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Date:         Sun, 10 Jan 1993 15:22:57 HST
From:         Len Howard <tas@PEGASUS.COM>
Subject:      Re: The Woman Caught in Adultery (John 8:1-11)
              in Adultery (John 8:1-11)" (Jan 10,  1:05am)

Hi Thomas,  Your questions about the general topic of homosexuality
are ones I asked myself about six years ago, and your examples are the
same ones I brought out to support my legalistic doctrinalization.
But as the time has passed and I have become acquainted with more and
more homosexual men and women, I have had to change my legalistic
stance.
     In his chapter on Scripture in Sykes and Booty's "The Study of
Anglicanism", Reginald Fuller, retired Professor of New Testament in
Virginial Theological Siminary makes the following statemt,  "The
insipration of Scripture is not to be understood as a once-for-all
accomplished event.  When Scripture is read in the church, the Holy
Spirit uses it ever anew to proclaim the living word of salvation.
This proclamation requires the response of faith, and that too is the
work of the Holy Spirit."  Each time we hear scripture, we hear it
with the particular individual ears of faith belonging to us at the
time.ur prior experice, teaching, and interpretation are all coming
into play.  And at each successive reading, we inwardly digest the
message of that particular piece of scripture and it becomes a part of
our "reason and experience", the third leg of authority in the
Episcopal Church.
      Why is it necessary to apply the 'one flesh' test to a
homosexual relationship.  If we apply that same test to heterosexual
relationships, well over half of today's marriages will fail it
because of an extramtal relationship by one or the other of the pair.
Does this then destroy the 'one fsh' relationship of the couple
forever?  I don't think so.  And I am not really interested in talking
about marriage requirements anyway, since that term is already taken
by the Sacrament of Marriage between a man and a woman.  But just
because this is the definintion of marriage does this mean that the
church has no need to recognize and strengthen the long termnd in lbg
coupl  The way homosexual men and women related to each other is
evolving, and fast.  The promiscuity that seemed to be the normitive
behavior of the 50s, 60s, and 70s is giving way to the committed
relationships of the 80s and 90s.  As is the concern about 'free love'
in the het community changing as a result of the threat of AIDS.
      Jesus was put to a test with the Woman caught in Adultry.  Under
Jewish Law she should be stoned as an adulterer.  Under Roman Law she
could not be punished with a death penalty without Roman involvement.
The way Jesus managed this was to challenge the Jewish definition of
sin, and put forth the spirit of the law rather than the letter of the
law.  He asked the woman "Are their none who condemn you?" and put
himself in the same grouping.  "Go and sin no more" is a phrase that
we all can hear from Jesus at that point.  Was it meant to be specific
to what the Woman had been charged with, or was it a general
benediction to any sinner such as we?  I don't know.  But when I try
to look at building bridges to God rather than seeting up walls in
front of him, I tend towards the latter.
      We have many wall builders in our society.  We need more bridge
builders.  And we can start with ourselves.......

Shalom, my friend                        Len Howard