From here:
Church of Ireland bishop Paul Colton has apologized for the hurt Christian churches have caused LGBT people but noted that many Christians “who believe that God’s justice, God’s love and the inclusiveness of God must bear fruit in unqualified equality for gay and lesbian people too.”
Speaking Monday in the city of Cork to launch Cork LGBT Awareness Week, the 64-year-old Colton encouraged LGBT people to stick with their faith and enter into dialogue with those who are opposed to gay rights.
“I want, therefore, to encourage especially those gay and lesbian people who are involved in church life, or who once were, to engage with the debates many churches are having at the current time,” he said. “I ask you not to give up on religion and religious institutions.”
He encouraged gay and lesbian people not to leave the church.
Bishop Colton’s plea is not particularly surprising: if all gay and lesbian people left the Anglican Church there would be hardly any clergy left.
When Jesus told His audience truths that they found frightening and rather harsh they got angry and left. It was to painful to their ears. Today this false teachers just ignore Jesus’s words or put a favourable spin on them. Jesus told the woman at the well who was accused of committing sexual sin. “Go and sin no more”. Unfortunately, the church leadership today is filled with people who crave power and popularity over obedience. They lack the character to walk away as they enjoy their paychecks and the perks that go with their position. So as the early disciples commanded, believers must walk away from the false teachers. Those who remain do so at their own peril. These sheep do not recognise the voice of the true shepherd, risk finding themselves on the wrong side of the gate.
Except for maybe the Benny Hinn types, I’ve never come across a clergy member who has plenty of perks and a high pay cheque. From what I was told, most clergy in Anglican churches max out at around $70,000. Teachers in some Canadian provinces make over $100,000 so I would hardly think that clergy are in it for the money… or power considering the decreasing attendance rates in most churches.
As for your other points, I don’t know the guy personally so I can’t comment on his character but I do agree with his general message of encouraging gays and lesbians to remain within the church. Regardless of your stance on gay marriage, I find it hard to think that Christians would encourage gays and lesbians to leave the faith.
Hello Ed,
I would just like to ask if you read the article that the link leads to? If you did than you would see that “Colton presided over the wedding of footballer David Beckham and Victoria Adams in 1999 at Luttrellstown Castle outside Dublin.” So I hardly think that this Colton person is hoping to save any souls. Instead it would appear that he is pushing the homosexual agenda and wants others who support this sin to remain within the Church and help to contribute towards its continuing divergence away from God.
If the priest is from a poor diocese in Canada, his annual stipend will probably be much less than $37,000 plus free housing. If he lives in some isolated communities, his grocery bills will be high and his spouse may not be able to find employment to supplement the family income. Yet, most clergy are happy in their vocation; they are usually the highest givers in the Parish. Money is not everything. Happy are those who are doing the will of the triune God!
How do you feel about encouraging rapists, raaaacists, and paedophiles to “leave the faith”? Or promoting the same, like the good bishop is doing for homosexuality?
I have no intention of encouraging anybody to “leave his or her Christian faith”. What the triune God wants for us is that we might be like Jesus. We should be without blame. We should do what is righteous. We should speak the truth. We should not slander others (Psalm 15:3). We should not gossip. We should not harm others with our tongues. We should treat others with respect. We should honours those who fear the Lord (Psalm 15:4).
We have no authority to tell someone to leave the faith but we are called to discipline those in the faith 1Cor. 5 “It is widely reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of a kind not found even among pagans—a man living with his father’s wife. And you are inflated with pride. Should you not rather have been sorrowful? The one who did this deed should be expelled from your midst. I, for my part, although absent in body but present in spirit, have already, as if present, pronounced judgment on the one who has committed this deed, in the name of (our) Lord Jesus: when you have gathered together and I am with you in spirit with the power of the Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
That is too far below the spiritual ‘pay scale’ of the mighty Mitres.
It will be good for us to read Psalm 15 at least once a month. Very often we are not blameless in our manner of life. We do not do what is righteous either.
Is your point that since we are all sinners, we have no right to criticize other sinners? If so, I’m sure the whole blog roll agrees that we are all flawed humans who sin. But that’s not the point. For all of our trespasses, none of us seek to have the sin celebrated as a blessing by intentionally ripping whole sections of the bible out.
Peace Brother
Same-sex relationship is not an acceptable Christian life-style. God does not bless it. But, the same-sex thing is only one issue among many. I am more interested in bigger and fundamental issues. For example, in the parable of the weeds (Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43), Jesus helps us to understand the mixed nature of the church. In this parable, the devil scatters non-believers among believers. Perfect purity of the membership in the church on earth is an ideal that cannot be realized within this life. According to this parable, the separation of the weeds from the wheat will come only at the final judgment. St. Augustine called the church on earth “a mixed body”. We should continue to reach out to the unsaved.
Dave,
It is not that such people crave “power and popularity”, but that they were never saved to begin with. The Anglican Church of Canada is brimming with lost and unconverted people, who have merely donned the costume of a Christian.
Hi AMP
I did read the article. What I don’t understand is why you think that he is pushing a homosexual agenda if he presided over a hetereosexual marriage that included a celebrity/sports star? Can you clarify how this would make him not interested in the Gospel?
What exactly are these “gay rights”? It’s not as if they were chained up for 200 years or treated as slaves. If their “rights” include sexual immorality and foisting those on people, then I cannot support such “rights”. And neither should the Church. You can’t compromise on Scripture.
V. ‘Anglican Mainstream’, May 15, 2014 -from ‘OneNewsNow’:
“Black Pastors: Homosexual Rights Are A Far Cry From Civil Rights.”
c.c. The White House, a whitened sepulchre of anti-Christian discrimination.
Jesus did say to love the sinner and hate the sin. Since we are all sinners not only should we be welcomed into the church, we need to be there. However, the problem is when we want to continue to live in that sin. Then the church has to make a stand.
Paula it’s even worse than that, Not only do they not recognize it as a sin, they have elevated it to a blessing,