‘Why is sex seen as punishable in the church?’ asks Zenande Mfenyana

Actress Zenande Mfenyana recently sparked a heated debate on her Twitter TL when she asked tweeps why it seemed the church sees sex as punishable.

The Queen actress posed asked people to tackle questions about Biblical concepts concerning sex.

Zenande used a real life example that is typical in some churches where a woman who serves in the church, particularly the worship team, will be asked to step down if she falls pregnant but is not married.

“One day we must discuss the Biblical concept of being asked to step down from the worship team because you have fallen pregnant,” she began.

The actress wanted tweeps to help each other understand why this is, especially in relation to the women of the church, so she questions that stirred up the debate.

“Is this in the scriptures? Or is it done to humiliate the expectant mom? Why is sex seen as a punishment in the church? Questions we will one day tackle.”

Her tweet saw women share some of their experiences about falling pregnant while unmarried and how they were treated by the church as a result.

“My friend stopped going to church when she fell pregnant because she was expected to stand in front of the congregation and apologise for having a child before marriage. She couldn't handle the embarrassment so she just stopped going to church,” one tweep said.

“I personally refused to take the stand cause I don't worship people but God. Yes, I sinned and I asked for forgiveness. Why should I continue lowering my self-esteem by standing in front of the whole congregation? Your friend did right. Can you imagine all eyes staring at you?” said another tweep in response.

Another added her experience. “In my case I worshipped until I decided to stop going to church and focus on my pregnancy. After giving birth I continued with serving God in worship. I had asked for forgiveness from God. I didn't care about what the church thought was right because even judging is a sin."

Meanwhile the debate about where the “rules” come from, how they are interpreted, who they apply to and so on raged on in Zenande's comment section.

Here are some of the thoughts shared: