different parts of the church respond to same-sex marriage legislation
Yesterday a group of people from my new church home, Central Church of Christ, went to a forum at the Lethbridge Public Library that was dealing with this subject, "Clergy speak on Same-Sex marriage". It was an interesting panel consisting of four local clergy including: a Baptist (of course), a Catholic deacon, a United Methodist (representing the United Church of Canada), and a Universalist/Unitarian.
Each of the speakers was given ten minutes to share their own personal position on the issue, its implications for our nation, along with sharing the general position of their denomination. It is good to have respectful dialogue about these issues, and I am thankful that we live in a country where we have freedom of assembly and we can discuss our opinions without fear, but at the same time it seems as though everyone had decided upon what they believed before coming to the forum and they were going to leave with their same beliefs intact.
Each of the Pastors presented the same tired old arguments for and against same-sex marriage (or should I say equal-marriage?). Those opposed to changing the definition of marriage based their reasoning upon the authority of scripture, and those in favour of broadening the marriage definition spoke of this as an issue of human rights not unlike the civil rights movements of the past 150 years or so. It is clear that one of the biggest distinctions between the different views within the church is the basis of authority that one holds. Is it scripture, or is it the conscience of the individual (Universalist view), or human reason with scripture as a secondary authority (very much the Methodist view). Interestingly, none of the pastors suggested that one could hold and authoritative view of scripture and at the same time argue from the Bible that homosexuality as we know it today is not condemned as a sin.
The most emotional part of the evening was during the question and answer period. A 23 year old U of L student described the abusive treatment he received from an evangelical church when he 'came out of the closet' during his teenage years. He spoke about how he 'gave his life to Christ' at the age of 14 and how Jesus never answered his prayer to take away his sexual attraction to other men. When he shared his feelings with the church he was asked not to come back. His challenge to the ministers who were speaking against same-sex marriage was searing, and I must say that the Baptist pastor responded to his questions with sensitivity and what I perceived to be genuine compassion.
The Baptist pastor said that he loved the young 23 year old man "like a brother". I do not doubt his sincerity, but this statement really got me thinking. Is it possible for someone like this Baptist pastor to truly love someone like this homosexual man without accepting himj just as he is? Is it possible for that homosexual man to feel loved without being accepted just as he is?
What do you think?
Each of the speakers was given ten minutes to share their own personal position on the issue, its implications for our nation, along with sharing the general position of their denomination. It is good to have respectful dialogue about these issues, and I am thankful that we live in a country where we have freedom of assembly and we can discuss our opinions without fear, but at the same time it seems as though everyone had decided upon what they believed before coming to the forum and they were going to leave with their same beliefs intact.
Each of the Pastors presented the same tired old arguments for and against same-sex marriage (or should I say equal-marriage?). Those opposed to changing the definition of marriage based their reasoning upon the authority of scripture, and those in favour of broadening the marriage definition spoke of this as an issue of human rights not unlike the civil rights movements of the past 150 years or so. It is clear that one of the biggest distinctions between the different views within the church is the basis of authority that one holds. Is it scripture, or is it the conscience of the individual (Universalist view), or human reason with scripture as a secondary authority (very much the Methodist view). Interestingly, none of the pastors suggested that one could hold and authoritative view of scripture and at the same time argue from the Bible that homosexuality as we know it today is not condemned as a sin.
The most emotional part of the evening was during the question and answer period. A 23 year old U of L student described the abusive treatment he received from an evangelical church when he 'came out of the closet' during his teenage years. He spoke about how he 'gave his life to Christ' at the age of 14 and how Jesus never answered his prayer to take away his sexual attraction to other men. When he shared his feelings with the church he was asked not to come back. His challenge to the ministers who were speaking against same-sex marriage was searing, and I must say that the Baptist pastor responded to his questions with sensitivity and what I perceived to be genuine compassion.
The Baptist pastor said that he loved the young 23 year old man "like a brother". I do not doubt his sincerity, but this statement really got me thinking. Is it possible for someone like this Baptist pastor to truly love someone like this homosexual man without accepting himj just as he is? Is it possible for that homosexual man to feel loved without being accepted just as he is?
What do you think?
posted by Jason at 7:48 p.m.
2 Comments:
A friend of mine had an interesting idea while at UBC. He was part of an evangelical Christian club on campus. His club invited the UBC GLBT club to join them for a few games of ultimate frisbee, on the grounds that they were both in the category of people most targeted for abusive comments on campus. They all got together and he says it was a great experience for all involved.
Sounds like a good idea. It is a big first step when we are able to percieve one another beyond our arguements.
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