Official summary of the morning’s business: General Synod – Wednesday AM
Official summary of the afternoon’s business: General Synod – Wednesday PM
Press release on the environmental issues debate: General Synod re-affirms the Church of England’s commitment to play a leading role in the effort to prevent dangerous climate change
Press release on the girl guides promise debate: Synod approves motion to support girl guides promise action
Synod can pass whatever motions it likes. In the promise, God is dead, and for as long as that god is seen as endorsing sexism and homophobia, odds are he’ll stay that way.
Where can we find the answers to the questions about Pilling which were asked on the order paper on Monday?
There was a significant exchange during the questions after the presentation of the Pilling report, which doesn’t seem to have been picked up on. An early question asked if it could be made clearer what was deemed to constitute homophobia, and what was not. Then Philip Giddings asked if the facilitated conversations would always include someone who had experienced same-sex attraction but had subsequently been ‘liberated’ from this condition. I hoped that either Sir Joseph or +Sheffield would rebuke Giddings and tell him that what he had just said was a clear example of homophobia (and that he should repent!),… Read more »
The fact that Dr. Giddings question was allowed to receive any sympathetic hearing – especially when the British and American societies of psychological discipline have questioned the validity of such claims for ‘reparative treatment’ for intrinsically gay or lesbian people – is astounding.
It appears that Dr. Giddings has very little real understanding of the etiology of homosexuality, and it is sad that the the General Synod of the Church of England has such representatives among its governing bodies that could influence synodical determination on this important issue.