Thread: Post Pilling Purge/witch hunt? Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.
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Posted by leo (# 1458) on
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The bishops of the C of E have written to clergy forbidding same-sex marriages
It has been called harsh and legalistic and hardly 'pastoral at all.
Is this the start of another witch hunt of gay clergy, such as happened after Tony Higton and during the Jeffrey John affair?
I seems to have already started in Blackburn.
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on
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I fear you're right about the witch-hunts commencing.
Just what are they afraid of? The seeing people - clergy - in faithful and loving marriages is going to be bad for the people of the church? Bad for the image of the CofE?
While it might not be a perfect solution, if the Church of England has been prepared to make 'arrangements' for those who refuse to countenance women in the priesthood, then surely it must be possible for them to make 'arrangements' for those clergy who don't accept SSM?
No, I'm NOT arguing that it would be right or fair, but you can't argue that the whole business of flying bishops is justified in one case and not in another. In fact, it could be argued that the arrangements for dissenters to women clergy are there to protect bigots and misogynists; but if the church is prepared to do that why not something similar for homophobes?
Meanwhile, these same bishops are more than happy to continue with a situation where people come to churches every week and lie before God while their child or Godchild is baptised - perhaps by one of those priests who they are intent on persecuting.
You couldn't make it up.
Posted by leo (# 1458) on
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Yes - I was musing on wanting to have 'flying bishops' from America who would ordain our clergy (without whom the church would collapse, especially in inner city parishes) and provide liturgies for the the solemnisation of marriages between people of the same gender.
Posted by Starlight (# 12651) on
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I'm not really surprised. Christians around the world have shown an ongoing commitment to persecuting, harming, lying about, and campaigning against the human rights of gay people. This latest piece of wickedness and evil by the CoE is nothing out of the ordinary.
It is somewhat ironic however, that essentially they are operating on a don't-ask-don't-tell basis with regard to the sexual acts of clergy who are in a same-sex relationship, but if and when those clergy actually get married, they might be fired. It's as if the church prefers people have sex outside of marriage. So much for the supposed promotion of marriage as the idea for human relationships!
The CoE here seems on course to copy what has been happening in a couple of Catholic schools in the US - where a gay teacher gets married and the school responds by firing them. The PR fallout from those have been huge, with the schools becoming a laughing stock, and the students openly marching in protest of the decisions. Normal people respond to other people getting married with congratulations and gifts, but apparently the "Christian" response is to fire them?! Naturally the media have a field day with this sort of retarded stupidity, and the general public is getting less and less tolerate of blatantly harmful acts towards gay people. I think the CoE can expect public crucifixion if it continues down this route, and rightly so.
And it's not like the CoE leadership isn't aware of this. Six months ago, the Archbishop of Canterbury was saying: "We have to face the fact that the vast majority of people under 35 not only think that what we're saying [against same-sex marriage] is incomprehensible but also think that we're plain wrong and wicked and equate it to racism and other forms of gross and atrocious injustice. We have to be real about that." Apparently the CoE leadership is willing to continue down a path that they know the vast majority of people under 35 (myself included) regard as wrong, wicked, and an atrocious injustice. Obviously they want to drive myself and my peers away from their churches. Well that's fine, consider it successful. Good luck with those ageing demographics in your churches!
Posted by Horseman Bree (# 5290) on
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Hey, it isn't just the under-35s who think the church is stupid and wicked. I'm double that age and am in the same mindset
It is now a couple of years since the local high school, replete with an plentiful supply of Duck Dynasty fans, in a village that is mostly nominal Baptist, elected an openly gay guy as Student Council president. And it is now 30 years since we had an openly-gay couple living in the house at the corner nearest the school who were never bothered by anyone.
That the church feels it necessary to persecute GLBTs just says that the church is irrelevant.
Posted by Incipit (# 10554) on
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Well, I left the church, after a lifetime of active involvement in it, exactly because of this wicked, evil and dishonest way of behaving. I now regret having taken my children to church when they were little. They, of course, like most people their age, wouldn't dream of having anything to do with the church, and explicitly because of its attitude to gay people, and to women.
Posted by ken (# 2460) on
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quote:
Originally posted by leo:
Is this the start of another witch hunt of gay clergy, such as happened after Tony Higton and during the Jeffrey John affair?
[/URL]
No. Next question?
Posted by leo (# 1458) on
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There is a wonderful letter asking the bishops if they've been true to their promises back in 1940 to pursue scientific and medical knowledge. And what have they done to listen to LGBs since they promised to in 1978.
I know somebody who, as part of his stewardship, gave a yearly subscription, to his diocesan bishop, of Gay Times for several years, to help said bishop fulfil his listening promise.
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