Episcopal Church Moves to End Ban on Gay Bishops

[Washington]

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The bishops of the Episcopal Chresurch voted at the church’s convention on Monday to open “any ordained ministry” to gay men and lesbians, a move that could effectively undermine a moratorium on ordaining gay bishops that the church passed at its last convention three years ago.

The resolution passed on Monday was written in a way that would allow dioceses to consider gay candidates to the episcopacy, but does not mandate that all dioceses do so.

The battle over homosexuality in the Episcopal Church has been watched closely by other mainline Protestant churches that are also divided internally on the issue. Many are looking to the Episcopal Church as a bellwether that could foretell whether their denominations can survive the storm over homosexuality intact.

source

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Slowly but surely the tide continues to change.

 

[MarkSB]

You're an agnostic, why do you care?

 

[mont974x4]

and another step of compromising God's Word and His standard.

 

[nolongerhome]

You're an agnostic, why do you care?

Maybe because the less bigotry there is in the world, a better place it will be?

 

[Supernaut]

Maybe because the less bigotry there is in the world, a better place it will be?

EXACTLY!! It's about time folks stop using the Bible to oppress!!

 

[Washington]

You're an agnostic, why do you care?

1. Many people don't bother to think for themselves, and let others do their thinking for them.

2. These "others" are often their chosen religious leaders.

3. Homosexuals are discriminated against.

4. If these religious leaders can show their followers that homosexuals don't deserve to be discriminated against then perhaps the followers wont do so.


So, it isn't as an agnostic that I care, but as a human being.

 

[Followers4christ]

This is another sign that we are living in the end times. Homosexuality will be flaunted in the end of the age. Jesus warned that the last days would be like the days of Lot who lived in wicked Sodom (Luke 17:28-30). We know that the root of Sodom's sin was pride and complacency (Ezekiel 16:49) as it is today. However, Sodom's lasting infamy stemmed from their aggressive homosexual sin (Genesis 19; Jude 1:7). Today, the homosexual agenda is flaunted and forced upon our entire society and even in the church. Here are some scriptures that talk about this sin:


1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Romans 1:24-27 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 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.

Jude 1:7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

 

[Washington]

Another false church preaching a false gospel. This is another sign that we are living in the end times. Homosexuality will be flaunted in the end of the age. Jesus warned that the last days would be like the days of Lot who lived in wicked Sodom (Luke 17:28-30). We know that the root of Sodom's sin was pride and complacency (Ezekiel 16:49) as it is today. However, Sodom's lasting infamy stemmed from their aggressive homosexual sin (Genesis 19; Jude 1:7). Today, the homosexual agenda is flaunted and forced upon our entire society and even in the church. Here are some scriptures that talk about this sin:


1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Romans 1:24-27 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 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.

Jude 1:7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

​

 

[cheese007]

Don't most rapture aficionados, you know, WANT the rapture to happen? Shouldn't they be preaching gay tolerance as much as possible then?

 

[Followers4christ]

Shouldn't they be preaching gay tolerance as much as possible then?

No, we should be preaching life to this dying world, for God wants all to hear the truth and be saved through him (1 Timothy 2:3-4). If we preach a false gospel we are sinning against God and causing others to stumble. If we preach another gospel we are also preaching death over them and love is not in us (meaning God is not in us for God is love 1 John 4:8)

Romans 6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!

 

[Chazemataz]

Another false church preaching a false gospel. This is another sign that we are living in the end times. Homosexuality will be flaunted in the end of the age. Jesus warned that the last days would be like the days of Lot who lived in wicked Sodom (Luke 17:28-30). We know that the root of Sodom's sin was pride and complacency (Ezekiel 16:49) as it is today. However, Sodom's lasting infamy stemmed from their aggressive homosexual sin (Genesis 19; Jude 1:7). Today, the homosexual agenda is flaunted and forced upon our entire society and even in the church. Here are some scriptures that talk about this sin:


1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Romans 1:24-27 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 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.

Jude 1:7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

Nice to see you didn't forget about those verses.

Sad to see you did forget about the ones that say "Let he who is without sin throw the first stone", and "Judge not lest ye be judged".

But the saddest part of this post is that you have the audacity to call a denomination of human beings trying to find hope in a terrible world a "false church".

 

[Followers4christ]

Nice to see you didn't forget about those verses.

Sad to see you did forget about the ones that say "Let he who is without sin throw the first stone", and "Judge not lest ye be judged".

You clearly do not understand. Lets look at the whole scripture that so many people misuse:

Matthew 7:1-5 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged.For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.


It's not saying that Judging is wrong, what it is saying is if you judge someone you should not be doing the samething that you are judging the other person for (for that would make you a hypocrite).Just as Ted Haggard condemned Sexual Sin and yet in close doors was committing the very act he was condemning (he refused to look at the sawdust in his own eyes), the church has seen alot of hypocrites.This is what Matthew 7:1-5 is condemning.If we are to judge let us not be hypocrites about it.


1 Corinthians 5:12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?

1 Corinthians 6:1-6 If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? But instead, one brother goes to law against another—and this in front of unbelievers!

Titus 2:15 These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

 

[Followers4christ]

But the saddest part of this post is that you have the audacity to call a denomination of human beings trying to find hope in a terrible world a "false church".

If they are preaching another gospel as I already showed in my first post then they are a false church preaching death over the people in their church. To preach that there is nothing wrong with homosexuality is preaching against what the bible teaches on the subject and is preaching another gospel. Check out my first post for scriptures on the subject.

 

[kiwimac]

But they are not preaching a false Gospel, as you put it. They are preaching the gospel of radical acceptance Jesus preached.

The absolutely unpardonable thing was not his concern for the sick, the cripples, the lepers, the possessed; not the way he put up with women and children around him; not even his partisanship for the poor, humble people. The real trouble was that he got involved with moral failures, with obviously irreligious and immoral people; people morally and politically suspect, so many dubious, obscure, abandoned, hopeless types existing as an ineradicable evil on the fringe of every society. That was the real scandal.
Hans Küng, On Being a Christian, p. 271.

 

[Followers4christ]

But they are not preaching a false Gospel, as you put it. They are preaching the gospel of radical acceptance Jesus preached.

Jesus never preached the gospel of radical acceptace of sin. When Jesus preached he said "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19) , "But Jesus told him, Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead" (Matthew 8:22). Jesus said to Matthew " Follow Me" he told him, And Matthew Got up and followed him." (Matthew 9:9) Matthew at the time was a tax collector but he left all that and followed Jesus.

Jesus is looking for followers who will not compromise nor allow sinful desires to control them. According to the bible Homosexuality is sinful and leads to death. Those who preach the radical acceptace of this sin are not preaching the gospel of Christ, but are twisting it to fit their lustful lifestyle.

 

[Rochir]

 

[SiderealExalt]

I care more about human rights than religious freedom. Say yay Episcopalians! Way to stand up for human rights.

 

[joey_downunder]

Isn't religious freedom a human right?

 

[mont974x4]

A false hope based on a lie is no hope at all. The most unloving thing we can do is to pretend a sin is not a sin and condone evil. The consequences are eternal.

 

[craigerNY]

1. Many people don't bother to think for themselves, and let others do their thinking for them.

2. These "others" are often their chosen religious leaders.

3. Homosexuals are discriminated against.

4. If these religious leaders can show their followers that homosexuals don't deserve to be discriminated against then perhaps the followers wont do so.


So, it isn't as an agnostic that I care, but as a human being.

But religion is a choice. If they insist that their discriminatory practices be carried over as policy outside their organization (i.e. politics/law) we should fight it but if they want to discriminate within their organization who cares?