A Sad Reality
The
title of this article combines three interesting subjects namely
Christian Ethics and two of the things that dominates Christian ethics:
Being Gay and Suicide.
For centuries mainstream Christianity judged suicide as a terrible sin; unfortunately many Christians still do. Fortunately many mainstream churches have altered their perspective on suicide a bit. The reason for the change lies in the progress of scientific inquiry. The fact is that Christian ethics makes use of two important sources - the Bible and nature. Both the Bible and nature stays exactly the same, but the method of studying those sources progresses with time.
The Bible text discuss many ethical issues, but in a very specific context of place and time. On the other hand the interpretation of the text changes as the science of interpretation (hermeneutics) progresses. Natural science works exactly the same as hermeneutics; nature stayed the same but understanding it changes as scientific method and equipment develops.
As the sciences of psychology and psychiatry progressed our knowledge of depression improved as well. We now know that suicide isn't just some sinful or criminal act that someone committed, but that it is one of the symptoms of a very serious physical disease. Because of this "new" information responsible Christian ethicists had to rethink their position on suicide. You can't just judge the symptoms of a disease as an independent sinful act. You have to understand that a person who suffers from depression is not accountable for his actions in committing suicide.
In the same sense responsible Christian ethicists are rethinking their position on homosexuality. If you are born gay it would be ridiculous to see it as a wrongful choice. It is true that some researchers maintain their positions that being gay is a choice, but the number of responsible researchers that maintain such a standpoint are rapidly declining. The more we look into it, the more we realize that sexual orientation is caused by genetics. The moment that finding becomes conclusive, more and more ethicists will rethink their position on homosexuality. In the same sense more and more theologians would have to alter their biblical interpretation as well. I have no doubt that it is a matter of time before we come to that point; in fact, for most of us in Christian ethics, we are already there.
The argument gets more interesting if you consider the causes of depression. Depression is caused by a lack of the neurotransmitters serotonin, nor-adrenaline, dopamine or a combination of the three. This lack of, or imbalance of neurotransmitters can be cause by a natural deficiency or by too much stress. If you consider the fact that gay teens has to take a lot of bantering for being gay you will realize that Christianity and it standpoint on homosexuality is one of the culprits in causing this stress. You could argue that Christianity is causing the problem they themselves are fighting. Christianity stands against suicide and yet their standpoint on homosexuality is one of the causing factors in teen suicides.
If this is the case it is high-time that mainstream churches should seriously reconsider the effects of their own ethical arguments. In effect their standpoint is causing the "sins" they preached against for centuries.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brand_DoubellFor centuries mainstream Christianity judged suicide as a terrible sin; unfortunately many Christians still do. Fortunately many mainstream churches have altered their perspective on suicide a bit. The reason for the change lies in the progress of scientific inquiry. The fact is that Christian ethics makes use of two important sources - the Bible and nature. Both the Bible and nature stays exactly the same, but the method of studying those sources progresses with time.
The Bible text discuss many ethical issues, but in a very specific context of place and time. On the other hand the interpretation of the text changes as the science of interpretation (hermeneutics) progresses. Natural science works exactly the same as hermeneutics; nature stayed the same but understanding it changes as scientific method and equipment develops.
As the sciences of psychology and psychiatry progressed our knowledge of depression improved as well. We now know that suicide isn't just some sinful or criminal act that someone committed, but that it is one of the symptoms of a very serious physical disease. Because of this "new" information responsible Christian ethicists had to rethink their position on suicide. You can't just judge the symptoms of a disease as an independent sinful act. You have to understand that a person who suffers from depression is not accountable for his actions in committing suicide.
In the same sense responsible Christian ethicists are rethinking their position on homosexuality. If you are born gay it would be ridiculous to see it as a wrongful choice. It is true that some researchers maintain their positions that being gay is a choice, but the number of responsible researchers that maintain such a standpoint are rapidly declining. The more we look into it, the more we realize that sexual orientation is caused by genetics. The moment that finding becomes conclusive, more and more ethicists will rethink their position on homosexuality. In the same sense more and more theologians would have to alter their biblical interpretation as well. I have no doubt that it is a matter of time before we come to that point; in fact, for most of us in Christian ethics, we are already there.
The argument gets more interesting if you consider the causes of depression. Depression is caused by a lack of the neurotransmitters serotonin, nor-adrenaline, dopamine or a combination of the three. This lack of, or imbalance of neurotransmitters can be cause by a natural deficiency or by too much stress. If you consider the fact that gay teens has to take a lot of bantering for being gay you will realize that Christianity and it standpoint on homosexuality is one of the culprits in causing this stress. You could argue that Christianity is causing the problem they themselves are fighting. Christianity stands against suicide and yet their standpoint on homosexuality is one of the causing factors in teen suicides.
If this is the case it is high-time that mainstream churches should seriously reconsider the effects of their own ethical arguments. In effect their standpoint is causing the "sins" they preached against for centuries.
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