This chapter overviews the attu of Alpha and exam the ttimoni of a number of gay people who have experienced the urse first hand and, as might
Contents:
GAY AND LBIAN HUMANIST
An article om Gay and Lbian Humanist magaze on the spread of the Alpha urse on Brish universy mp. * alpha course gay *
The book is tend to answer the seven most mon qutns raised on the Alpha urse and clus a chapter on homosexualy.
So I wanted to e this as a way to lookg how the current Evangelil wg of the Church of England treats homosexualy. Gumbel starts om the prcipl that the only permissible sexual activy is wh marriage and that the Bible nmns homosexual activy.
He therefore argu that all homosexual activy is sful, though hes keen to strs that a homosexual orientatn self isnt sful. In a discsn of the of homosexual orientatn, he accepts that: Whether the basis is blogil or social, most s homosexually orientated people are the product of forc over which they have ltle or no ntrol, certaly the early stag. However Even if there is a scientific basis, do not mean that is Gods will. Geic ndng produc good thgs, such as the wonrful diversy o human begs, but also bad thgs like ngenal disease. He se chang orientatn as unual, but possible: otherwise, gay people are lled to a life of celibacy.
MORE SCHOOLS NNG ‘ANTI-GAY’ CHRISTIAN CRASH-URS
Increasg numbers of schools are optg to n a youth versn of the Alpha urse, has been reported. The adult ten-week evangelil urs act as an troductn to Christiany but have been cricised for beg anti-gay and manipulative. * alpha course gay *
Gumbel dont e across as homophobic (although some of his ments n undoubtedly be seen as offensive). Gumbel discs harmful effects of promiscuy (psychologil problems, AIDS etc) there; theres no suggtn that a gay liftyle is self harmful, formerly a mon allegatn. What has gone, therefore, Gumbels approach is the non-Scriptural, ratnal reasons for nmng homosexual acts.
You nt have gay sex bee God disapprov, and there is no other reason. Bee hes hont enough to adm that chang orientatn are rare, he nt offer real hope for gays, jt a lifetime of stggle.
In a morn world which most people will know some gays or a gay uple, is creasgly hard to see such irratnal discrimatn agast them as tolerable. If Evangelil Anglins hold to this view of homosexualy, they risk beg unable to nvert an creasgly large number of Brish people. In the same way, evangelils might ci that they will nmn homosexual pre-maral/extra-maral acts, but once someone is a civil partnership, they will implicly be treated as if they were married and such relatnships will not be nmned.