IRELAND: Anglican Clergy Denounce "Erroneous Teachings" of their Bishops on Same Sex Marriage [Virtu

IRELAND: Anglican Evangelical Clergy Denounce "Erroneous Teachings" of their Bishops on Same Sex Marriage



By David W. Virtue DD
www.virtueonline.org
May 20, 2015

Four orthodox Anglican groups within the Church of Ireland have written a letter expressing their regret and concern over recent pronouncements by the Bishops of Cork and Cashel on the same-sex marriage referendum. Another 34 Anglican evangelical priests have also expressed their displeasure at the two bishops.

They said a recent speech by the Bishop of Cashel at an event on Marriage Equality did not bear witness to the stated will of the Church to "love our neighbour, and (oppose) all unbiblical and uncharitable actions and attitudes in respect of human sexuality from whatever perspective, including bigotry, hurtful words or actions, and demeaning or damaging language" (General Synod 2012).

They further argued that those who disagree with same sex marriage were presented in a pejorative, negative and demeaning manner, being variously portrayed as holding indefensible views, being opposed to human rights, unintelligent, un-Anglican, likely to be oppressive, racist, sexist, homophobic, and, by extension, evil.

"Such labels demean, and such caricatures contribute to creating a culture that silences opinion, and help to create the environment in which any viewpoint against same-sex marriage within either Church or State may be bullied into submission," the evangelical Anglican coalition wrote.

"The teaching of the Church on marriage is based on a wide range of arguments - biblical, theological, moral, cultural and ethical. Indeed, it is consistent with the majority Anglican moral thinking across the globe and the witness of the wider Christian Church in both this and every other age.

"In this vein, we deeply regret the portrayal of the trajectory of Anglican moral theology as being in the direction of change, and the great disservice done to the 2004 BCP Marriage Liturgy to promote this view.

"Further, we simply cannot agree that the will of General Synod in 2012 is open to interpretation. A great strength of Anglicanism is that its unity is synodical, liturgical and episcopal. To disrespect the will of Synod, and willfully misrepresent the meaning of the Marriage Liturgy, to promote a contrary view, is not befitting of the role of bishop and is indicative of the sort of moral and theological inconsistency that is destructive for the ongoing debate within the Church and within society.


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