Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

I would like to address LGBQ Inclusion: Community Covenant Amendment. The Houghton Community Covenant is very important as it expresses proper and improper ways to display Christian behavior. The word behave expresses how a person conducts their life. Every aspect of the way Christians live should be based on the Holy Bible.

The Houghton College Doctrinal statement begins with, “We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are fully inspired of God and inerrant in the original writings and that they are of supreme and final authority for faith and practice.”

The Houghton Community Covenant states, “We believe that Scripture clearly prohibits certain acts, including . . . engaging in sexual relations outside the bonds of a Biblical understanding of marriage, including premarital sex, adultery and homosexual behavior.” The importance of Scripture in the above statements is monumental. It is important for Houghton College to affirm its belief in a Biblical basis for marriage.

The secular view of marriage, extramarital sex and homosexual behavior appear to be shaping the discussion of a covenant amendment more than Scripture. The suggested amendment of removing “engaging in sexual relations outside the bonds of a Biblical understanding of marriage, including premarital sex, adultery and homosexual behavior” and replacing it with “. . . and engaging in sexual relations outside of the bonds of marriage” creates confusion. The problem with this suggested amendment is that it leaves out what Scripture teaches on this topic. It also opens up the possibility of redefining the Biblical definition of marriage which is only between a man and a woman.

The sexual prohibitions in the Community Covenant including  premarital sex, adultery and homosexual behavior are clearly listed in the Holy Bible as transgressions against God and others. The consequences of such acts are found throughout Scripture. Sinful behavior has consequences. As Christians who believe in God and His Word, our behavior should be above reproach. Everything we do or say should be influenced by Scripture. We should not submit to secular pressures that encourage us to behave contrary to God’s will and His Holy Word. We cannot expect to receive God’s blessings when we disobey His commandments.

Dr. Jim Szymanski

Houghton, NY