GAY TRUTH

After 13 years of rancor over conflicting views on homosexuality, the archbishops of the Anglican Communion have voted to impose sanctions for three years on the Episcopal Church , the American branch of the Communion, for its decision last summer to allow clergy to perform   same-sex marriages , church officials said. News of the archbishops’ decision to discipline the American church leaked out near the end of a weeklong meeting in England called by the Most Rev. Justin Welby , the archbishop of Canterbury . He had summoned the archbishops to Canterbury in an effort to break the bitter impasse that has divided the Anglican Communion since the Episcopal Church consecrated an   openly gay bishop   in New Hampshire in 2003. The sanctions — essentially limiting participation in Anglican Communion affairs — do not call for any change in policy by the American church. Conservative Anglican archbishops said that while they were pleased by the sanctions, the move did not go far

Al Mohler set the challenge. Namely, to attend a gay marriage is to be supportive, to endorse to celebrate what God condemns.  The leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion says that "of course" he would attend a same-sex "marriage" ceremony. In an interview with   Spectator , the Archbishop of Canterbury , Justin Welby , said that he would "always love" his children if they were sexually attracted to the same sex. He intimated a connection between loving his children and attending a "marriage" ceremony between members of the same sex. "Would I pray for them together? You bet I would, absolutely," he stated. "Would I pray with them together? If they wanted me to. If they had a civil service of marriage, would I attend? Of course I would." While the Church of England formally opposes redefining marriage, Welby said, "I think the tide is turning in this country. We are seeing many churches growing and pa

The heads of the Anglican Communion in 38 countries started a week-long meeting this week in a seemingly desperate effort to prevent the third largest Christian denomination from splitting over homosexuality. On the opening day, Anglicanism's spiritual leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby , who has summoned the primates, or senior archbishops, of each national, self-governing church to England for the "gathering," indicated he had little hope of reconciling the opposing sides at the theological level. "Reconciliation doesn't always mean agreement," he told the BBC. "It means finding ways of disagreeing well." Even if some churches within the 85-million-strong tradition go their "separate ways," he insisted, they would still be "family." One leader who said he was planning to go his separate way was Archbishop Stanley Ntagali, head of the Church of Uganda. On January 6, Archbishop Ntagali issued a pastoral m

According to Wikipedia, the Anglican Communion , which consists of the Church of England and those churches in other countries that are in full communion with it, has 80 million members. Statistically-speaking, the name “Anglican,” as in “England,” is a misnomer. It should be more properly named the “African Communion.” As historian Philip Jenkins has noted, the typical Anglican is not a middle-to-upper-class Englishman, but instead, a poor African woman. Demographic diversity poses no threat to the Anglican Communion. On the contrary, it has revitalized Anglicanism even as membership and participation has declined precipitously in England and North America. What poses a major threat, however, is theological diversity, a.k.a., apostasy and heresy, courtesy of the American Episcopal Church. A recent story in Britain’s Daily Mail told readers that Church leaders from Africa and Asia, led by Bishops from Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda, “are threatening to walk out of a crucial

The parent of a seven-year-old student at Foundation Christian College in Mandurah, Western Australia , has withdrawn his daughter from the school after her teacher stopped her from speaking to her class about gay marriage. WAtoday.com.au says her father was called in to the school and told that his daughter could only remain as a student at the Christian College if she never again mentioned her father’s sexuality or his partner. Late last week the school’s principal, Andrew Newhouse, released a statement saying, “We are completely upfront about the college’s vision and values from the time families express interest in having their children attend the college … A same-sex worldview is not congruent with our Christian worldview . “The real issue was that the Christian values being taught in the classroom were being undermined … It’s not helpful to confuse children at such a young age with complex and controversial issues.” Since then the school has been targeted by vandals, and ha

In many ways the news serves to be a thermometer of the culture. Today’s headlines give us an indication of the sentiment of the world around us. This sentiment is clearly seen in the story of Jason Collins . As the first major sports professional to admit that they are homosexual , Collins is receiving substantial news attention. And he should, it is, after all, big news. It’s unprecedented. Although Collins did not finish the season with an NBA team he did play nearly half the season in the NBA. Collins said, “I didn’t set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I’m happy to start the conversation,” Collins wrote. “I wish I wasn’t the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, ‘I’m different.’ If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.” As   ESPN reports , the support has been overwhelmingly positive. As I checked the pulse of the social media,

After the denomination approved homosexual "marriage" and even approved a homosexual wedding rite, one Episcopal bishop still says "no." The Right Reverend John C. Bauerschmidt, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee , has written a pastoral letter explaining that there will be no gay "marriage" under his watch. "The General Convention of the Episcopal Church authorized provisional rites for the blessing of same sex relationships, which might be used for the blessing of these relationships in churches under the direction and with the permission of the local bishop," Rev. Bauerschmidt wrote. "I have not given direction or permission for the use of these rites. This policy remains unchanged." In his statement, the Tennessee bishop also said that while the concept of civil marriage has interplay between church and state, marriage is an institution "that predates any civil code." "No justice or legislatur

Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire at Trinity Church, Columbus, Ohio, on June 16, 2006, during the 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church. Image cropped and color adjusted by Angr. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The bishops of the U.S. Episcopal Church gave the green light last week for clergy to perform same-sex “weddings,” in a heavily-debated fundamental change set to come in the door incrementally. As of November 1 of this year homosexual couples will have the right to be “married” in the church, the result of new liturgies for same-sex couples approved Wednesday at the denomination’s General Convention in Salt Lake City . The bishops also accepted changing the church’s canons (rules) governing marriage, to make them gender neutral, thus replacing the terms “man and woman” with “couple.” Episcopal clergy however, will be allowed to refuse to perform a homosexual “marriage” with the promise they would not be penalized, and individual bishops were also given the righ

The Australian ABC reports that "Father Rod Bower is not your average priest. The Anglican Church minister is on a mission to keep religion relevant, and is using his parish notice board in Gosford on the NSW Central Coast as a way to get noticed." His most successful (and immoral and non-biblical) message was one about marriage equality . He is quoting a Stonewall's (pro-homosexual anti Christian organization) UK campaign that used UK buses to force the idea of immoral homosexuality onto everybody. PHOTO:  Father Bower's sign addressing the debate around gay marriage.  (ABC TV) With the help of social media it has been seen by an estimated 50 million around the world. The ABC quotes Bower directly "What inspires me and us, as a faith community of course, is the life and teachings of Jesus .  So we stand for what He stood for, what we believe He stood for, which was justice and equality , compassion and a society that looks after the edges, that