- Feb 5, 2002
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The first female archbishop in the United Kingdom has responded to critics who have condemned her lesbian lifestyle by claiming God never told her not to be gay.
The Most Rev. Cherry Vann, 66, whose election last month as the 15th archbishop of Wales has led some conservatives to warn of apostasy in the Anglican Communion, told Premier Christian News she always believed she was gay and "never heard God say to me, who you are is wrong, who you love is wrong, you are living in sin."
"I have never heard that from God, and that's all I can say," added Vann, who lives with her civil partner, Wendy, and their two dogs.
Church teachings, she argued, are subject to change throughout history, and that modern views are coming to understand a more loving view of God regarding sexuality.
"Christians hold different views on all manner of subjects: divorce, remarriage, abortion, assisted dying, to name but a few," she said. "I mean, we are not all of one mind on most things. And you know, the Church changes its position. It learns a broader understanding of God's love. There is not one view on this matter, even [among] theologians and Christians."
She believes that the biblical strictures on sexuality, traditionally understood to prohibit all homosexual relationships, applied only to abusive relationships.
"My understanding is that the kinds of relationships that the Bible talks about are purely sexual for sexual gratification. They are abusive. They are not talking, in my view, about long-term loving relationships that I and many other LGBT+ people enjoy."
Continued below.
www.christianpost.com
The Most Rev. Cherry Vann, 66, whose election last month as the 15th archbishop of Wales has led some conservatives to warn of apostasy in the Anglican Communion, told Premier Christian News she always believed she was gay and "never heard God say to me, who you are is wrong, who you love is wrong, you are living in sin."
"I have never heard that from God, and that's all I can say," added Vann, who lives with her civil partner, Wendy, and their two dogs.
Church teachings, she argued, are subject to change throughout history, and that modern views are coming to understand a more loving view of God regarding sexuality.
"Christians hold different views on all manner of subjects: divorce, remarriage, abortion, assisted dying, to name but a few," she said. "I mean, we are not all of one mind on most things. And you know, the Church changes its position. It learns a broader understanding of God's love. There is not one view on this matter, even [among] theologians and Christians."
She believes that the biblical strictures on sexuality, traditionally understood to prohibit all homosexual relationships, applied only to abusive relationships.
"My understanding is that the kinds of relationships that the Bible talks about are purely sexual for sexual gratification. They are abusive. They are not talking, in my view, about long-term loving relationships that I and many other LGBT+ people enjoy."
Continued below.
First female archbishop in UK defends lesbian lifestyle: 'Never heard that from God'
The Most Rev Cherry Vann responded to critics who have condemned her lesbian lifestyle by claiming God never told her not to be gay Her election as archbishop of Wales has led some conservatives to
www.christianpost.com
