A statement posted issued by Lutherans Concerned/North America on its website dated April 11 read: "This weekend, the ELCA [Evangelical Lutheran Church in America] Church Council meeting in Chicago moved the decision of the 2009 Churchwide Assembly into policy by replacing the language in church documents that excluded ministers in committed same-gender relationships with a policy that allows congregations and organizations to call a fully-qualified minister in a committed, same-gender relationship. And, the Council also approved the way to reinstate ministers who have been removed from the roster because of the previous policy and to receive ELM pastors onto the roster of the ELCA. The Council also made the benefits of the ELCA pension plan available to rostered ministers and employees in committed, same-gender relationships."
The 2009 Churchwide Assembly adopted "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" as the ELCA's tenth social statement.
Rev Dr Cindi Love, the new executive director of Soulforce, an advocacy group that is working to end religious and political oppression of LGBT people, wrote in The Huffington Post on April 19: "The Lutherans have made a crack in the dam of religious bigotry that is now set to break wide open for the rest of the fundamentalist world – we are at a tipping point."
"The ELCA has conducted itself with grace and dignity, and many of us are longing for some of that type of public civility. Their example is going to make people within other embattled denominations long for a better process within their own communities. The ELCA members didn't wage war in public with one another. There was no public outcry that diminished everyone while they worked their way through a quarter century of discussion."
Meanwhile on the other side of the world, some 130 leaders of the Global South Anglican Communion which comprises churches in more than 20 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America are gathered in Singapore for a five-day meeting from April 19-23, to discuss the future of the Church and the Anglican Covenant – a document aimed at preventing a split in the Anglican Communion.
Episcopal Life Online reports that among those participating in the meeting are some conservative Episcopal Church bishops and leaders of breakaway groups such as the Anglican Church in North America, which has disaffiliated itself from the established provinces in North America to seek "spiritual care" from Anglican Provinces and leaders in Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South America and Uganda.
While the term 'Global South' was more commonly used to refer to the Christian population of the developing world, the Anglican Global South is today a grouping of twenty of the thirty-eight provinces of the Anglican Communion. The term is said to have come into use in 2003 as a result of the dispute caused by the ordination of Rev Gene Robinson – an openly gay non-celibate priest – as a bishop in the Episcopal Church in the United States. "Increasingly, it becomes a target used by disaffected Church of England clerics for canvassing worldwide Anglican rebellion against Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams," wrote Michael Nai, director and Asian Christianity coordinator of the Centre for the Study of Christianity in Asia, Trinity Theological College in a 2008 paper titled 'The Global South Anglican: its origins and development' citing several other publications.
The Archbishop of Rwanda, Rev Emmanuel Kolini on Tuesday called for a new Anglican Ecumenical Council saying that the American Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in Canada are heretical because they have stepped over the line in faith and morals and should no longer be considered part of, or having a voice in the affairs of the Anglican Communion, reported VirtueOnline which describes itself as the 'Voice for Global Orthodox Anglicanism.'
The website also reported that delegates are expected to discuss the impact the consecration of Rev Mary Glasspool, a non-celibate lesbian as bishop next month will have on the Anglican Communion. The American branch of the Anglican Communion is known as the Episcopal Church (TEC). David W. Virtue wrote on VirtueOnline: "The incremental innovations of TEC and the Anglican Church of Canada have been the subject of discussion for over a decade, but many believe this might be the end of the road for provinces that do not conform to Scripture on matters of human sexual behavior."
The Singapore Straits Times on Tuesday quoted Archbishop Mouneer Anis, who heads the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, as saying that he hoped the meeting would persuade Dr Williams [Archbishop of Canterbury] to "discipline churches which have gone the wrong way", adding that the issues of gay clergy and same-sex unions were "the only things keeping the global Anglican community from coming together".
Archbishop of Canterbury and spiritual head of the 77 million Anglicans worldwide, Dr. Rowan Williams was not present at the meeting but spoke to delegates via a pre-recorded video message on Tuesday.
The Global South Primates Steering Committee comprises Rev Peter J. Akinola, Nigeria (Chairman); Rev Emmanuel Kolini, Rwanda (Vice-Chairman); Rev John Chew, Southeast Asia (General Secretary); Rev Mouneer Anis, Jerusalem and the Middle East (Treasurer); Rev Stephen Than Myint Oo, Myanmar and Bishop Albert Chama, Dean of Central Africa.
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Yup, that's where this religion is heading...3 giant steps right back into the stone age with such backward countries to boot. Zzzz.
Some of those attending this conference were said by the GayUganda blogger to have supported the Bill, until recently.
He has not posted for a while, I hope he is ok.
If you want to know what the bible really says, then read this book: http://www.amazon.com/What-Bible-Really-About-Homosexuality/dp/188636009X
So, these Christians pick the one part of Liviticus - "a man shall not sleep with another man as he does a woman" - and totally ignore the rest of it. Religious hypocracy is rampant and evil. As my father used to say, "Thank God I'm an athiest."
"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires."
– Susan B. Anthony
The strange thing about interpreting the bible is how conveniently the misguided abuse the sanctity of the written word. It is written that the word of GOD does not change. Yet, a lot of the penalties for menial "sins" in the old testament that can virtually put everyone to death is now "lifted" in the new testament because Christ paid for our sins. Even if we buy this hypothesis, given this new Christ salvation, shouldn't then gays, along with any other sinner now be only judged for their own lives by GOD/Jesus and not man?!!!
