The Church of Ireland Gazette is full of sex talk. It is very boring. People have asked me why I don’t blog about the church’s  to sexuality. After all, I make no secret of the fact that I hold that churchy stuff must accord with biology, not the other way round. The truth is that I think there’s no discussion to be had. I’ve posted here and here on aspects of sexuality. It’s possible for people to have genitalia that are neither one thing nor the other. It’s possible for chromosomal constitution to be, in a sense, neither one thing nor the other. It’s probable that, psychologically, everyone has elements of maleness and femaleness. So the argument comes down to what people do with their genitals. So long as there is no exploitation of one by the other, I cannot see that this is anyone’s business but that of those concerned.

The Archbishop of Canterbury said recently ‘Throughout the Bible it is clear that the right place for sex is only within a committed, heterosexual marriage.’ The Old Testament has polygamy, incest and rape, but is there anything about ‘committed heterosexual marriage’? The New Testament opines that bishops (overseers) must only have one wife, which implies that the norm was more. It’s faithfulness and commitment that the Bible is full of. Parishioners don’t seem bothered. The only time I was ever assailed about the issue was the Sunday after the mealy-mouthed Church of Ireland synod resolution, when an elderly lady poured forth scorn and opprobrium on it. It was not what I was expecting her to say. Joy and delight are difficult enough to find in this world. Any committed relationship of mutual love is worth celebrating.