The trouble is that as much as it irritates of have folks in frocks in Lambeth Palace, that kind of theological discourse does keep the church coherent. When we make religion an entirely personal relationship, then there's little to challenge our preconceptions. I think folks like Fred Phelps are the dark side of wanting faith to be less institutionally driven, because people like him don't have to suffer frocked debates at all. They just make it up as they go along and trust that their authority as a believer is enough. In my experience of Anglicanism, the church demands a stricter intellectual standard that safeguards against this kind of destructive narcissism.
I'm not sure it's right to condemn a homosexual for not being celibate when the church has seen fit not to grant any relationship that he may have any sort of sanctity. Certainly, it would be a greater offense to the institution of marriage to stay in a relationship built upon a lie, though I grant that such a relationship may not have been a good idea to begin with (then again, though, it takes time to come out for some people, much less be consciously aware of their sexuality).
The solution, then would be to legitimize gay marriage, and retroaactively sanctify relationships formed beforehand that could not previously benefit.
Finally, I'm not ascribing evangelism to any particular group, but recognizing that it does implicitly ascribe universal moral authority to the faith. That means that what the church requires is, in some sense, a wider social presecription.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2003-10-17 12:38 pm (UTC)I'm not sure it's right to condemn a homosexual for not being celibate when the church has seen fit not to grant any relationship that he may have any sort of sanctity. Certainly, it would be a greater offense to the institution of marriage to stay in a relationship built upon a lie, though I grant that such a relationship may not have been a good idea to begin with (then again, though, it takes time to come out for some people, much less be consciously aware of their sexuality).
The solution, then would be to legitimize gay marriage, and retroaactively sanctify relationships formed beforehand that could not previously benefit.
Finally, I'm not ascribing evangelism to any particular group, but recognizing that it does implicitly ascribe universal moral authority to the faith. That means that what the church requires is, in some sense, a wider social presecription.