What Does God Really Think About Sex?

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"I am disgusted." "An abomination." "This report would remove the Bible as the authoritative Word of God, making it merely a guidebook." One after another, participants at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) rose in the Baltimore Convention Center to attack one of the most radical series of proposals on sexual morality ever to come before a major ) Christian denomination. In essence, the church report, three years in preparation, shattered 19 centuries of tradition and asked the church, for the first time, to bestow acceptance upon sex outside of marriage -- for homosexuals, for adult singles living together and, with less enthusiasm, for teenagers. Adultery would be next, critics charged.

No chance of that. By a 534-to-31 vote the Presbyterians last week rejected the controversial report. They also issued an outright disavowal of the practice of homosexuality and affirmed "the sanctity of the marital covenant between one man and one woman." But the raucous debate that led up to the vote, and that will surely follow it, showed that three decades after the sexual revolution started to percolate through American society, the relationship between God and sex is again throwing some of the country's most important religious denominations into turmoil.

Traditionalists are facing off against liberals, married worshipers against singles, homosexuals against heterosexuals, as the churches try to come to grips with the changing life-styles of their adherents. Just as important, liberals in various denominations are struggling to deal with the sexual preference and morality of those who are no longer attending services, convinced that the churches do not speak to their private needs. Among the imminent sexual confrontations:

-- United Church of Christ (1.6 million members). Next week's national synod will discuss how to deal with clergy who are involved in nonmarital relations.

-- Episcopal Church (2.4 million members). In July a national convention will decide between two conflicting proposals on homosexuality. One would allow ordination of actively gay and lesbian priests by local bishops, a practice that is already occurring. The other would explicitly ban nonmarital sex by all clergy.

-- United Methodist Church (8.9 million members). A special panel will issue a report in August on whether the church should continue to declare that homosexual practice violates Christian teaching. An April straw vote indicated that most of the 24 panelists want a change.

-- Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (5.2 million members). The first draft of a proposed new stand on sexual issues like homosexuality and chastity is due next fall. There are early rumblings that the draft might seek reinterpretation of Bible passages dealing with sex.

-- American Baptist Churches (1.5 million members). This denomination will decide at next week's convention whether to develop a policy statement on sexuality, with specific issues to be defined later.

-- Roman Catholic Church (58 million members). America's biggest denomination is also caught in the debate because of members' continuing resistance to Vatican stands on such matters as homosexuality and premarital sex. Two special problems: allegations that many priests break the celibacy rule, and a recent outbreak of pederasty scandals.