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Largest Presbyterian Denomination Gives Final Approval for Same-Sex Marriage
ny times ^ | 3-17-2015 | LAURIE GOODSTEIN

Posted on 03/17/2015 6:09:07 PM PDT by Citizen Zed

After three decades of debate over its stance on homosexuality, members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted on Tuesday to change the definition of marriage in the church’s constitution to include same-sex marriage.

The final approval by a majority of the church’s 171 regional bodies, known as presbyteries, enshrines a change recommended last year by the church’s General Assembly. The vote amends the church’s constitution to broaden marriage from being between “a man and a woman” to “two people, traditionally a man and a woman.”

The Presbytery of the Palisades, meeting in Fair Lawn, N.J., put the ratification count over the top on Tuesday on a voice vote. With many presbyteries still left to vote, the tally early Tuesday evening stood at 86 presbyteries in favor and 41 against and one tied.

“Finally, the church in its constitutional documents fully recognizes that the love of gays and lesbian couples is worth celebrating in the faith community,” said the Rev. Brian D. Ellison, executive director of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, which advocates gay inclusion in the church. “There is still disagreement, and I don’t mean to minimize that, but I think we are learning that we can disagree and still be church together.”

The church, with about 1.8 million members, is the largest of the nation’s Presbyterian denominations, but it has been losing congregations and individual members as it has moved to the left theologically over the past several years. There was a wave of departures in and after 2011, when the presbyteries ratified a decision to ordain gays and lesbians as pastors, elders and deacons, and that may have cleared the way for Tuesday’s vote.

(Excerpt) Read more at mobile.nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Religion; Society; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: homosexualagenda; pcusa; religiousleft
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Sounds more like a schism than a vote.
1 posted on 03/17/2015 6:09:07 PM PDT by Citizen Zed
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To: Citizen Zed

“Church”.


2 posted on 03/17/2015 6:10:39 PM PDT by Politicalkiddo (You know it's bad when you actually wish that someone would replace your senators with horses.)
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To: Citizen Zed

Not my job to judge them...but man can not make clean what God finds offensive.


3 posted on 03/17/2015 6:13:34 PM PDT by Drango (A liberal's compassion is limited only by the size of someone else's wallet.)
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To: Citizen Zed

The reason this happened is a large number of churches have left. My church left last year.


4 posted on 03/17/2015 6:15:33 PM PDT by kaehurowing
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To: Drango

At some time... the burning will suck!


5 posted on 03/17/2015 6:16:20 PM PDT by foundedonpurpose (o)
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To: Citizen Zed
For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. Jude 1:4
6 posted on 03/17/2015 6:21:09 PM PDT by Mechanicos (Nothing's so small it can't be blown out of proportion.)
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To: Citizen Zed

I don’t think “final judgment” is in their power to pronounce.


7 posted on 03/17/2015 6:25:15 PM PDT by Steely Tom (Vote GOP for A Slower Handbasket)
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To: Citizen Zed

No doubt in a year or two it will be:

_____________________________________________________________

After three decades of debate over its stance on adultery, members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted on Tuesday to change the definition of marriage in the church’s constitution to celebrate “having a little fun on the side”.

The final approval by a majority of the church’s 171 regional bodies, known as presbyteries, enshrines a change recommended last year by the church’s General Assembly. The vote amends the church’s constitution to broaden marriage from being “for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, and forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live” to “a legal contract and convenience that offers financial benefits but no restrictions”.

“Finally, the church in its constitutional documents fully recognizes that the love of those who stray is worth celebrating in the faith community,” said an intern, speaking on behalf of the Rev. W. J Clinton, executive director of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, which advocates horndog inclusion in the church. “There is still disagreement, and I don’t mean to minimize that, but I think we are learning that we can disagree and still be church together.”

The church, with about 0.9 million members, was once the largest of the nation’s Presbyterian denominations, but it has been losing congregations and individual members as it has moved to the left theologically over the past several years. There was a wave of departures in and after 2011, and again after 2015, when the presbyteries ratified decisions to ordain gays and lesbians as pastors, elders and deacons, and again to recognize gay “marriage” was if it was real marriage, and that may have cleared the way for Tuesday’s vote.


