Gay Marriage

I think this is a really hard thing to work out - what I mean is that some things everyone agrees we can ignore in the bible because time has moved on and it just isnt thought the same anymore - like - not working on the sabbath - noone believes we have to obey that anymore..... noone believes we r suppose to do quite a lot of horrible things that r in the old testament... stuff like that - I really dont know if I am explaining wot I think very well. With the gay thing... sigh..... i feel so uncomfortable about condemning gay people...n i really worry - is this going to be like wot we think about not working on the Sabbath in 100 years time...I hope u understand wot im saying

 

Yes, I do understand what you are saying, and I bet that thinking and feeling people struggle with these issues all of the time. For us, we rely on our Anglican traditions, even when that means having to face up to uncomfortable truths. And we don't condemn gay people. Actually, we're a pretty loving bunch.

 

You've explained yourself perfectly well Zoii and I must say that now I do understand where you come from. I'll throw in my little understanding and see if it helps. Much of the things you are mentioning were never part of the Christian Faith. Christians honored the first day of the week for worship from the onset. There may have been a few Jewish Christians who felt a need to observe bothh Saturday and Sunday but all these may have been settled when the church held its first council (narrated in the book of Acts..I never here the gathering counted as a council though - not sure why). The council decreed that observing Jewish customs is not to be required.

If any teaching is to change and be received by all, this would need a church council, which in my understanding is unlikely because the church is no longer united. Anglicans accept the 7 ecumenical councils (some cite 4) because, among other factors, the church was visibly one at the time. Any new teaching is to be viewed with suspicion and to be dismissed as false if it goes against what the church has always taught. This is what separates most so called "liberals" from most conservatives.

 

The Bible is not a monolithic document. Although it is all true, it isn't all true for all time. Christ explicitly repealed several provisions from the Old Testament, including polygamy. The Pharisees asked how he could repeal polygamy since Moses instituted it, and Christ replied that this was okay for their time because of the particular wickedness among the Israelites, but the divine intent has always been for 1 man and 1 woman. You should read his dialogue with the Pharisees on this.

The same goes for your other points as well. None of the points you raised affect the point that all our decisions should be affected by God and his Divine Will, especially institutions which are there for all time and were created from the Foundations of the World.