Archbishop of Canterbury re-ignites row (Gay Christians Should Be Embraced

[Khephra]

Archbishop of Canterbury re-ignites row

The head of the Anglican Church, Archbishop Rowan Williams, is set to cause chaos throughout the already fragile Church by suggesting sexually active gay Christians should be embraced.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has sanctioned the reissue of a six year old essay that not only shows support for gay relationships, but also challenges the Biblical teachings on the subject.

Williams uses the essay, originally sanctioned in February this year before the withdrawal of Dr Jeffrey Johns from the running for a bishop post and the appointment of Gene Robinson in the USA, to say that clergy should not rely so heavily on a passage that condemns gays as suffering from a "vile affection".

He also backs liberals that support the sexual expression of gay relationships, as long as they are monogamous.


more....................................................

http://uk.gay.com/headlines/4883

[tnlefty]

1. Well good

My priest ascribes to the essay, and it will probably widen the rift that exists within the church.

[fortyfeetunder]

2. Good, this is the 21st century....

Gee, in the last millenium we burned gays at the stake or committed various other atrocities to them. And now someone in the religious hierarchy has a clue in the 21st century that we should love them. Wow what a concept!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

3. This past Sunday

I attended services at St. Mark's Cathedral in Minneapolis, the same church that hosted the General Convention at which Gene Robinson was confirmed as bishop of New Hampshire.

The preacher preached about getting along despite disagreements, and at announcement time, the dean (Episco-speak for the head honcho priest of a cathedral) said that since the convention, they had gotten countless phone calls of support, and people phoning to say that they were going to start attending. He said that he saw a lot of new faces in the crowd, and he welcomed them.

Considering that it was a Sunday in August, there were a lot of people there.

I think that the whole flap about ordaining and consecrating gays and lesbians will be like the flap about ordaining and consecrating women in the late 1970s. A few rigid types will leave in a huff and found new parishes, where they sit around telling one another how righteous they are. (There is one such parish in Portland, which left the Episcopal Church over the question of women's ordination.)

Individual bishops have ordained openly gay and lesbian clergy, and individual clergy have blessed same-sex relationships. Both happened in my former parish in Portland. The ordination was of a man from England who did his transitional diaconate (Episco-speak for internship year) at our parish. He was wonderful, and we knew that he'd make an excellent priest, but we didn't know that he was gay until he came out during a sermon. (Since the parish had to sponsor him for ordination, the bishop wanted everyone to be fully informed.) Our reaction was basically, "So he's gay. Big deal. He's got great people skills, and he's such a good preacher that attendance goes up on the Sundays when he preaches."

At the ordination, which was a huge bash, attended by just about the whole parish and lots of local gay and lesbian Episcopalians, one protestor got up and made a statement about "abominations." The bishop thanked him for his opinion, and the ordination proceeded.

Since there has been so much gay-friendly activity in the Episcopal Church on the local level, I predict that the recent decision will have very little effect on membership levels and may actually attract new members or bring back old ones.

[helleborient]

4. The same divisions exist

Among Presybterians, Methodists, United Church of Christ and much of mainstream Protestantism as well as the Roman Catholic Church within the U.S. I think it will only be a matter of years, maybe decades, before these churches fall in line with the Episcopalian leadership. We may be losing a few battles here and there, but we are inevitably winning the war on this one.

[donco6]

5. I agree.

I believe time is on our side in this battle. While religionists keep repeating the same old chestnuts about gays being "abominations" and "sons of perdition," most people look at their gay children, neighbors, friends, teachers, coworkers, and they think, "so, I don't really see anything wrong with them. What's the big deal?"

Rationality wins out in the end on this one.