SDA says homosexuals are sinners in need of the Grace of God

Koforidua, July 11, GNA - The Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA) has described homosexuals as sinners who are in need of the Grace of God. The church has therefore appealed to churches and religious organizations in Ghana to stop the vilification and condemnation of homosexuals but instead put in place structures to reach out to them and help those who want to get out of the practice to do so without feeling judged.

This was contained in a statement from the Church's Union Conference which was released at Koforidua a copy of which was made available to the Ghana News Agency.

The Church called for intensification of education programmes using the media to educate children and the youth on what God's divine plan for human sexuality is. It said parents must begin sex education of their children at an early age to teach them to report any negative sexual advances made towards them.

The statement said concerns raised over the upsurge of homosexual activities in Ghana by many sections of the society, including the Christian community, could push them underground and deny opportunity to innocent ones who might need help to come out from the practice. The Adventists stated that they believed that sexual intimacy happened only within a marital relationship of a man and a woman as established by God at creation and that the Bible makes no accommodation for homosexual activity or relationships.

"Sexual acts outside the circle of a heterosexual marriage are forbidden and for these reasons SDA is opposed to homosexual practices and relationships," it said.

The SDA Church however called on the Christian community to offer support to the homosexuals to receive the Grace of God and urged Ghanaians to accord homosexuals the dignity and respect due every human being created in the image of God, saying, 93in spite of their negative acts, God loves them and Christ died for them too".