Inequalities within Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa on gender, with special reference to lGBTQIA+: Imago Dei

This article consists of five parts on equality within faith communities. First, the focus is on the creation of human beings as the image of God on an equal basis. The premise is that LGBTQIA+ people are created as human beings in the image of God, deserving to be welcomed in faith communities. Se...

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Main Author: L. Modise
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Free State 2023-12-01
Series:Acta Theologica
Online Access:https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/7438
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author L. Modise
author_facet L. Modise
author_sort L. Modise
collection DOAJ
description This article consists of five parts on equality within faith communities. First, the focus is on the creation of human beings as the image of God on an equal basis. The premise is that LGBTQIA+ people are created as human beings in the image of God, deserving to be welcomed in faith communities. Second, the article focuses on the way in which missionaries have taught African converts to interpret the Bible on many serious human rights issues. Third, the position of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) is discussed, utilising the contents of the General Synods, spanning from Pietermaritzburg (2005) to Stellenbosch (2022). Fourth, this study reflects on the challenges faced by denominations who accept LGBTQIA+ people regarding marriage and their ordination. The challenge seems to be about the fundamental reading of the Bible, confession, and Church Order articles, which are discussed here. Fifth, recommendations are proposed to address this inequality. This article is approached from an anthropological-missional viewpoint when addressing this inequality within communities of faith.
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spelling doaj-art-27aa971910fd4df6919b73c028bb82972025-02-11T09:30:04ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Theologica1015-87582309-90892023-12-0143210.38140/at.v43i2.7438Inequalities within Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa on gender, with special reference to lGBTQIA+: Imago DeiL. Modise0unisa This article consists of five parts on equality within faith communities. First, the focus is on the creation of human beings as the image of God on an equal basis. The premise is that LGBTQIA+ people are created as human beings in the image of God, deserving to be welcomed in faith communities. Second, the article focuses on the way in which missionaries have taught African converts to interpret the Bible on many serious human rights issues. Third, the position of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) is discussed, utilising the contents of the General Synods, spanning from Pietermaritzburg (2005) to Stellenbosch (2022). Fourth, this study reflects on the challenges faced by denominations who accept LGBTQIA+ people regarding marriage and their ordination. The challenge seems to be about the fundamental reading of the Bible, confession, and Church Order articles, which are discussed here. Fifth, recommendations are proposed to address this inequality. This article is approached from an anthropological-missional viewpoint when addressing this inequality within communities of faith. https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/7438
spellingShingle L. Modise
Inequalities within Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa on gender, with special reference to lGBTQIA+: Imago Dei
Acta Theologica
title Inequalities within Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa on gender, with special reference to lGBTQIA+: Imago Dei
title_full Inequalities within Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa on gender, with special reference to lGBTQIA+: Imago Dei
title_fullStr Inequalities within Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa on gender, with special reference to lGBTQIA+: Imago Dei
title_full_unstemmed Inequalities within Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa on gender, with special reference to lGBTQIA+: Imago Dei
title_short Inequalities within Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa on gender, with special reference to lGBTQIA+: Imago Dei
title_sort inequalities within uniting reformed church in southern africa on gender with special reference to lgbtqia imago dei
url https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/7438
work_keys_str_mv AT lmodise inequalitieswithinunitingreformedchurchinsouthernafricaongenderwithspecialreferencetolgbtqiaimagodei