brooksieb wrote:Just a short topic here. I have no problems with homosexuals at all. However considering i am a Anglican, i don't believe gay people should have any part in church ruling though i do not mind any gay people in the church at all, i do not like gay people flaunting their' homosexuality. Because it is wrong to be gay in christianity i am trying to be as leniant as my religion takes me.
I will post my views as me as a christian soon, but i wanted to get this done first.
I am not Anglican, but am Lutheran, so there are a lot of similarities.
For myself, I don't claim to know the answer to whether homosexuality is "right"/"good" or not. I only know that Christ tells us to not judge and to love one another. Paul tells us that even the least sin is enough to drive us from God, so in a sense, there is no "hierarchy" of sins. Either you sin or you don't. We all sin, so none of us is worthy to judge another, within the church.
The main thing is the Bible. Homosexuality is mentioned very seldomly in the Bible. In the Old Testament, it is listed along with all sorts of other extensive laws that we no longer follow, that Christ himself, in some cases, specifically said were misunderstood (it is what is inside you, not outside you that is unpure). Many people say that New Testament passages felt to continue these rules were really misunderstandings.
The other issue is that Christ specifically told us there were things he wanted to teach that we could not yet understand. The entire Bible shows a progression. Not a progression of God, but of humankind. Slavery, treatment of women, the way we percieve rulers and clergy, even illnesses like leprosy, of these things have changed. Some suggest homosexuality is another area where we need to grow more tolerant and understanding. I find it interesting that lepers were often viewed with the same revulsion as homosexuals.
I don't know that I like the idea of homosexual clergy, but I do know that I have experienced some very misguided pastors. I have met some wonderful, caring and upstanding Christian homosexuals. I think the greatest harm in homosexuality comes from the deceit that is so often made necessary, not the private actions. I think we are often pretty hypocritical about heterosexual actions, nevermind homosexuality. And, in that context, I think we need to review the whole picture, including how we feel about homosexuality.
That said, while Protestants don't hold their clergy up on quite the same pedestals as Roman Catholics, we do hold them to a higher (or just plain differant) standard than the average member. Anglicans do lean more in that direction than other bodies, but even ELCA is not far behind. The Missouri Synod Lutherans don't allow women to be clergy (it might have changed recently?), though they certainly do allow women to be members
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The real question, when it comes to homosexual preists is twofold. One is how high should the standard be for clergy regarding sin, in general. The other is whether homosexuality actually is a real sin. These issues are heavily debated. I am not going to claim to have the answer. All I know is that since I am a sinner, I cannot judge another ... about that or anything else. (protect, defend, yes, but judge ... no)
There are already several threads on this issue. I have made my views fairly clear in them and don't necessarily want to continue it further, but you were specific about clergy in the anglican church.
One thing, though, I do want to make clear (as have you). There is a big difference between how we can/should view homosexuality within the church, and most especially how we see it within the clergy and how we should view homosexuality in the greater world. Whatever the church's view, one thing is clear. Homosexuality does not cause anyone harm, no more than simply espousing any view with which one might disagree. A Christian church, then, might want to reject homosexual clergy ( am undecided on this right now) or even not allow them as members (I believe they belong!), but no one has the right to condemn who practic homosexuality outside the church, merely for being homosexuals, any more than they have the right to condemn someone of a different political party, etc. If they do other things ... act offensively, are just plain jerks or criminals .. then the rules are the same as if the person were heterosexual.
), and gay people can be quite boring.
