Resources re the Homosexual Issue in the UCA
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A search of the Internet at the present time reveals a large amount of material regarding homosexuality and ministry. Most of it is aimed at persuading Christians that homosexual orientation and practice is a normal variant of human lifestyle, that the Bible doesn't say what it obviously seems to say, that as a matter of justice and inclusiveness practising homosexual persons should be welcomed into positions of leadership in the Christian church - after all, they have many gifts and much to offer.
The following links seek to give balance as we give further consideration to the issue in the UCA. Links to two Assembly documents are included, but, in general, the aim here is to provide access to balanced and well-researched material which disagrees with the prevailing pro-homosexual ethos and provides support to the traditional orthodox view which the clear majority of UCA members continue to uphold.
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• Queensland Special Synod Resolutions passed November 2003
• Uniting Sexuality and Faith - final report of sexuality task group, 1997
• Correspondence between Peter Blackburn and Gregor Henderson after the Eighth Assembly, 1997, in Perth.
• Caught in the Messy Middle - a reflection by Peter Blackburn on Resolution 84 as passed on 5 July 2003 by Tenth Assembly and later amended by Assembly Standing Committee.
• Homosexuality and Ministry in the Uniting Church by David Beswick. What happened at Assembly 2003. For other pertinent papers by David Beswick, go to Issues in the Uniting Church in Australia.
• Revelation and Homosexual Experience by Wolfhart Pannenberg
• Homosexual Partnerships? from Issues Facing Christians Today. A major appraisal of contemporary social and moral questions by John R W Stott
• The Sexuality Research of Alfred C Kinsey Introduction to Kinsey, Sex and Fraud. The Indoctrination of a People edited by John H Court & J Gordon Muir
• Should the Presbyterian Church ordain practising homosexuals? a statement by Presbyterian AFFIRM, a network for Action, Faith, Fellowship, Intercession and Mission within the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand.
• Homosexuality and Hope a recent article from the Catholic Medical Association (USA), April 2002
• The American Anglican Council. Articles, Theological Papers, etc.
• Homosexuality and the Bible by Prof. B.L. Mauser, Princeton Theological Seminary - based on a presentation in September 1994 at a dialogue with Walter Wink on the issue of the ordination of homosexual persons and on further reflection on issues raised in the debate.
• Science and Sexuality, by Neil Whitehead, a submission to the Anglican Commission on Sex and Gender Issues, July 1995
• Evangelical Members within the UCA Website has several other useful papers and links.