Posted on 08/30/2005 11:15:15 AM PDT by Graybeard58
Homosexuals have made a lot of progress on their agenda in 15 years. But progress has not come without a price for the rest of society. Given the small percentage of the population homosexuals represent, it appears to be a case of the tail wagging the dog.
Unfortunately, some of that progress comes at the expense of unity among some Protestant religious congregations. This year, there was a distinct threat of a schism in the Episcopal Church in the United States because a homosexual priest, V. Gene Robinson, was elevated to bishop in New Hampshire. The action did not sit well with many of the Episcopal hierarchy outside the United States or clergy and parishioners in the country.
Nor was it acceptable to at least six priests running parishes in Connecticut. A controversy erupted between the half dozen and Bishop Andrew Smith of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut. One result was the issuance of a six-month inhibition by the bishop of one of the dissenters. the Rev. Mark Hansen, rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Bristol. The inhibition bars the Rev. Hansen from serving his congregation or carrying out a ministry.
The rift between bishop and priests in Connecticut expanded to other states when nine bishops heading Episcopal dioceses around the country warned Bishop Smith they will intervene if he doesn't lift the inhibition.
A national meeting of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America had its own conflict over the homosexual issue when delegates rejected a proposal that would have allowed homosexuals in committed relationships to serve as clergy. The vote was quite close, 503 to 490. Also rebuffed was a measure permitting blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples.
Remarking on the voting, Bishop Roy Riley of New Jersey, president of the Council of Bishops, said, "This church is not ready to make major changes in its ordination practices." A delegate from the West Coast went further, declaring the case for homosexual ordination has not been made.
Advocates for homosexual ordinations were angered by the defeats. One group charged the church was sacrificing homosexuals "on the altar of a false and ephemeral sense of unity," a comment that carried a strong suggestion the division won't easily be healed. A lot will depend on what a task force reports in 2009 in a statement on human sexuality.
The turmoil in the churches shows there is no institution that is sacred so far as the homosexual agenda is concerned. Adoption, marriage, the Boy Scouts and now religious groups are all under siege by homosexuals.
It's all about AIDS, 24 x 7.
Not our fault, help us, but let us continue our reckless behavior.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. Regarding the "Queer Nation" and other 'in your face activists'- - "A Pox Upon Ye!"
And it was so.
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