Posted on 03/11/2005 5:37:50 PM PST by sionnsar
WENHAM, MA (3/11/2005)--The homoerotic bishop of New Hampshire V. Gene Robinson told parishioners at Christ Church of Hamilton and Wenham that while Jesus was on this earth he was only in the company of men, his disciples, and referenced that Jesus talked about the "one he loved," implying that Jesus may have been a homosexual himself.
Speaking at a Lenten service on "Homosexuality and the Body of Christ: Is There a New Way?" Robinson pleaded for his hearers to accept his homosexuality and asked, "Who could know Jesus?" and therefore we should accept him [Robinson]. "Jesus was not terribly mainstream."
"The sooner we get away from labels like gay and straight and that dualism
the truth is there are as many sexualities, plural, as there are sexualities in the world. There are as many sexualities as there are human beings," he told his listeners. "Labels are not helpful."
Robinson said there were an enormous variety of sexualities. "What matters to me is mutual non-exploitative sex, love of self and love of neighbor. It is about hearts not body parts. We must have infinite respect for one another and radical respect for the world."
Asked by a parishioner how we teach people about sexuality with the Bible saying that marriage is a sacrament between a man and a woman, furthermore what was the basis for adding on new sexualities, Robinson said, "it is a big question; it is whether or not sex is God's gift or a Pandora's Box? Is it a blessing or a curse?"
Physical intimacy outside of a trustworthy relationship is madness, dangerous and wrong, he said.
Robinson said the message conveyed to most people was that 'sex is dirty save it for someone you love'. "I believe in abstinence before marriage or outside in a committed relationship. Our nakedness is a metaphor for how vulnerable we are. The church's teaching of sex outside of marriage is that you will be hurt unless there is a vulnerability or proven trustworthiness over time. We must respect the dignity of every human being. Marriage is a sacrament, a place where God can show up."
Questioned on how we distinguish between the church and world's view of sexuality and the enormous destruction it caused flowing from the 60s experimentation of our children with anything goes
as long as we love each other, Robinson explained that not anything goes. "We need to demonstrate real love. The world knows that the church practices serial monogamy. We need to walk the talk. What are not right are brief encounters. I dont hear anybody preaching for promiscuity."
"My daughter wound up living with someone before marrying him. What I tried to do was keep an open conversation going with her and I had the opportunity to talk with her. I did not approve of anything goes, but nothing she did could separate my love for her. I dont think setting down rules is helpful. I gave her an 'I' statement about what has been hurtful for me."
When asked how one could tell the difference between the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the authority of Holy Scripture or Malcolm's repressed desires, even leaving aside the seven Scriptures that speak against homosexuality or pleading subjectivism, Robinson said the key was community.
"No one of us can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit; it must be tested by the community. No one should be absolutely convinced that they know the will of God. We do the best we can to discern God's voice. Let's see if it bears fruit. Right now we are hearing different things. I believe [Archbishop] Akinola and I will be in heaven together. We may be apart here [on earth]. He is following the journey as far as he knows how and as I know how. We are going to be in heaven together, God won't have it any other way. We need some patience while we figure this out. We are each being as faithful as we can muster."
Pushed about how we knew whether we were being lead by the Holy Spirit or our own egos, Robinson said the key was "community."
Questioned about why the worldwide Anglican Communion based its teaching on Scripture, and can we set aside the teachings of the church as it has been handed down for new untested knowledge, Robinson said sexual orientation was determined by age 3 certainly well before it is a chosen orientation. It is a given; the lives of gays and lesbians are the new evidence for that. Look at the pain they have suffered at the hands of the church. He said gays and lesbians were jumping off buildings because nobody understood them.
When asked what new knowledge he possessed and what was his source of his authority that a homosexual relationship can be blessed and have we reached a parting of the ways, Robinson replied by asking how many of his listeners had been divorced and remarried. "The seven biblical texts do not apply to the contemporary issue today. We must separate civil rights from religious rites. Marriage is a civil right, and there is marriage as a religious rite.
