Homosexuality: Is the church failing Ghanaians?

“Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way, the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.” –Romans 1:26-27

This bible verse raked my mind when news of the opening of an office for homosexuals got to me about two weeks ago. I was not only shocked, I was scandalized to read that the High Commissioner of Australia to Ghana, Gregory Andrews and the European Union ambassador cut the ribbons to open that office.

On the top of my head without even a day in a diplomacy class, it is an offensive act – one that slaps and muddles our sovereignty.

Can the EU Ambassador attend an event to open a gay and lesbians office in Kuwait or Bahrain?

These two might have taken a cue from  newly elected American President Joe Biden who has been threatening fire and brimstone against countries that stand in the way of the so-called LGBT rights and the other acronyms that define the sexual abomination his administration is trying to impose across the world.

Donald Trump had tried over the last four years to roll back those abominable acts without success and sadly, the Democrats are back in power to push the agenda by former American President Barack Obama and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton started forcing down our throats in 2011.

Barack Obama instructed American government officials to consider how countries treat their gay and lesbian populations when making decisions about allocating foreign aid.

Clearly, the diplomats overstepped their boundaries and broke Ghana’s law that prohibit homosexual relationships.

Thankfully, at the time, the late former President J.E.A Mills called their bluff.

Ghanaian laws prohibit unnatural carnal acts — a definition, which is widely understood to include homosexuality.

Section 104 (1) (b) of the Criminal Code states, ‘Whoever has an unnatural carnal knowledge of any person of sixteen years or over with his consent is guilty of a misdemeanor,’ while (1) (a) of the same code, which makes reference to sodomy, states, “Whoever has unnatural carnal knowledge of any person of the age sixteen or over without his consent shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of not less than five years and not more than twenty-five years.’

In June 17, 2011, an interview with the Daily Graphic, the then Director of Public Prosecutions, Gertrude Aikins, indicated that persons caught engaging in homosexual activities could be liable for prosecution.

Responding to calls for the country to enact laws to ban homosexuality, she stated that Section 104 (1) (b) of the Criminal Code made the act a criminal offence.

The law is, however, silent on any form of punishment for lesbianism, that is, sexual relationship between two females.

Interestingly, while our political leaders have failed to take action to close the so-called gays and lesbians’ office, the church had been silent until the Catholic Bishops Conference issued a strong condemnation.

But that is not enough, the church must demand accountability from our political leaders. They must speak out now. I dare say if this was an election year, they would have been heard.

Our pulpits which should be revered for speaking truth to power is silent on a canker that is not only a moral aberration but also threatens our very existence.

Our Christians leaders who should be apostles of anti-homosexuality are busy preaching the prosperity gospel while we leave our young people at the mercy of this moral abnormality

The politicians may be quiet because in one way or the other the west has cowed them to silence as they fear that opening their mouth about this moral decadence will cut off aid.

Over the years, our politicians have failed to make their position on homosexuality in Ghana clear enough to ward off western interest in the issue making it lightning rod for western black mail.

But must the church be quiet and accept this?

On July 18, 2011, the Christian community in Ghana called on all, including religious bodies and traditional rulers, to join hands to confront the canker of homosexuality in the country.

“Ghanaians, for that matter Africans, cherish our rich and strong values on issues such as homosexuality and we must not allow anyone or group of people to impose what is acceptable in their culture on us in the name of human rights,” Rev Dr Fred Deegbe, the then secretary of the Christian Council said.

It appeared that was the last strong front the Christian community put up against advancing efforts of gay right activist.

We are relaxed because the leadership of the Christian community fear incurring the wrath of the US Embassy who will tag them homophobic.

The time to speak out is now.

Some claim Jesus never said anything about homosexuality and therefore is neutral on the topic. That cannot be true. Jesus was unequivocal in saying that to understand marriage and the sexual union, we must go back to the beginning and see how God created humanity and to what end. (See Matthew 19 and Mark 10).

Jesus holds up the creation story in Genesis not as a quaint Sunday school lesson, but as an authoritative one — reminding us that God created each of us male and female, each for the other. And the sexual union that God created and ordained is for husband and wife to come together in physical union, one flesh.

Therefore, we must not allow the so-called modernity, gay and lesbian lobbies groups to throw dust into our eyes and destroy the future of our young people.

If the state fails to close that office, it only means one thing – it is complicit in endorsing the assault on our culture, laws, and religion.

A word to the wise, is not just enough, it is also timely to save generations to come.

 

The author is the President-General of the West Africa Nobles Forum