The article by the Revd Dr Charlotte Methuen, a lecturer in church history at the University of Glasgow, entitled “Marriage: one man and one woman?”, was published on the Open Democracy website last Friday.
After a survey of the biblical and historical understanding of marriage, including observations about polygamy, the submission of women, and inequality, Dr Methuen writes: “I recognise that the Faith and Order Commission’s document offers one theological justification for the Church of England’s current position on marriage, but I cannot see marriage simply and uncritically as part of the ‘goods’ of creation. . .
“One of the flaws of our current conception of marriage may be precisely the emphasis on ‘one man and one woman’, which seems consistently to imply expectations about the role of women and men which tend to be biologically determinist, and which reach beyond the question of who is biologically capable of bearing children.”
My prediction: the CofE will be offering gay marriage within a decade.
Sexual liberty is a core value for the progressives and the conservatives lack the conviction needed to resist.
The essay itself is IMO terribly weak as a piece of theology though at least the author is more open than usual about the intention to change all marriage:
1. A lengthy exposition in which changes in marriage practice are highlighted and the significant commonalities over time identified are negative (marriage treated/treats women as inferior etc.)
Four concluding paragraphs (in which neither Scripture nor God are even mentioned) that argue marriage ought to be reshaped around realities that have become highly significant in western culture in the last 50 years:
2. Contraception has detached sex from reproduction
3. Reproductive technologies and adoption, rather than biology, attaches “many” children to families
4. “Constellation” of family types makes little difference to the well-being of children
5. Old marriage wasn’t a good thing for women anyway – it needs changing and same sex marriage is the way to change it
6. Long term same sex relationships are emotionally the same as male female relationships
Interesting http://www.peter-ould.net/2013/04/20/men-and-women-in-marriage/