removing the training wheels on sexual ethics by David R. Weiss Life beyond rules can be exhilarating--even for straight people--and not because it's breaking rules but because this is how life is meant to be lived. Rules may be necessary "training wheels" on the bicycle of sexual ethics (appropriate as we enter adolescence), but we all know that to ride a bike the way it's ultimately intended to be ridden, you take the training wheels off. A s churches, locally and nationally, make slow but sure strides in welcoming GLBTQ persons of faith, there looms a conversation that many wish could remain quietly hidden in the corner but is sure to become the elephant that crowds the entire room. You can sum it up in a single word: monogamy, but in truth it's much broader, concerning the "acceptable" variety of sexual expression. Bluntly put, the question is whether churches will welcome GLBTQ persons of faith ... only so long as they can fit their sexual expression within the approved norms of straight sexuality. And whether GLBTQ persons of faith are willing to accept these terms ... and what if they don't? ETHICS continued on page 10 www.qviewnorthwest.com | Q View Northwest - Spokane Edition | April 2009 |