ABSTRACT
This chapter describes some of the acrimonious sexuality debates in various Protestant churches during the last decade. It shows how Protestantism handles, or rather fails to handle, questions about sexuality. The chapter highlights some tentative conclusions. Attention to the processes within Protestant denominations as they have dealt with matters of sexual ethics was intended to illuminate how Protestants handle authority in practice. Protestantism is in some parts overrun by Christians who would elevate the Bible to the status of divinity, so that its authority is allowed to supplant even the authority of Jesus Christ himself. The chapter presents the appeals to the Bible as a source of authority. Some remarks are made about the models of authority and tradition in the recent Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) document. The chapter suggests that the Catholic and Protestant traditions should address common problems afflicting both of them.
