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United Methodist Church
Morgan Hill, California

Discerning a Path

In making decisions, United Methodists have traditionally looked to four sources of authority to determine the Word of God. This is an active and prayerful process beginning with God's grace and Holy Scripture and ending with a course of action within our covenant community. The four sources of authority are:

Scripture: found in both Old and New Testaments.
Tradition: the wisdom of the Historic Church seeking out the Holy Spirit.
Reason: the God-given faculties of clear, compassionate thought and intuition.
Experience: direct personal and corporate experience of the Divine.

We invite you to use this site in your process of discerment. To that end, this site will direct a journey and present resources. These are not all the resources, you will certainly have your own.

Questions	References	Links
What does Scripture say about Homosexuality?
What do you think the Bible says about homosexuality or about anything that might pertain to this discussion? What do you think the Bible says that might pertain to this discussion? Do you know what the Bible is saying clearly? How do you feel about it? Is there anything in the context of its writing that may influence how we interpret the passage? Has anything changed since the gospel was written that would change how we use it?	Lev 19:22 Lev 20:13 Gen 19:1-11 Jer 23:14, Ez 16:49 2 Pet 2:6 Jude 7 Jud 19:22 Rom 1:26 1 Cor 6:9 1 Tim 1:8 Acts 8:24-40	Bible
What does Our Church Tradition say about Homosexuality?
What do you think your church says about homosexuality and about Holy Unions? Why? What is the nature of just judgment within the church? By what criteria do we judge the personhood or behavior of individuals and groups within the church and outside it. How does our faith community determine what is "natural," what is "different," what is "aberrant" what is "destructive"? What do you think clergy who are in covenant with one another and with the church should do if there is a division of conscience between them?	United Methodist Discipline Social Principles On Family Sexuality Homosexuality Holy Unions Civil Disobedience Social Principles	United Methodist Discipline Articles and Letters by United Methodists
What Reasonable Statements and Questions can Inform This Issue?
What is the nature of homosexuality? Is there anything that science or psychology tells us about it that may influence how we see God acting in this issue? How do people determine who they are attracted to? What is acceptable and unacceptable attraction? What is acceptable and unacceptable sexual practice? What is the nature of gender? Science suggests that gender is not exclusively polar (i.e. male and female). High percentages of people possess the sex organs of the "opposite gender" and there are any number of situations that can affect gland, brain and hormonal activity. If heterosexuality is much more complex than maleness and femaleness, how does that affect our view of sexuality? What do you know about this? Is homosexuality an aberrant behavior, is it learned, is it a genetic predisposition? How does belief about these different origins affect the discussion? How does population affect how we think of the need for male/female family settings? What is a pastor's role in blessing relationships within a congregation and what place does this pastoral role have in the church?	What determines attraction? What allows us to judge?	American Psychological Association Policy on Homosexuality APA's Statement on Conversion Therapy
How Does Your Experience Lead You?
What experience do you have with gay and lesbian persons and what experience do you have with rituals blessing faithful relationships between homosexuals? What do you know about homosexuality and where did you learn it? Are they trustworthy sources? Do you think that homosexuality is a sin?	United Methodists affirm the value of each member's exprience and guidance by the Holy Spirit. We must all act in faith of God and in faith of each other even when we don't know enough.

Do You Want to Know How Ted Responds to these four sources of authority?

Links in This Site
Main Page	Co-officiant's Covenant	Discerning A Path A Guide to Decision Making
	Links	Bible Study	The Discipline	The Review