8 posted on 03/17/2015 6:26:50 PM PDT by Pollster1 ("Shall not be infringed" is unambiguous.)
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To: Citizen Zed

Now they are the Presbyterian People’s Popular Front. The word “church” cannot in any way apply to them. The Presbyterians are now officially a Synagogue of Satan.


9 posted on 03/17/2015 6:27:57 PM PDT by Dr. Thorne (The night is far spent, the day is at hand.- Roman 13:12)
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To: Citizen Zed; All
”[What’s Left of the] Largest Presbyterian Denomination Gives Final Approval for Same-Sex Marriage"

There! Fixed it.

"Citizen Zed: Sounds more like a schism than a vote."

Thread title is evidently pro-gay activists once again trying to give impression that LGBT people are more numerous than they really are.

10 posted on 03/17/2015 6:31:00 PM PDT by Amendment10
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To: Steely Tom

Well,,clearly this shows how much endorsing homosexuality has permeated our entire culture.

So now we are going to see major recognized religious denominations approving and performing homosexual marriages???

Never thought I would see the day. I naïvely thought that churches would stand firm against homosexual marriage, even though homosexual marriage was happening in civil or non religious ceremonies.

Are there other major Christian denominations which allow homosexual marriage??


11 posted on 03/17/2015 6:34:53 PM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: Citizen Zed

Once they stop following the Bible, they are no longer a Christian church, no matter what they call themselves. Same with Episcopalians. Morals do not “evolve”.


12 posted on 03/17/2015 6:37:58 PM PDT by mom of young patriots
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To: Dilbert San Diego
I naïvely thought that churches would stand firm against homosexual marriage, even though homosexual marriage was happening in civil or non religious ceremonies.

Many "churches" stand firm for one thing: the flow of money from the collection plate.

13 posted on 03/17/2015 6:39:29 PM PDT by Steely Tom (Vote GOP for A Slower Handbasket)
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To: Citizen Zed

I’m sure they used the homosexual bible to find the scripture to justify this because in the Christian Bible Jesus talks of marriage being between a man and a woman.

Matthew 19:5 KJV

And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, 5and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH ‘?


14 posted on 03/17/2015 6:48:50 PM PDT by RginTN
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To: Citizen Zed

Praying for the still true congregations there to have the courage to leave as many others have done. It is very traumatic and expensive in some cases... my heart goes out to the faithful Pastors and members still within the denomination for the days ahead.


15 posted on 03/17/2015 6:53:38 PM PDT by Tamzee (Man is not free unless government is limited. ~~~ Ronald Reagan)
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To: Tamzee

Did anyone ever think, a few years ago, that we would see schisms in major denominations, over homosexuality, of all things???


16 posted on 03/17/2015 6:57:01 PM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: Steely Tom

Apparently though the conservatives continue to donate generously to their liebral “churches.” They are too uninformed to know any better.


17 posted on 03/17/2015 7:00:40 PM PDT by Theodore R. (Liberals keep winning; so the American people must now be all-liberal all the time.)
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To: Dilbert San Diego

It’s not really over homosexuality: it is over God Himself (they even reject the pronoun now).


18 posted on 03/17/2015 7:01:31 PM PDT by Theodore R. (Liberals keep winning; so the American people must now be all-liberal all the time.)
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To: Dr. Thorne

You’d be surprised how many Presbyterians won’t bat an eye over this.


19 posted on 03/17/2015 7:02:24 PM PDT by Theodore R. (Liberals keep winning; so the American people must now be all-liberal all the time.)
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To: Tamzee

The root of the problem is grounded in the very beginning of the gentile “church”. Yeshua and all of his Talmidim were Jews and they observed all, that’s ALL the commandments. The apostles warned the movement that to willfully break a single commandment ruins the integrity of the whole Torah. The so called “church fathers” willfully did just that. They broke certain mitzvot and taught their followers to do the same. A fatal disease found purchase within the church that has now germinated and will eventually destroy Christianity entirely. You doubt this? Watch, it is happening all around you. The answer is, and has always been to learn to walk as the Nazarene walked: in perfect observance of the Torah. As David the King said, “All of your righteous statutes are everlasting!”


20 posted on 03/17/2015 7:07:03 PM PDT by Torahman (Remember the Maccabees!)
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