ASB has 'Sex in the Greek'

Sixty-three degrees and windy is not optimal for sitting outside. Last Wednesday night, approximately 130 PLNU students sat together in the Greek Amphitheatre for an hour, not for body heat, but for “Sex in the Greek": a series of viewpoints on sexual identity.”

The event featured Brad Strawn, the first of several speakers for the semimonthly discussion series on homosexuality and Christianity.
Strawn is the vice president of Spiritual Development at Southern Nazarene University. He spent 10 years teaching psychology at PLNU, including the Human Sexuality course, before leaving for SNU in 2006.

Strawn, a psychologist, has experience counseling individuals with sexual orientation or sexual identity issues and sought to lay a foundation for future Sex in the Greek sessions.

“I think Dr. Strawn did a good job of presenting a common starting point for us,” ASB President Scott McGowan said. “His topics were broad, but they give us space to fill in over the coming months.”

The ASB board of directors made on-campus awareness of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues one of its long-term objectives for the year, and Sex in the Greek comes out of that objective. The offices of Student Development and Spiritual Development have worked alongside the board of directors on the Sex in the Greek planning committee. While Sex in the Greek is not the only avenue the board of directors plans to use to carry out its objective, the forums provide a launching point for on-campus discussion.

“[ASB] wants to present a balanced forum,” said Anthony Livolsi, director of Spiritual Life. “We want to hear articulate speakers from a broad spectrum of opinions.”

Strawn began his presentation by framing the two Christian arguments: the traditional approach that labels homosexuality as a sin and incompatible with Christianity and the non-traditional approach that allows Christian homosexuals.

“Honestly, as I wrestle with this issue…I am kind of convinced on both sides. It makes me wonder if we need to ask some other questions,” said Strawn.

He said this is where science and psychology enter the discussion of sexuality.

Recent studies have sought to find biological or genetic evidence of homosexual behavior.

“As you look at all these studies, I think what you see is that there is some kind of biological factor going on in some of these studies with some of these samples. The problem is many of these studies have not been replicated. They were done on small samples of people, and non-representative samples,” Strawn said. “That doesn’t mean they have disproved there is a genetic or biological piece to being gay, it just means we need to be careful with the assumptions that we arrive at.”

Finally, Strawn addressed the Nazarene Church’s posture towards homosexuals, including the present paradox that homosexuals can participate in communion but are not allowed to join the church. The Nazarene Manual says that only those who come with “true repentance” should receive the sacrament.

Strawn stressed the importance of respecting and listening to divergent viewpoints on homosexuality.

“I think I understand the goal of this forum to be a place where we can practice speaking with hospitality,” said Strawn. “We are not going to make any headway shouting at each other. We’re not going to make any headway if we also don’t listen to each other…I think pastorally that is the first thing we need to do as a community. We need to say, ‘Let me listen to you.’”

McGowan was pleased with the student response.

“The interest by the attendees was positive. People were visibly cold, but stayed anyway,” said McGowan. “I hope that regardless of attendance numbers, the people that do come continue to demonstrate the same level of maturity that was demonstrated.”

The series will continue with a faculty panel discussion on Oct. 30. The panel will discuss Strawn’s words and respond to student-submitted comment cards that were made available after the presentation.

“While we are proceeding cautiously on a divisive issue, we still want to make progress,” said Livolsi.

Livolsi added that he hopes to “hear from a gay Christian” at Sex in the Greek. “I don’t want it to be like men speaking at a women’s rally.”