PCRT Q/A: How Can Churches Support Homosexuality?

"What is the root issue that would allow "Christian" denominations to ordain homosexuals and perform homosexual marriages?"

The simple answer to this question is that such denominations have stopped granting ultimate authority to the clear teaching of the Word of God.  In almost every case, they no longer regard the Scriptures as inerrant and therefore they find it easy to disregard teachings they consider offensive and antiquated.  Having removed their confidence in the Bible, they have granted authority to the culture in its place.  Then, facing the kind of cultural pressure that has been mounted on this issue, the change from condemning to endorsing homosexuality involves merely overcoming internal political resistance to change.*  In most cases, the authority of Scripture was previously breached with regard to gender and sex when these denominations violated Scripture by ordaining women to church office.**  The prohibition against women elders and ministers is just about as clear as the prohibition against sexual indecency.  So, having conceded to cultural authority on a lesser matter these same churches can hardly avoid doing so in a greater matter, which in this case is the mandate to endorse and approve of homosexual practice.

*This is the dread "slippery slope" argument, which is so offensive to those who have slid down it but which is nonetheless proved by the chain of compromises that has left them in so obviously unbiblical a position as the endorsement of homosexuality.

** It is for this reason lamentable that many churches have left mainline denominations over the issue of homosexual acceptance but have retained the unbiblical practice of ordaining women to the eldership and ministry.  By doing this, they have only moved up the slippery slope rather than off of it, and it is hard to see how they will avoid sliding back down before long.