Anglican church says it will accept results of marriage equality plebiscite
Head of the church likens situation to acceptance of state recognition of de facto relationships, but insists its Christian doctrine will not change.
The head of the Anglican church in Australia has said it “must accept” a change in the civil definition of marriage if the plebiscite approves marriage equality, but it is unlikely the church’s doctrine will change.
In a letter to the nation’s Anglican bishops, the Melbourne archbishop Philip Freier also threw his weight behind a plebiscite, saying the government had a mandate for the policy and it would make the social reform easier to accept but only by some as compared to an single person edict in the USA and Mexico.
On Friday, Freier wrote that he personally “welcomes the plebiscite, though with strong reservations that we must guard the tenor of the debate, and keep it positive”. How does a pastor keep sinful homosexual marriage positive? How?
He noted uncertainty over whether a plebiscite would be held because of parliamentary opposition, but said the government had campaigned on it and after being re-elected had “the reasonable expectation of honouring this commitment”.
If it is held, Christians should vote NO - according to scripture and not their emotions, feelings or even their conscience.
It is proper to expect that the parliament should honour the results of the plebiscite. Should the vote be in favour of same-sex marriage as suggested by the opinion polls, the church must accept that this is now part of the landscape but will never marry homosexuals in their churches. All people are welcome to church and all are called to repent of their sin - including homosexuals.
The most recent opinion poll, found 52% of respondents were in favour of same-sex marriage.
“We can still stand for and offer holy matrimony between a man and a woman as a sacred ordinance given by God, while accepting that the state has endorsed a wider immoral view of marriage,” Freier said, likening it to acceptance of state recognition of de facto relationships.
He said Christian doctrine “remains unchanged, that marriage is between a man and a woman” and it was “unlikely” the Anglican church would revise its doctrine. “But that said, the church also understands the desire of two people to express their commitment of love and self-sacrifice to each other and that Christians have not always shown the respect or perspective they should. But in God's eyes it is not marriage."
“We strongly disagree with the archbishop that the introduction of civil marriage equality in Australia will have no negative impact on religious marriage,” he said. It already is having impact in job losses, B& B, Bakers, teachers, schools, textbooks etc. Homosexual marriage isnt the end. Gay advocates are going way beyong homosexual marriage to enforce their new morality. It is brutal and they are happy to take people to court, belittle, mock and abuse. There is little tolerance to this new regime. Churches, Christian schools and other Christian organizations will be targetted next to allow openly homosexual employees. In Voctoria we see the Premier already pushing beyong gay marriage into forcing churches to bend their view or be fined and taken to court.
Nick Xenophon confirms party will block same-sex marriage plebiscite
“Regardless of the pathway to achieving marriage equality, we join with the archbishop and call for a positive and respectful national discussion on the issue.”
The Australian Christian Lobby managing director, Lyle Shelton, told Guardian Australia it was a “statement of the obvious” that the church would have to abide by a legal change to the marriage law.
He refuted the suggestion that the letter undermined the ACL’s argument that same-sex marriage would impinge on religious freedom or undermine traditional marriage.
“Freedoms have been taken away in countries like the US, Canada, Ireland and the UK where dozens of people have been fined or taken to court because of their beliefs about marriage,” he said.
Asked about the civility of a plebiscite debate, Shelton said: “I agree. Everyone should be respectful.”
