Posted on 02/02/2020 2:48:59 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Archbishop of York John Sentamu have apologized for a decree issued by the Church of England which said that only heterosexual married couples should have sex and that sex in gay or straight civil partnerships “falls short of God’s purpose for human beings according to scriptural teachings.”
“We as Archbishops, alongside the bishops of the Church of England, apologize and take responsibility for releasing a statement last week which we acknowledge has jeopardised trust,” the archbishops said in a statement, according to Belfast Telegraph. “We are very sorry and recognize the division and hurt this has caused.”
The House of Bishops of the Church of England last week issued a pastoral guidance, which said, “For Christians, marriage — that is, the lifelong union between a man and a woman, contracted with the making of vows — remains the proper context for sexual activity.”
The guidance was issued in response to the recent introduction of mixed-sex civil partnerships by the U.K. parliament to open the institution to heterosexual couples.
The church “seeks to uphold that standard” in its approach to civil partnerships, and “to affirm the value of committed, sexually abstinent friendships” within such partnerships, the guidance said. “The introduction of same sex marriage, through the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, has not changed the church’s teaching on marriage or same sex relationships.”
It added, “Sexual relationships outside heterosexual marriage are regarded as falling short of God’s purpose for human beings.”
The Church of England explained that while “many of the provisions in the legislation on civil partnerships are, however, similar to, or identical with, those in marriage law,” the commitment in a civil partnership is different than that of a marriage. “In particular, [civil partnerships are] not predicated on the intention to engage in a sexual relationship.”
After the guidance, some important Anglican figures wrote an open letter to the archbishops, warning that the denomination had become “a laughingstock to a nation that believes it is obsessed with sex,” according to The Telegraph.
“More importantly this statement has significantly damaged the mission of the Church and it has broken the trust of those it seeks to serve … it seems our trust has been misplaced and we feel badly let down,” the letter went on to say.
The signatories to the open letter included the Ven Canon Peter Leonard, Archdeacon of the Isle of Wight and chair of the pressure group One Body One Faith; Christina Baron, a member of the General Synod and chair of the Human Sexuality Group on General Synod; the Rev. Andrew Foreshew-Cain, chaplain to Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford and the Founder of the Campaign for Equal Marriage in the Church of England; among others.
The pastoral statement, they added, “makes clear there has been no desire to listen or learn from those of us who spoke to explain how offensive we found the tone of the House of Bishops’ previous document. Indeed, the statement is anything but ‘pastoral’ — it is cold, defensive, and uncaring of its impact on the millions of people it affects.”
Maybe it’s time for more fire and sulfur. Sodom and Gomorrah was God’s first Sweet Meteor of Death after the flood.
And if every straight couple rigorously follows the commandment to be fruitful and multiply, we should see a temporary reduction in freeway traffic.
I keep wondering when the various Christian church groups are going “to grow a spine” & STOP apologizing to the GODLESS, HOPELESs & HELPLESS LEFTISTS, ATHEISTS, haters/anti-religious BIGOTS & the so-called “SJW” for what is TRUE, MORAL & BIBLICAL.
Yours, TMN78247
Either it is a Church of God and the leaders servants of the Lord....or.....like the Catholic church it has come to be lead by heretics.
Apologize? What the ——?
thought this was Babylon Bee by the headline
Progress....?
LOL! According to the bible and Gods laws of nature... Sex is the act of procreation NOT perversion, period! Sex IS NOT having an orgasm relationship with a doll, animal, same gender hole, or your mothers afghan! It’s not an act of masturbation in some other dudes fudge-hole, hands or mouth. Or poking a blow-up doll, sheep or slab of liver. Same for lesbians... sex is not playing with dildos, strap-ons, vibrators, horses and dogs. That is NOT sex, that is a perversion of nature, your pluming and your wiring.
Me too.
its all pretty simple
sex outside of marriage is wrong, and god only allows hetrosexuals to marry.
It’s all pretty black and white.
“The church “seeks to uphold that standard”.....”
Which standard was that? I always thought Christians were brave. I guess because they ignore God’s word they just lost their Christian status.
rwood
Why are they apologizing for stating the truth? That is what is wrong today. People are allowing themselves to be intimidated by shouters who are doing wrong.
The Fake Church of England.
The ground should swallow up these “churches” that have become FAKE Christian sects which worship Sodomy and Sodomites.
To blaspheming deceivers, truth = hate.
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