An Ethical and Theological Evaluation of Homosexuality

An Ethical and Theological Evaluation of Homosexuality

KWAN Kai Man

In recent decades, the gay movement has become quite influential in the West, and there are signs that it is going to have a larger and larger impact on the society of Hong Kong as well. The traditional Christian position regards homosexual acts as sinful. is completely at odds with the trend of modern thought which regards homosexuality as morally acceptable. Many people even feel that an anti-homosexual stance is a kind of discrimination. In the first part of this paper, I examine many pro-homosexual arguments. They include appeals to moral relativism, love, tolerance, the experience of homosexuals, the freedom of self-expression, etc. I argue that none of these arguments succeeds in proving that homosexual acts are morally unproblematic. Moreover, these kinds of arguments will also tend to justify incest, paedophilia, and bestiality. I argue that ultimately those arguments are based on the values of secular humanism, and Christians should uphold values which are based on their theology instead. I further argue that a theological ethics is not rationally inferior to an ethics based on secular humanism. I defend the theological position on homosexuality but also point out that the traditional position also has some excesses which should be corrected. Finally, I briefly discuss the issue of sexual orientation discrimination.