The Anglican communion seems to be keen on tearing itself apart on the issue of same-sex relationships. Archbishop Rowan Williams must look over the border with envy. Yesterday’s wise decision recognises that the Church of Scotland is divided on this matter, and is not ready to move to judgment without further study.
A cop-out? Not really. It’s not a disgrace to acknowledge ignorance. There are many people who have not (knowingly) had a conversation with a gay or lesbian. The heartfelt story of Kirk elder James Simpson, whose life was turned into turmoil when his son announced that he was gay, moved the assembly deeply.
“The C of E voted overwhelmingly for women’s ordination; the predicted exodus from the church never materialised.”
I don’t have figures, but my impression is that there was a significant exodus from the C of E as a result of women’s ordination. It may be that it didn’t make a significant difference to the numbers in the pew. But hundreds of clergy left (including at least one bishop). It significantly reduced the Anglo-Catholic contingent, or at least leadership, which in turn left the CofE more polarised along evangelical/liberal lines.
Or is my impression wrong?
Ignorance of what I wonder? And who is it that is ignorant?
Of course. After such a conversation, the scales will fall from my eyes. And if not, there are always re-education camps. For to persist in opposition is not allowed. And the spirit of the Age will only strive with man for so long.
It is hard to read this sort of thing without getting furious. How often have we heard it said that the ordination of women, which was supposed to cause a furor, in fact barely caused a ripple. The argument then goes: Therefore, the acceptance of homosexuality in all its forms and agendas will cause no distress.
This is palpable balderdash. It is true that the ordination of women did not cause unseasonble earthquakes and a jolt in the Paris stockmarket, but it did cause an enormous furor, the results of which we are seeing now. Robinson is simply the last straw on the camel’s back. He is the proximate cause, not the only cause. The ordination of women was an earlier straw but, because the camel was still standing, the Far Left concluded that the creature was in good health. Present events show this to be wholly false.The present violent tremors show up strongly because the sensors we use are so coarse and insensitive, but that only means that the Left Wing had no means to pick up the tremors, not that there weren’t any.
How do you give a guy that far away a whack up longside the head?
We need a punctuation mark that shows powerful anger, a kind of stupendapoint (that Victor Borge invented). LM
Ferguson’s last point is lovely: It’s my conviction that as long as the Kirk listens to the actual experience of Christians in civil partnerships, it will take its colours from the fence and nail them to the mast of the theology of a generous God.
This is the response of the generous God nailed to the tree who said “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”
I was disturbed by the ordination of women in TEC because it was not done in good order. How ever as that may be said Christ said there is neither male nor female in the kingdom of heaven and Christ looked upon the ministry of women favorably. Try as hard as I can there are no favorable scriptures that can be given for homosexual relationships
Sorry last line should have said, “Trying as hard as I can, I can find no scriptures that support homosexuality.”