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"Gay Clergy"

In light of the Anglican Church's recent meeting I think a debate is in order (preferably a civilised one with no name-calling)

Should there be gay priests, bishops etc in the Church?

Your opinions please.

"Should there be gay priests, bishops etc in the Church?"

I genuinely couldn't give a hoot.
If it was up to me I'd disband the Church of England and create a true religion - one free of dogma, dedicated to mystical enlightenment and philosophical contemplation. God would be the unknown-will of creative essence to which those who were interested would attempt to unveil a flicker of understanding.

That's possibly the problem Alec. You say "correct way". Is it ?

UK law only just changed to give gay partners similar rights to those given to a deceased's legal partner if one should die. Gay's still cannot get married in a church (as far as I know). So if they can't be married, can they marry others ?

Another way of looking at it, has anyone ever proved being gay was natural in a biological sense, or is it something that society causes in some people ?

If someone could prove it was a natural thing then there would probably be no problem. Put it this way, the openly gay movement seems to stem from post WW2, and the number of gay people is more and more every year. Now was this the case in the past ? We don't know and probably never will.

Being straight is regarded as natural partly because of how people reproduce naturally. Science such as IVF can give a same sex female couple the ability to have children with a donor, but that isn't something they could naturally do without being involved with a man.

Possibly another set of questions that should be asked in relation to this topic is whether those who would support gay clergy would also support both male and female gay couples having children.

All this is of course my own conjecture and I'm not looking around the internet posting links with facts e.t.c., it's my opinion and thoughts and nothing else.

Exactly, so many things have been changed over the years (frok what we would now see as from wrong to right) surely this could be changed too, as it is the correct way nowadays.

I'm not saying the Bible is irrelivant, although personally i do not beleive in God.

Surely if someone is going to just change the bible all the time then it's irrelevant ?

*waits for someone to start quoting old testament verses relating to slavery, other races, prostitution, numerous other things*

Yeah but many things in the Bible have been updated to fit in with modern life, why shouldn't this?

Letting gays into the church would be like the clergy saying that what the bible says doesnt matter.

Back in the days when Gays were not accepted, and the kinda 'clergyman rule book' was written, it said that gays were not allowed to be anything higher than visiters to the church, because they were not accepted into society.

I think

Isnt homosexuality condemned in the bible?

Seems a bit stupid to let gays into the church if thats the case.

Well I know very little about the religious basis for admitting/not admitting gay clergy into the Church, which I guess is ultimately what it has to come down to.

I don't think it's enough to simply say gays are accepted in society (are they ?) and so the Church should also accept them.

Yes i think there should. Civilization has moved on to accept gays so i think that the church should to!