![]() ![]() This is mainly because of the widely accepted binarism views and assertions that according to the Bible God created humans as either male or female. They are regarded as sinful “unnatural” acts that may result in divine judgement whilst other go as far as asserting that same-sex sexual activities are demonic and “Un-African”. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ) lifestyles are in most general cases pathologized as being a transgression, spiritual deviance among the conservative and fundamentalist Bible-literalist churches, particularly the Pentecostal-Charismatic churches. ![]() Sexual morality is expected to be grounded on the principle that “marriage is an institution created by God in which one man and one woman enters into an exclusive relationship for life, and that is the only form of partnership approved by God for sexual relations.” This study uses the Grace Bible Church (GBC) in Soweto, a dominantly “black” township west of Johannesburg South Africa, as its case study since the church declared in its Statement of Faith (SoF) that it will only allow persons to become members in the church if they adhere to these heterosexual, monogamous, heteronormative principles. Most theological discourses in Pentecostalism are founded upon these notions. The Pentecostal theological notion of being “born again” stems from the mainstream Evangelical doctrines of “sin,” “salvation” and “baptism in the Holy Spirit” that are inextricably interwoven into the fabric of the Pentecostal church in general. ![]()
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