New Church of England Archbishop Believes Christian Views on Sexuality Should Be Adapted 'To Fit Culture'......
04 January 2020
The latest senior appointee in the Church of England has made some startling remarks about the relevance of the Bible in our modern culture. Stephen Cottrell, [pictured above] the incoming Archbishop of York, made the controversial comments back in 2017 after the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, called for a “radical new Christian inclusion” amongst the Anglican communion.
Perhaps the most significant comments Cottrell made were in relation to the issue of sexuality – an issue on which he holds rather progressive views.
“I am not sure the church has ever before had to face the challenge of being seen as immoral by the culture in which it is set,” he said, according to the Christian Institute. On same-sex marriage, Cottrell noted that taking a strictly Biblical view can actually “legitimise homophobia in others.”
“What we can do is recognise that what we know now about human development and human sexuality requires us to look again at those texts to see what they are actually saying to our situation, for what we know now is not what was known then,” he added.
According to the Church Times, Cottrell further asserted his view that the Church of England should be “united in our condemnation of homophobia” and that “it is of little comfort to young gay or lesbian members of our Church to know that while prejudice against them is abhorred, any committed faithful sexual expression of their love for another is forbidden.”
The current Bishop of Chelmsford also believes there is “no reason” why communion and prayers of thanksgiving cannot be offered for gay couples entering into civil partnerships.
The C of E “must be the Church for everyone,” he said on Tuesday, re-stating his view that there should be “no place for homophobia in our Church, and absolutely everyone, regardless of their sexuality, is welcome in that Church.”
United Methodist Church is expected to split over gay marriage, fracturing the nation’s third-largest denomination.....
04 January 2020
Church leaders agreed to spin off a ‘traditionalist Methodist’ denomination, and allow the remainder of the denomination to permit same-sex marriage and LGBT clergy for the first time in its history........
United Methodist Church leaders have proposed a plan that would formally split the denomination after years of division over non-celibate LGBT clergy and same-sex marriage, with the formation of a new denomination for Methodists who hold to a biblical understanding of marriage and sexuality.
The proposal released Friday from a 16-member group of bishops and church leaders on both sides of the debate says a separation was "the best means to resolve our differences, allowing each part of the Church to remain true to its theological understanding, while recognizing the dignity, equality, integrity, and respect of every person."
Under the new nine-page plan, a new “traditionalist Methodist” denomination would be created for more conservative Methodists. The new denomination would continue to hold to a biblical understanding of same-sex marriage and oppose the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy.
Conservative churches that leave would be given $25 million to start their own denomination, under the new agreement. Additionally, clergy members who leave would keep their United Methodist Church pensions.
Meanwhile, the remaining portion of the United Methodist Church would permit same-sex marriage and LGBT clergy for the first time in its history.
The United Methodist Church is the United States’ largest mainline Protestant denomination.
Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to deceitful spirits, and doctrines of demons; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 1 Timothy 4; 1-2
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