Ruth Gledhill: Analysis
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Depending on which side of the argument it is viewed, the liturgy used for the “marriage” service of two gay priests, David Lord and Peter Cowell, in the Church of England was either profoundly spiritual or deeply provocative.
Liberals are overjoyed that a rector as prominent as the Rev Martin Dudley, who took the service, has broken ranks. Father Dudley created controversy in the 1980s when he was the first clergyman to marry a couple after divorce. Marriage after divorce has been approved in certain circumstances, and Father Dudley believes that the gay issue is comparable. But evangelicals say the “floodgates of indiscipline” have been opened. The Bishop of London, the Right Rev Richard Chartres, has begun an investigation into the service.
Had it not been two men standing at the altar, any observer would have taken the service for a traditional wedding. The service – at the Church of St Bartholomew the Great in the City of London – began: “Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God . . . to join together these men in a holy covenant of love and fidelity.” After a confession of sin “through our own deliberate fault”, the congregation heard a lesson from 1 Samuel 18, a Bible passage about the love between David and Jonathan.
Dr Lord was asked: “David, wilt thou take this man as thy partner, in the sight of God? Wilt thou love him, comfort him, honour, and keep him in sickness and in health, and, forsaking all others, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?’” to which he responded: “I will.”
They also pledged to love each other physically, as in the traditional Anglican marriage service, stating: “With this ring I thee bind, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow.”
The service has angered conservativces. The Reform grouping said: “The Church faces the same sort of division as the Episcopal Church of the US. Our only hope of preventing this is for bishops to exercise swift and clear discipline. There is no room for carefully constructed statements designed to hold everyone together in an uneasy truce.”
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Mike Hart of London: WHY is marriage between a man and a woman? Just saying so isn't going to cut it as an argument.
As for the assorted comments about the Bible: the Old Testament has a lot of rules that aren't followed anymore by any denomination I know of. What makes homosexuality any different?
Michael, Pueblo, Colorado, US
"The Church is not above the law"
It's not actually illegal to refuse to marry someone. Like it's not actually illegal for a doctor to refuse to agree to give a woman an abortion. In both cases, there's an alternative: get someone else to do it.
R, Glos,
Mrs Margaret Elward, you are right. The Church must respect law, but it must respect the Bible more. Fr Dudley appeals to the Gospel as the basis for his action in breaking church law. That is very much in the spirit of reformed Christianity. He challenges law in the name of love.
Joseph S. O'Leary, Tokyo , Japan
Des, Edinburgh says that the Church is not above the law,
I agree, but it is not above the Bible either. The word of God is what the Church {the people who are Christians} must stand by whatever. The word of God does not change with the times . Neither does the God we worship. Romans chpt 1
Mrs Margaret Elward, Bridgend, Glam
Wasn't aware that taxpayers did fund it.
If the bible is the word of god then they are sinners, and they wiil be welcomed as christians. Like many others they may fail as christians and will still be welcomed. The sin isn't.
If you do not believe it is the word of God why bother.
John, Tiverton,
The Christian church does not have a monopoly on discrimination. Like all faiths, there is much that is good about its belief and practices and parts that are by our current standards less acceptable. However, I do not see evidence that a secularist approach in society is any more successful.
isobel, plymouth,
I think that schism over the gay issue is now inevitable. The press release over this issue has come from the gay lobby. They seek to provoke clarity. Clarity will split the church into those who believe the Bible and those who believe only parts of it.
Terry Hamblin, Bournemouth,
As always, the Christian church leads the field in discrimination against all who disagree with its dogma - following up with a witch-hunt designed to damage and discredit. Just like it has been since the middle ages. Who needs them ?
Sean, Coventry, UK
I wasn't aware that the tax payer funded the church.
Allison, Midlands,
Why should two men who love each other be treated like social outcasts by the Church? The Church is not above the law, no matter how it chooses to interpret the texts it considers sacred.
If the Church continues to treat whomever it chooses unfavourably, why should taxpayers continue to fund it?
Des, Edinburgh,
I''m not homophobic. I believe in equality under the law for those who are gay. A solemn ceremony, tax breaks for the partnership, pension and inheritance equalities - all fine!
But MARRIAGE is between a man and a woman, so why disrespect what heteros value. Remember, respect is a two way street!
Mike Hart, London, England