The advance publicity notes that there will be "an increase in marginalisation, irrelevance and disengagement" of the new Christian church if it maintains its strict and counter-cultural code of sexual ethics. "There is widespread acceptance and normalisation of a great variety of sexual practices across the Roman Empire and the near East. Christians and Jews who still cling to an outdated and unworkable model are simply not engaging theologically or missiologically. They are finding themselves marginalised".

The hosts argue that this has been felt more acutely in the Church of Corinth, which contains a complex and lively mix of national, civic, social, and religious identities.

The Project Directors said "There is a real danger that the church will be seen as atheistic, disrespectful to the gods of the people around it, phobic of those different from them, and disloyal to Caesar and the state. However much Christians talk about and demonstrate love, they will just be seen as judgmental, hateful and treasonous. While this is itself no reason for the church to change its teachings, it is important to understand the implications for mission if the church persists in being seen as opposed to the sexual freedoms most people take for granted".

The second planned Open Forum for the Sexuality and Corinthian Identities Project, 'New Directions in Sexualities and Christianity,' will be discussing the future of sexuality debates, and present the theological challenges that may emerge beyond current controversies. The programme notes argue that: "the old idea of one God, Lord of all, but with me in every moment, is considered restrictive, and the concept of many deities on a spectrum revolving around my psyche much more exciting. In the same way, the old idea of two genders corresponding to physical sex as a given reality is increasingly shown by people's experience to be oppressive, and the concept of many genders on a spectrum, centred around my emotions and needs, much more liberating. It is probably the case that the particular issue of homosexual relationships will appear relatively straightforward in comparison.

"As we, as a society, begin to take seriously the experience of transgender and intersex people, and rediscover the ancient and profound theological insights of the Canaanites in this area, it may appear that the claim, foundational to Christian understandings of gender, 'male and female he created them' is undermined," predicted the project directors.

"If this is indeed the case, it seems that the whole edifice of the Judaeo-Christian traditional understanding of gender and sexuality could be built on a less than secure foundation, ie the words of the author of Genesis, Jesus, and that troublemaker Paul who is on death row where he belongs. It is simply impossible that this narrow, implausible ethic of sex and marriage will survive beyond a tiny, irrelevant sect.

Christians have to learn to re-read the Bible in a different way", they said, " not as an authoritative and unchanging word from God, but as a text which came out of a particular society. If we can deconstruct the text, analysing the power agendas of the authors, then that will help us to see which bits we can safely reject, and which parts we can adapt to fit subserviently with contemporary society".

END