Today in Britain many members of the gay and lesbian community are campaigning for their relationships to be formally recognised under law in the same way that heterosexual couples may marry. This would allow homosexuals who are of the Christian faith to enjoy a sexual relationship with their partner without feeling that they are doing wrong because it is outside of marriage.
If Situation Ethics were applied to this problem, homosexuals would be able to marry. The government and church would be forced to recognise that this is the most loving thing to do. Supporters of Situation Ethics believe that love is paramount, it is the most important consideration. If only love is intrinsically good it is impossible to argue that homosexual marriage and sex is immoral because the only absolute thing is that love is good.
The Church and the government would also have to comply with
“Love wills the neighbour’s good whether we like it or not”. This would mean that no matter whether the members of the church and ministers personally like the idea of homosexuality, they must act in the most loving way towards them.
However, it could be argued that if Situation Ethics were applied to this dilemma, then Christian homosexuals who followed the teaching of the church that sex before marriage was wrong would be able to take part in sexual intercourse because it would be the most loving course of action. The homosexual couple would be able to reject the teaching that sex before marriage is always wrong because of the peculiar nature of their relationship. The most loving thing in the relationship would be to have homosexual sex because it would allow each partner to demonstrate their love for the other in a physical way.
The Church claims that homosexual sex is wrong because it does not have the possibility of fertilisation taking place. However, if the most loving decision was always the most important consideration, as with Situation Ethics, then they would be obliged to permit it because although they may believe it is wrong to permit sex where there is no chance of fertilisation, this is not absolute. The only thing that is absolute is that love is right and the most important consideration.
