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Dear Editor,

I would like to comment on Deacon Apel's proposal that by sanctioning same sex marriage the PCUSA would eliminate promiscuous and destructive behavior and instead create healthy and stable relationships. A serious problem with this line of reasoning is that research consistently indicates far less promiscuity among lesbians than among gay men. To cite just one example, Lauman, Gagnon, Michael, and Michaels in The Social Organization of Sexuality (University of Chicago Press, 1994) reported male homosexuals averaged 42.8 lifetime sexual partners, male heterosexuals averaged 16.5 partners, lesbians averaged 9.4 partners, and heterosexual women averaged 4.6 lifetime partners. If lack of access to formal marriage linked in a simple cause and effect relationship with homosexual promiscuity, then one would expect to find similar levels of promiscuity between lesbians and gay men. But in fact, this is far from the case.

Another, and I think a more parsimonious explanation for these statistics, is that what has historically constrained men from promiscuous behavior and served to enable human civilization is the marriage of one man to one woman. In this way, the woman's nature uniquely functions within the marital covenant to constrain the man's natural proclivities toward multiple sexual partners. Consistent with this are several survey findings indicating that gay men have a much greater tendency than lesbians, married heterosexuals, and even cohabiting heterosexuals to define committed relationships in terms of emotional rather than sexuality fidelity. 

For the sake of brevity, I will not address here the references made by Deacon Apel and others to scientific knowledge, other than to say that science is far less conclusive in matters surrounding homosexuality than is generally portrayed in the mass media and by activists on both sides of the spectrum. Moreover, science, as a descriptive discipline, can not ultimately endow any behavior with a moral status. This must come from a transcendent source. For more in this area, I want to alert readers of Presbyweb to a forthcoming InterVarsity Press book written by psychologists Stanton Jones (Wheaton College) and Mark Yarhouse (Regent College) which critically examines the use of science in the denominational debates concerning homosexuality. 

Finally, I want to thank Deacon Apel for his courage in being forthright about his own sexual orientation. Those of us who may disagree with his view need more than "stick figure" representations of gay and lesbian individuals in order to discuss our differences in a spirit of humility that honors the Lord. I personally believe the church has much sin to confess regarding our often unloving treatment of gays and lesbians. This said, however, I cannot in the end construe as loving attempts to eviscerate moral guidelines regarding sexual conduct that have a several thousand year old track record of engendering and sustaining modern civilization.

I wish all a blessed Christmas season,

Christopher H. Rosik
Psychologist & Member, First Presbyterian Church
Fresno, CA

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