Pure political bollocks if you ask me.
Bias never need a reason, just the deed!
I just saw a disturbing documentary about numerous heterosexual warlords in Afghanistan who use "dancing boys", who are made to dress as girls, and are used for sex, and "owning" them is a status symbol. It seems to have to do with limited access to women. It involves the abuse, and sometimes the murder, of young boys. From what I've read, this may be the sort of thing that Paul was referring to in the new testament, which was connected with temple prostitution.
In the meantime some American Evangelists are preparing to whip up even more homophobia against gay people in Africa: see the article "American Evangelist To Rally Against Gays In Uganda" on boxturtlebulletin.com .
While these individuals are certainly entitled to hold personal views (no matter how wrong them may be in those views), they are just as certainly not entitled to use their position(s) to seek to impose those personal views on their congregations.
To seek to do so is, IMO, a breach of trust and as such demands disciplinary action.
Therefore, invite the homophobes to a special conference at Westminster, demote them from their "elevated" positions back to "apprentice minister".
Then de-frock them completely so that they have no standing within the Anglican Communion, other than as a common member of a congregation.
This might sound harsh ... and Dr. Williams (in the name of "diplomacy") has been pi**ing on the edges of the fire rather than dowsing the conflagration ... it is time to dowse the fire.
God, in his wisdom, created all men (and women) equally. What do these homophobes not understand about the word "all" ?
they share some common traits; ... old ... aged ... zealously-fouled ... ivory-towered ... and old!
thankfully these people (and what they think) matter extremely little to me ;) Hooray!
Unfortunately, truth be told that these religious fundies are always the ones that attack our kind and start campaigns against harmony. It's their mission to "save" everyone beside themselves, by whatever force or expense, if need be. Such are the misguided of the faiths of the Book.
I really dont know what to expect from the christian church nowadays....Its all a matter of votes that made up this faith. And I would never put myself on a situation to believe in something which is shaped plainly by human votes.
interesting point by jammyboi too , and if I take it a step further ...it is those homophobic church leaders who are committing grave sin if they tried to straighten naturally created gays ? They better repent now ;-)
I dont really care what these ppl said ...because even between themselves they cant get along with their multiple schism...so they better have a good self reflection to remain relevant in this era otherwise they would be mistaken as the Ang-Lee Clan lol ...
divine/human... gay/straight.... the place of life is in the divine overlap
Either god is death or careless.
In the 20th century the bible was used to justify inferior rights for women.
In the 21st century it is being used to deny gay people full rights.
Every single black person of African origin should be loudly supporting gay rights, in thanks for those who similarly supported the freeing of slaves two centuries ago. Anything less is sheer hypocrisy (I've got my freedom, but you can't have yours.). Denial of full equality for gay people is the slavery of the 21st century.
There are also spiritual paths that consider the expression and exploration of sexuality as a part of the path to enlightenment, and it'd be great if someone knowledgeable about Tantric and similar beliefs would post or write an article. Shinen Wong briefly touched on it last year in a broader article.
- 1) I think it's wrong to refer to this group as "conservatives", or even, more generally to a "conservative Christian" viewpoint. IMHO, these terms have come in recently in this context as a form of PR to disguise religious bigotry and fundamentalism. There's no consensus about what either term actually means, they are so broad as to be totally meaningless. They just sound authoritative when someone is expressing bigotted views. In other words, there is really no such thing as a "conservative Christian" viewpoint. And it's also maybe a daft label to claim too when you consider that the biblical Jesus was a bit of a bohemian revolutionary who stood up to the fundies of the day and was executed for blasphemy.
-2) On the conference itself - Let's be clear, in my view Akinola is not a nice guy, he is after power, and he and his supporters want to impose their brand of intolerance on the whole Anglican church of 70 million by threats and bullying.
The leader of the Church (Archbp of Canterbury) has no power over the different countries to discipline/ defrock their clergy as someone here suggested; what he does is he tries to maintain a broad church by accommodating a variety of views, though he has allowed himself to be bullied too much by this group, to the detriment of more understanding and accepting congregations in the West (e.g. a gay UK bishop in a C.P. withdrew rather than risk causing a schism, after threats from this group).
3) The members of this group that supported the "Kill the Gays and their Friends" Bill in Uganda, or refused to condemn it, should be called to account.
"GAFCON members do not believe in engaging in dialogue with people with whom they disagree on human sexuality because it means being open to the possibility that the position of one’s opponent might be true when the plain sense reading of Scripture shows in their view that it is not.”
Calling for the freedom for churches to make their own interpretations of the Bible’s teaching on this issue, he said: “Why is it that as far as Anglicanism is concerned, we do not interpret the Scriptures literally when it comes to issues such as usury, or marriage and divorce, to name but two, but insist on a literal interpretation of texts that allegedly deal with homosexuality? It is difficult to believe that we have boxed ourselves into this particular corner.
“Allegorical, symbolical and mythical interpretations are allowed and have been allowed from the time of the Fathers to the present day for every part of the Bible, except for those that deal with sexuality and one is also left wondering why there cannot be diversity on this issue as on so many other moral issues.”
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