The Great Marriage Debate - Again

It seems I'm not the only one uncomfortable with some of the utterances by sections of the CofE on the proposed changes to the marriage law. At least one Bishop is as well. In a brilliant post, far more erudite than my own, Bishop Tim Ellis, Suffragan Bishop of Grantham in the Diocese of Lincoln has written in his Blog a piece entitled "Not in my name." I confess I have to agree with every word he says. The debate has been hijacked by those with extreme views at both ends of the spectrum. As the Bishop says, the whole is being driven by minorities, including some ecclesiastical elites, some fundamentalist laity and the vast majority are either not making their voices heard or being allowed to express a view for themselves.

This is further borne out by another blog post - this time a Lay person. Another Reader, John McLuckie has expressed his thoughts on the matter in a post entitled "Dear Church of England." Again, he makes a number of excellent points, but he sums it up very well when he says -

But my deepest concern is to do with the behaviour of the church as a Christian body. I became an Anglican in part because I was attracted to a way of doing theology that was open to human experience. It seems that I was mistaken. When the Church of England consistently favours scripture and tradition over reason, it devalues humanity.

Indeed. This is my concern as well. In refusing to recognise the human needs and the humanity of those who are different in their lifestyle, not, as some claim through choice, the church effectively devalues them as people. If we allow this vociferous group to continue to drive the church's thinking and agenda, we risk allowing them to paint us, not just into a corner, but out of the 'picture' altogether.