Church to follow principle of ‘loving the sinner but not the sin’
Dimapur, Oct. 21 (EMN): The Chakhesang Baptist Church Council (CBCC) has called homosexual acts, recently decriminalised in India, as morally unacceptable and a “complete contravention to the Biblical sanctions on human sexuality.”
The council issued a statement on Sunday stating the “church as a body and as individual believers of Jesus Christ have a scriptural obligation to speak to the world on moral issues and not give our silent consent to evil.”
On September 6 this year, the Supreme Court of India had decriminalised homosexuality between consenting adults by declaring Section 377, the penal provision which criminalised gay sex, as “manifestly arbitrary.”
Consequently, the CBCC discussed the matter at its executive meeting held from Oct. 18 to 19th and ‘reaffirmed the Biblical and moral stand of the church,’ according to the statement. It asserted that ‘homosexual acts/behaviour between consenting adults is morally unacceptable because it violates the aim of human sexuality which is the procreation and the union of love, which is accomplished in the union between men and women in marriage.’
According to the CBCC, even if homosexual acts are now legalised, it is not morally acceptable or justified. “While the decriminalisation of homosexual acts is likely to induce the legalisation of homosexual union, the church will continue to uphold the Biblical teachings that recognise, promote and protect marriage between men and women as the basis of the family and the primary cell of society.
“While maintaining that homosexual practices are incompatible with obedience to the will of God as are all other sinful practices, the church, by recognising that our creator God loves the sinner yet hate the sins, will continue to witness the love of Christ to all people regardless of different sexual orientations with outmost understanding, compassion, sensitivity and dignity,” it stated.
