How the Church’s Sexual Ethics and Teachings on Marriage are Rooted in Scripture

February 1, 2019

In a paper entitled “Gender Matters: Human Sexuality and the Bible Yet Again”, Dr. Ben Witherington, III, writes:

“It is no small thing for a church to change its position of what is and isn’t moral when it comes to human sexual behavior, especially when it has been the almost universal and univocal position of the Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant Churches from the beginning of church history until well into the 20th century that same-sex sexual relations, never mind same sex marriage is an absolute violation of the ethical code of the Bible, and a repudiation of the Bible’s theology of creation and marriage.”

Witherington, Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary and a member of the Doctoral Faculty at St. Andrews University in Scotland, is a prolific author and widely recognized speaker.

The Wesleyan Covenant Association is pleased to share his 20-page paper with its followers. It is a straightforward and very readable evaluation of New Testament texts pertaining to human sexual behavior. Without rancor, Witherington clearly addresses arguments calling on The United Methodist Church to liberalizes its sexual ethics and teachings on marriage.

Often, pastors and laity ask us for a resource that succinctly lays out the case for upholding the UM church’s teachings on these matters. We know of no better short defense than Witherington’s brief paper. We heartily encourage clergy and laity to read his work and share it with others. To read the paper click HERE.

We thank Dr. Witherington for allowing us to make his paper available on our website. To learn more about Witherington, click HERE.

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