IS GAY MARRIAGE IN CHURCH A BASIC RIGHT?

On the 7^th December 2012 the media reported that a free vote to allow gay marriages in churches will take place in order to fast track legislation for proposed new laws.

David Cameron: "If there is any church or any synagogue or any mosque that does not want to have a gay marriage, it will not - it absolutely must not - be forced to hold it…. but let me be absolutely and 100% clear, if there is any church, or any synagogue, or any mosque that doesn't want to have a gay marriage, it will not, it absolutely must not be forced to hold it. That is absolutely clear in the legislation.”

Cameron’s assurance that no church will be compelled to perform gay marriages is problematic however because of the European Convention on Human Rights – churches will in fact be forced to marry same-sex couples according to Peter Bone Conservative MP.

Peter Bone: "I do not believe that it is possible to protect churches from conducting same sex marriage if other churches are allowed to do so….. I think that situation would be struck down by the ECHR. No political party has any mandate for such a change."

Since both statements cannot be true it would be very nice to know which position is actually correct and whether David Cameron’s position is 100% clear as he asserts. All the assurances that this legislation will not be forced onto churches that do not agree with same sex marriage from politicians and gay people alike do not seem to be watertight.

The Church of England has voiced concerns that such a move could weaken its status as the established Church. It is quite amazing that this statement does not even mention anything about what the Bible says concerning homosexuality or that same sex marriage is dishonouring to the Lord Jesus Christ – it is all about themselves, their status and how threatened they feel the poor things. In 1998 Church of England Lambeth Conference stated: “homosexual practice is incompatible with Scripture…..”   In the very same document they issued the following resolution: "We commit ourselves to listen to the experience of homosexual persons and we wish to assure them that they are loved by God and that all baptised, believing and faithful persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are full members of the Body of Christ."  This is pure schizophrenia – is it any wonder that hardly anyone respects the Church of England and their double talk. They have played both sides of the fence for long enough and should come down on one side or the other. If homosexual practice is “incompatible with Scripture”, which it is, then why do the Church of England all but condone it. How can homosexuals be full members of the Body of Christ when the Bible clearly says: Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.(1 Corinthians 6/9-10) It is very true that if God should mark our iniquities, who could stand? (Psalm 130/3) …..as it is written: None is righteous, no, not one (Romans 3/10)  God loves everyone, and He does not single out homosexuals. The message of the Bible is repentance and it is the job of the church to warn those practising the things which God condemns. These warning should be conveyed in love, not with condemnation and hatred, but with tears and concern for the eternal destiny of those caught up in the things that God hates. Bible believing Christians are not here to win a popularity contest, our message is detestable to many people but this is what we are called to do. In the very same way, the message of Jesus Christ was detestable to many and in the end it cost him his very life. It is only cowards who water down the message of the Bible; in fact they rob people of the salvation and eternal life that Jesus Christ came to give them.

The group Out4Marriage is reported to be highly delighted, but I do question their understanding of "religious freedom" as human choice rather than the definition of marriage being the mandate of God Himself. Of course if gays want to get married in the apostate church then so be it; but what about the rights of those churches who really do believe that the Bible is the Word of God and that there are severe consequences for those who go against it? These churches will very likely be put in an untenable position despite Cameron’s assurance that they will not be compelled to perform gay marriages. As the Apostle Peter said: “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5/29) We will see who stands for the Lord if this legislation does go through.

My hope and prayer is that this legislation will not go through in the near future, but even if it doesn't, the way that things are going I believe that these things will eventually overtake us all with dire consequences.

“Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit……… Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” (Acts 2/38,40)

UPDATE 11TH DECEMBER 2012: QUADRUPLE LOCK

The Church of England's Canon Law is made by its own governing body, the Synod. Canon B30 paragraph 1 explicitly defines marriage as between a man and a woman. As such, it will be illegal for the Church of England and the Church of Wales to marry gay couples. Parliament traditionally does not legislate for the Church of England in matters of doctrine and practice and so for the present, Canon Law will remain. However there will be an option for them to "opt in" corporately at a later date. Since many bishops agree with gay marriage unofficially, the process of amending Canon Law to redefine the nature of marriage seems inevitable given that they already acquiesce same sex civil partnerships and do not speak up against homosexuality.

Peter Tatchell: “This faith-based discrimination could be open to legal challenge. The government is treating two churches differently from all other religions. Discriminating between faith groups is probably illegal under the Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights.” (pinknews.co.uk)

The "quadruple lock" will supposedly protect any church which does not agree with same sex marriage:

1. The legislation states that neither religious organisations as a whole nor individual ministers will be forced to hold same-sex weddings on their premises.

2. Miller will amend the Equalities Act so that no discrimination claims can be brought against religious organisations who refuse to conduct gay marriages.

3. Religious organisations who do support gay marriage can opt-in, and then their individual ministers will also then need to opt-in before they can conduct the ceremonies.

4. The legislation will explicitly state that it would be illegal for the Church of England and Wales to marry same sex couple: Miller told the Commons that the CofE had already said that it did not want to carry out same-sex partnerships.

This still leaves concerns for those churches who do not wish to "opt in" however:

Rather than protecting churches who do not "opt in", this legislation will actually expose the ones who are against gay marriage. A concern is that those churches who do not "opt in" may be the target of specific activists who want to take this to the European court of human rights. It seems that this issue is not going away.

Dear Reader – Do you have questions about Jesus Christ and how to be truly saved? If so, then please read my post: GOD'S PLAN OF SALVATION THROUGH JESUS CHRIST
http://bewareofthewolves.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/gods-plan-of-salvation-through-jesus.html