Dr. Rhys Bezzant, delivered a powerful and moving sermon about singleness and sexuality from the perspective of a same-sex attracted man.
Irrespective of where you sit on a theological spectrum, you’ll find his reflections encouraging and challenging. Not only is Rhys’s own testimony powerful, but his exposition of Mt 19:1-12 and 1 Cor 7:17-24 is genuinely insightful.
I do need to provide a very, very important caveat. Because Rhys does mention the word “celibacy” in relation to LGBT+ persons, if you live in the Australian State of Victoria, you can be potentially prosecuted for sharing this sermon with others. Ministers of religion delivering sermons on sexuality are immune from prosecution, but sharing them with others is now a grey area because if someone regards the content as potentially suppressing their sexual orientation they can make a legal complaint against you and proceedings can thereafter follow. It is a bit murky, the new law is yet to be legally tested, and there are lots of gray areas. See this interview with Ro Allen to see what I mean.
I see Colton Underwood is now engaged, to a man. I wonder how Dr Bezzant would react if Colton arrived at his church with his fiance, wanting to take part in the church but refusing to be celibate. The apostle Paul it seems refused to tolerate what was considered to be sexual sin and insisted the individual be thrown out of the fellowship. Should 'conservative' churches do the same where the individual makes their sexual behaviour obvious ?