There seems to be a real mix of opinion about him among the Orthodox, but many Orthodox collections of the works of the Fathers include him. In any event, he certainly wasn't any Arius.
I think me and you are on the same page. There is no way you can advocate homosexual behaviour in light of scripture and tradition not to mention common sense and moral law.
The Bishop doesn't serve God, but rather himself.
They should have left well enough alone, when homosexuality was considered a narcissistic mental and behavior disorder.
Oh wait, it still is. At least to a sane person it is.
How can THE man without sin be a homosexual?
Does this mean we are all DEAD?
Jesus had disciples and followers, not partners and He called the sinner sick.
Speaking at a Lenten service on "Homosexuality and the Body of Christ: Is There a New Way?" Robinson pleaded for his hearers to accept his homosexuality and asked, "Who could know Jesus?"
The Bible tells us that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed for their wicked sins, mainly homosexuality. Lot offered his daughters to spare his male friends from homosexual rape - to him homosexuality was a worse sin than the rape of his daughters:
Gen. 19:4-8
"4: Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom-both young and old-surrounded the house. 5: They called to Lot, 'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out so that we can have sex with them.' 6: Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7: and said, 'No my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. 8: Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.'"
God condemns homosexuality as described by Paul in Romans 1:
Romans1
18: The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19: since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20: For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualitieshis eternal power and divine naturehave been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
21: For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22: Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23: and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24: Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25: They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creatorwho is forever praised. Amen.
26:Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27:In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
28:Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29:They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30:slanderers, Godhaters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31:they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32:Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Post #89 is for you, too.
Jesus had disciples and followers, not partners and He called the sinner sick.
Amen and...AMEN.
Thank you.
It troubles me that those who are in the position to know better continue to corrupt the flock they are suppose to lead.
As I read Robinson's ramblings, he seems to have satisfied his own lust by justifying what he has done to the Episcopal faith. How absolutely tragic that this church has readily accepted this teaching of man over the commandments of God. Again the Bishop serves himself rather than that of God.
I talked to a friend of the family, who is a very conservative priest, and asked where he thinks the Catholic Church is headed with the problem the Episcopal church is facing right now. He is not optimistic about our future. I hope that is not the case.
I pray that the Pope that succeeds Pope John Paul 2 is just as conservative, and will continue to lead the church in the right direction.
Why have we dismissed the work of Satan behind these acts of suicide?
Is it not possible for those who have been corrupted, feel completely worthless because they have abandoned the teachings of God, or feel as though God has abandoned them?
Your heart goes out for those in such turmoil, and we has a Christian community work to forgive and bring others to God. The church works to condemn the sin, but not the sinner. To say that gays and lesbians have suffered at the hands of the church is a bit off the mark. (Why is it that those who follow God's teachings are the villains here?)
We don't take away God to satisfy our own agenda.
OK, from now on do us all a favor and stop using words when you talk.
Wow - so what percentage of the Episcopalian Church threw its soul away by supporting this serpent's ascendancy to the office of bishop?
I think this is one of those statements that is accepted the more it is repeated... but I'd like to see stats and proof because I don't believe it. Besides, the Church teaches (and always has) love the sinner and hate the sin... same with all of us in our sins. It gauls me that the canard of the Church persecuting gays(sinners) by letting them know their behaviour is sinful is hardly ever questioned.
bttt!
Thanks for the article. Sadly, I'm not surprised.
I wish I were.
This is happening, actually. The Anglican Communion Network is comprised of the 13 orthodox ECUSA dioceses, and is in close discussion with AMiA (which is under the African Primates) and REC+APA (which are merging, and in close discussion with said Primates). And the TAC is part of Forward in Faith, which is drawing the orthodox Anglicans together. (If and) when ECUSA is booted, they will offer to be the American province.
I can't believe anyone can listen to this without puking. And I mean that. Literally. If I couldn't run up to the pulpit with an open Bible ready to challenge this charlatan point-by-point, I couldn't last fifteen minutes before losing my breakfast.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.