Q: What are your thoughts on gay clergy and same-sex marriages, as the issue continues to rage within other denominations?
A: That’s one of the real challenges of our time. The church is not ”¦ we don’t know. We have not made a decision about that. It’s something we’re still praying about, and that’s frustrating for some people. There are people who are frustrated that we are talking about this at all; they wish it would go away. There are others who wish we would get moving, that it’s something we shouldn’t be dragging our feet about. It’s a difficult, thorny issue.
We do have a diversity of theological positions in the church, which is the nature of our faith ”“ that people have different ideas that are not lightly held. When they disagree ”¦ what do you do?….
Hmm the stats don’t seem to point to a decade of growth for the diocese. Where is Statmann?
Neither hot nor cold.
[i]”The church is not … we don’t know. We have not made a decision about that….”[/i]
Wow. I suggest a lye soap mouthwash. Followed by a trip to the back side of the woodshed.
Bishop needs to learn to tell the TRUTH, which is – There are two sets of same-sex ‘married’ BISHOPS in every one of his HoB meetings. There are priests committing blashphemy ‘marrying’ same-sex couples in NY State and elsewhere.
Sure, there are some members who are against SS ‘marriage’ and some who aren’t sure, some who don’t care…but he is being disingenuous. They’ve voted to depart from Scripture on most everything, homo-bi-etc. sex, abortion as well as SS ‘marriage’. Aren’t they scurrying around writing SS’M’ liturgies?
I note he avoids giving his own view. Rather he directs his response to the problems of dealing with the disagreements of others. I think I know what this means. My guess – and it is only that – he’s fully in favor of the “new thang”, and will move forward with it as and when opportunity presents, but is going to try very hard to present an affable and unthreatening persona as he does so.
For 2002 through 2009, the Dio of Alabama did NOT grow as Members declined by about 10 percent, ASA declined by about 15 percent and Plate & Pledge adjusted for inflation declined about 3 percent. And yet this experience was better than most TEC dioceses. (I ranked them at 22 of 95 dioceses considered.) As for Size and Money, the diocese was in good shape in 2009 with 48 of its 90 churches with ASA above 66 and with 40 having Plate & Pledge of more than $150K. But for the longer tem, Infant Baptisms declined by 31 percent and Marriages by 41 percent. I continue to find it hard to believe that TEC churches in the South will continue to abide with the TEC homosexual agenda. Statmann
[i]We do have a diversity of theological positions in the church, which is the nature of our faith – that people have different ideas that are not lightly held. When they disagree … what do you do?….[/i]
You go to the Bible, and you go to the teaching tradition of the Church. The Spirit did not leave us these resources for nothing, however much some would like to discard or disregard them.
Wow, that’s leadership! 😉
Translation of his comment: We have a diversity of theological positions…but we are working on that by unwelcoming all those who have the [i]wrong[/i] wrong one.
There is a [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S7Vw7Wfu5g] must see video by Bill Whittle on truth relativism of the left[/url] and how the use relativism to “steal credibility.”
“The church is not … we don’t know. We have not made a decision about that”.
No, you do know, you’re just ignoring the Truth because you want to say that the Scriptures were written all those years ago and don’t apply, or should not apply, to “contemporary society”. And it is also not your job to “make a decision about that”–your job is to follow God’s Word as revealed in Scripture.
“When they disagree, what do you do”?
You tell them to quit whining and say that we’re following God’s word as revealed in Scripture. Or, they can find a “church” that does not care about God’s word as revealed in Scripture, instead of trying to hijack this one.
“I continue to find it hard to believe that TEC churches in the South will continue to abide with the TEC homosexual agenda”.
Oh, they will, because the traditionals will eventually leave and the “agenders” will remain. TEC will be great for Baptist, traditional Congregationalist(free Bible church), RC, ACNA, or Orthodox evangelism. Or, traditionals who stay will either be stubborn, hang out till the last boat, try to ignore all the conflict, or be very tied into their “Episcopal” identity. I’m not knocking any of that; people can do what they want. I just think it’s true.
I’m so glad the dear squishop has given me permission to stay a member of this church even if I have divergent views, after all if I don’t lightly hold them they must be true, so who would he be to criticize me. That is leadership!
So I guess I can go back to memorializing a dinner party held by a possibly real Jewish gent the night before he may or may not have died on a cross as an accident for being too nice and lovey to unnice people and whose followers may or may not have had a group delusional psychotic episode and thought they saw him alive after three days maybe. And for this I will use RC Cola and Moon Pies (R).
Note how he presents these Christians as fuddy-duddies struggling with the ick factor. One of the first lessons in bishop school is to never to acknowledge traditional Christians as holding any principled points. Otherwise, it raises the nagging question: “Why would these episcopalians believe that the other episcopalians are teaching heresy?”
(Of course, the reappraisers are portrayed as simply wanting justice faster…)
🙄
Oh, thank you, tired–I caught that condescending, dismissive passive-aggression too but felt I would address other things.
I have yet to see any reappraiser address the issue theologically/Scripturally with something other than vague cries of “justice” and/or “because we feel like it”.
Deep down, they’re just ticked off they can’t argue successfully with people like Robert Gagnon.
As for me, I’m feeling the world is “unjust”–I should be able to have ~ four husbands instead of one. And frankly, the Scriptures “like” polygamy a lot more than they like homosex. If I whine and yell loud enough, do you think they’ll indulge me?!!