As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Northampton Pride and the 2nd anniversary of the legal recognition of same sex marriage in Massachusetts this year, history has been at the forefront of my mind. Several thousand same sex couples have married in Massachusetts over the past two years, and life is only better for the…
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We all grow up being taught the conventional wisdom of our surroundings. I never knew anyone whom I could identify as being a homosexual until I was in college — nice people didn’t talk about that. On the other hand, early on I learned the language of ridicule. There was a boy in our neighborhood…
I have been married for 30 years, but I’ll not put that forward as any sort of qualification. Experience is not the same thing as wisdom. Wisdom is like a guide and grandmother to the changing, exploring, learning mind. Wisdom says that it’s a good time to change your mind when it widens your heart….
Note: The son of two Lutheran pastors, Vaughn Roste is a Canadian who has worshipped and worked in Episcopalian, Presbyterian, United and Christian Reformed Churches, but his current employment is teaching at a United Methodist College. He has visited five continents and lived on four of them, holds three degrees in two different areas (theology…
by Vaughn Roste Note: This is an in-depth article based on the Contra Sola Scriptura principle as it relates to Lutherans. For an easier read by the same author covering the same basic points for a general audience, please go to Biblical Marriage: A Bad Source For Debate I have recently read several comments made…
from Internet Sacred Text Archive (used with permission) There are about half a dozen direct references to what we today term homosexuality in the Tanach and NT, and a few others which are relevant but not direct. Two of the most negative passages are found in the book of Leviticus, alongside a mass of ancient…
May 17, 2017 – While missing an opportunity to clearly state his position on the issue of same-sex marriage, Junior Minister of Tourism Archibald Christian has used the House of Assembly to note a major βsame-sexβ development in Bermuda, which is also a British Overseas Territory. May 17, 2017 – While missing an opportunity to…
May 26, 2017 β Countries (nationwide or in some parts) that now legally recognize same-sex marriage are: Argentina, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay. Note that this list is different than…
by Christopher Hubble – July 7, 2004 “The union of a man and a woman is the most enduring human institution, honored and encouraged in all cultures and by every religious faith … Marriage cannot be severed from its cultural, religious and natural roots without weakening the good influence of society,” ~ President George W….
by Brother Lawrence Damien Dear family, We have been told that the Bible defines marriage as between one man and one woman. Therefore any other kind of marriage is wrong, including same sex marriages. However, is that what the Bible really says? Is the Bible open to more than one type of marriage? If so,…
by Mary Ann Horton, Lisa and Bill Koontz (with apologies to Dr. Suess.) Every Gay down in Gayville liked Gay Marriage a lot……But the Grinch, who lived just east of Gayville, did NOT!! The Grinch hated happy Gays! The whole Marriage season!Now, please don’t ask why. No one quite knows the reason.It could be his…
by Cindy Scott The Presidential Prayer Team is currently urging us to: “Pray for the President as he seeks wisdom on how to legally codify the definition of marriage. Pray that it will be according to Biblical principles. With many forces insisting on variant definitions of marriage, pray that God’s Word and His standards will…
May 21, 2017 – Scotland is moving towards being the country in the UK with most liberal Christian practice on gay marriage with the Church of Scotland and the Scottish Episcopal Church both taking steps in this direction in the near future. On Thursday the Church of Scotland is expected to back same-sex marriage in…
by Craig Dean Perhaps no topic stirs the imagination as the legalization of same-sex marriage. In this veritable minefield of tradition versus progress, twenty years ago attorney Craig Dean filed the first discrimination suit to legalize same-sex marriage in over forty years when his marriage license application to his partner was denied by the District…
GLENN DALE – A church pastor and a Web page designer yesterday got as close to marriage as two same-sex Episcopalians can in Maryland. During a service led by the Right Rev. John Bryson Chane, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, the 12-year relationship between the Rev. Michael Warren Hopkins and John Clinton Bradley…
by C. Ann Shepherd The typical married couple in America receives over 160 benefits and rights by virtue of their union. It seems ironic that a heterosexual couple married for one hour, has more rights and benefits than a same-sex couple that has been together for 30 years. The following is only a sample of…
CALGARY – Yesterday the Liberal government introduced their much-awaited marriage legislation. The decision I have come to has been a difficult one. I have spoken to many hundreds in my riding of Calgary Centre-North. I have met with many community leaders including religious leaders from Calgary and representatives of the gay community. I have held…
A possible Conservative victory in the upcoming federal election could mean social policies favouring a traditional “family” ideology: Where men are men and women are housewives and sexual and reproductive freedom is set back half a century. It’s an outcome too depressing to be worth discussion. Instead, I want to talk about one aspect of…
Read Part 1 of this article. Today, as Canadians (or at least those of us who vote) are choosing our government for the next five years, I want to recall the words of a former national leader. On Dec. 22, 1967, defending the decriminalization of homosexual behaviour, Pierre Elliott Trudeau opined that “The state has…
In the present ongoing discussion about same-sex marriages, the one thing that seems to be missing within the Roman Catholic Church and within our country, is a dialogue among people who respect one another. And for me, as your pastor, it is much easier to remain silent, than to take up the challenge to use…
HALIFAX, NS — The military has marked its first same-sex wedding, more than a decade after gays were allowed to join the Armed Forces. Two servicemen, who do not want to be named, exchanged vows May 3 at the chapel at CFB Greenwood, N.S., in front of 45 friends and a United Church minister. Lt.-Cmdr….
The Liberal sponsorship scandal, the Enron affair and the Parmalat case seem to be symptoms of a failure in modern Western culture. We put too much emphasis on individual rights and not enough on individual responsibilities. The public clamours for the individuals responsible for corporate and government failures to face the same sort of criminal…
Lloyd Thornhill and his partner Bob Peacock were married last year in Canada and were involved in the court case for equal marriage in Canada. Below is a presentation they made to the government’s Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights back on April 1, 2003 before they won the right to marry. Vancouver, BC,…
The Scottish Episcopal Church has voted to allow gay couples to marry in church. It makes it the first major Christian church in the UK to allow same-sex marriages. The Scottish Episcopal Church has voted to allow gay couples to marry in church. It makes it the first major Christian church in the UK to…
In June 1958, Virginia residents Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter traveled to Washington, D.C., got married and returned home. An unexceptional story but for one fact: Richard was white and Mildred black. Their marriage therefore violated Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act. The Lovings were convicted in Virginia court and sentenced to a year in jail, with…
by Jan Prout 365Gay.com Newscenter Toronto Bureau Posted: September 20, 2004 12:02 am ET (Toronto, Ontario) A Canadian television station has apologized publicly to viewers for a telecast of American evangelist Jimmy Swaggart’s television program in which he threatened to kill gays. The program, aired last week on Omni 1, a Toronto multicultural station, and…
“The church is not of one mind. I expect this issue to continue to be raised until society comes to terms with it.” ~ Bishop Elias Galvan of Seattle, March 21, 2004 (speaking after Methodist minister Rev. Karen Dammann was acquitted in a church trial over her sexual orientation.) As recently as March, a CBS…