Thanks to the link to Robert’s sermon. For another sermon expressing similar thoughts and values there is this, preached by Dean Nicholas Papadopulos, at last Saturday’s commissioning of nine Chaplains to the LGBTQ+ community, led by by the Bishop of Salisbury.
As one who in the past has criticised both Bishop Stephen and his predecessor, I am happy to put on record Bishop Stephen’s recent strong support for LGBTQ+ inclusion, and his words of welcome at that service, which reduced me (one of the newly commissioned chaplains) almost to tears.
Simon, Thank you for the link to Nicholas Papadopulos’s sermon at the commissioning service. It’s clearly valuable that in a number of dioceses, chaplains are being appointed to minister to LGBTQIA+ people. Nick begins with the image of the Church as a field hospital with the chaplains accompanying casualties to places of safety, carrying the wounded and taking sting out of the hurt, and later describes how God longs for our healing from the wounds of guilt, fear and shame, ignorance and prejudice, of self-hate and other’s hate. All of these wounds are being inflicted by the Church. And the… Read more »
Adrian Clarke
19 days ago
Bishops took an oath to resist strange teaching such as this and uphold orthodox doctrine on marriage rather than maintain unity for unity’s sake under the cloak of ‘radical inclusion’. In the real world radical inclusion doesn’t look so great and, even in traditional marriage, abuse does not stop. Only the power of the gospel has the ability to change this, radical inclusion will not, The powers and principalities of this world are so much greater than woke reductionism, a form of religion that denies its power and is simply trodden under foot by the rich and powerful.
The God you apparently believe in is a monster very far from.a God of Love. Please step outside the prison of biblical texts written two thousand years ago and try to apply your inbuilt logic and humanity. You propose a deity who creats human beings with a need to love someone of their own gender and then punishes them for exercising that love. Such a ‘God” would be as far from a God of love as I can imagine, he would be a sadistic monster. Fortunately God is a God of Love and Inclusion mnot the sadistic monster you have… Read more »
The methodology you propose for discerning truth is so far removed from classic christianity that it’s hard even to know where to dialogue constructively.
Despondent, I’m obviously not an adherent of classic Christianity because I’ve never had problems over my nearly 70 years of engagement with other Christians of dialoguing constructively -across the breadth of stances – some more constructive than others. Not knowing where to dialogue constructively for those opposed to the full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people in the Church is a minority of members of the Church of England adhering to their particular version of “classic Christianity”. I’m sorry you are despondent. I’m full of hope, always.
I see no methodology here except that of drawing out the implications of what one says, which is universally respected, including in Christian contexts. In this case, it is asked ‘What does God of love’ mean or imply? Nothing wrong with that. I have two reservations about David Hawkins’ argument, and its total reliance on God’s loving nature, though. One on the more abstract level. I think that ‘God is love’ does mean ‘God loves us all’ but not ‘God loves everything about all of us’, which is surely inconceivable. So the fact that something is an aspect of a… Read more »
You are absolutely right, God is a God of love. God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus, not conforming to the world, but being daily sanctified through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Yes!
Perhaps we should stick to the old ways!
We could publicly burn those with whom we theologically disagree at the stake!
But what if you were to find yourself in the queue?
Colin,
Thanks to the link to Robert’s sermon. For another sermon expressing similar thoughts and values there is this, preached by Dean Nicholas Papadopulos, at last Saturday’s commissioning of nine Chaplains to the LGBTQ+ community, led by by the Bishop of Salisbury.
It was a joyful occasion.
https://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/in-gods-field-hospital/
And the Bishop of Salisbury introduced the service with words of profound affirmation also.
Correct,
As one who in the past has criticised both Bishop Stephen and his predecessor, I am happy to put on record Bishop Stephen’s recent strong support for LGBTQ+ inclusion, and his words of welcome at that service, which reduced me (one of the newly commissioned chaplains) almost to tears.
Simon, Thank you for the link to Nicholas Papadopulos’s sermon at the commissioning service. It’s clearly valuable that in a number of dioceses, chaplains are being appointed to minister to LGBTQIA+ people. Nick begins with the image of the Church as a field hospital with the chaplains accompanying casualties to places of safety, carrying the wounded and taking sting out of the hurt, and later describes how God longs for our healing from the wounds of guilt, fear and shame, ignorance and prejudice, of self-hate and other’s hate. All of these wounds are being inflicted by the Church. And the… Read more »
Bishops took an oath to resist strange teaching such as this and uphold orthodox doctrine on marriage rather than maintain unity for unity’s sake under the cloak of ‘radical inclusion’. In the real world radical inclusion doesn’t look so great and, even in traditional marriage, abuse does not stop. Only the power of the gospel has the ability to change this, radical inclusion will not, The powers and principalities of this world are so much greater than woke reductionism, a form of religion that denies its power and is simply trodden under foot by the rich and powerful.
The God you apparently believe in is a monster very far from.a God of Love. Please step outside the prison of biblical texts written two thousand years ago and try to apply your inbuilt logic and humanity. You propose a deity who creats human beings with a need to love someone of their own gender and then punishes them for exercising that love. Such a ‘God” would be as far from a God of love as I can imagine, he would be a sadistic monster. Fortunately God is a God of Love and Inclusion mnot the sadistic monster you have… Read more »
The methodology you propose for discerning truth is so far removed from classic christianity that it’s hard even to know where to dialogue constructively.
Despondent, I’m obviously not an adherent of classic Christianity because I’ve never had problems over my nearly 70 years of engagement with other Christians of dialoguing constructively -across the breadth of stances – some more constructive than others. Not knowing where to dialogue constructively for those opposed to the full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people in the Church is a minority of members of the Church of England adhering to their particular version of “classic Christianity”. I’m sorry you are despondent. I’m full of hope, always.
I see no methodology here except that of drawing out the implications of what one says, which is universally respected, including in Christian contexts. In this case, it is asked ‘What does God of love’ mean or imply? Nothing wrong with that. I have two reservations about David Hawkins’ argument, and its total reliance on God’s loving nature, though. One on the more abstract level. I think that ‘God is love’ does mean ‘God loves us all’ but not ‘God loves everything about all of us’, which is surely inconceivable. So the fact that something is an aspect of a… Read more »
You are absolutely right, God is a God of love. God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus, not conforming to the world, but being daily sanctified through the work of the Holy Spirit.
So if God got his own way, there would be millions of identical men with beards and sandals?
LOL Don’t forget the women!
Yes!
Perhaps we should stick to the old ways!
We could publicly burn those with whom we theologically disagree at the stake!
But what if you were to find yourself in the queue?