Clergy back marriage equality

Clergy back marriage equality

A group of prominent Australian Christian clergy have put their support for same-sex marriage on the record a day before Christian opponents of marriage equality stage a rally in the Great Hall of Parliament in Canberra.

The Uniting Church, Baptist and Anglican clergy made their statements following the launch of a new Christian campaign for marriage equality, Christians For Gay Marriage, on Friday through which 9,400 Australian Christians have already sent letters to their MPs since its website (www.christians4equality.com.au) was launched.

The clergy’s statements also appear on the campaign’s website.

“As the founder of the Christians For Gay Marriage lobby group and as someone who is an ordained minister with a same gendered partner I strongly support the right of GLBTI people to marry,” wrote Blackwood Uniting Church minister Leanne Jenski in her statement.

“I long for the day when my partner Susan and I can finally marry with the full blessing of the ‘church and state’. God is not against us but unfortunately some Christians are. Be assured there are many Christians out there who stand in solidarity with us.”

“Today in Australia we all live in a secular non-discriminatory society,” wrote Exodus Foundation founder and Ashfield Uniting Church minister Bill Crews (pictured), “Gay couples should be as free to marry as any other human couple.”

“If people wish to be married within a religious or spiritual institution’s framework then they should accept the rites and rules of that institution. However it is the state that legitimises all marriages.”

“How can I, a heterosexual who’s been very happily married for 50 years, tell anyone else they don’t have the right to form a loving, committed, lifelong union and enjoy the fruits of marriage as I have done?” wrote Rowland Croucher of John Mark Ministries, “Marriage is not a club to be restricted to some – like the Gospel, it is a blessing to be shared.”

“When a couple want to be part of the institution of marriage, when they fully accept the same rights and responsibilities of marriage and treat marriage with the respect it deserves, why should they not get married?” wrote Lilydale Baptist Church pastor Matt Glover, “As a Christian minister, I believe that marriage is under threat from many angles, but also believe that recognizing same-sex unions will help return marriage to its rightful place in society.”

“As a follower of Jesus I believe in the principle of radical hospitality,” wrote St James’ Uniting Canberra minister Roger Munson, “This is at the heart of his message.”

“As Christians we need to support those who are excluded and challenge those who through exclusion dehumanise and discriminate. I urge you to join the campaign to welcome our GLBT friends to express their love and commitment to each other through this special rite.”

“From a Christian point of view, marriage is an institution designed to serve two social needs – [to] contribute broadly to social stability [and to] provide a stable environment for the nurturing of children,” wrote Fr Dave Smith of Holy Trinity Church, Dulwich Hill.

“If this is the case then the only questions Christians need to concern themselves with when it comes to the issue of gay marriage are … Would gay marriage lead to greater social stability, [and] Would a married gay partnership be likely to provide a more secure environment for the nurturing of the children of a gay couple than an unmarried one?”

“In matters of faith it is difficult for the heart to remain where the head cannot,” wrote Tasmanian Uniting Church minister David Hunnerup, “Honest theological reflection in this modern era makes it impossible to see homosexual orientation and behaviour as aberrant or sinful.

“Right relationships emerge out of moral and ethical decision making, not gay or straight orientation. I make my case for same sex marriage here.”

Also contributing statements were Centre for Human Potential psychologist Paul Martin, and Sandy Miller – a lesbian Christian, who, along with her partner, will attend a dinner with Prime Minister Julia Gillard, paid for by GetUp! and Australian Marriage Equality AME) later this year.

“We want politicians to understand that marriage equality is not about ‘God versus the gays’, but about principles like justice and inclusion that have support across many faith communities”, AME spokesman, Malcolm McPherson said.

“We urge all Christians who support marriage equality to email their local MP.”

The group of Christian clergy join the Unitarians, Quakers and the Metropolitan Community Church in publicly supporting same-sex marriage in Australia, while Christians For Gay Marriage join an existing Jewish Community supporting Marriage Equality campaign.

The Rabbinic Council of Progressive Rabbis of Australia, Asia and New Zealand put their support for same-sex marriage on the record in June.

INFO: www.christians4equality.com.au

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31 responses to “Clergy back marriage equality”

  1. Seriously – still debating this, how embarrassing Australia. You can do better Australia! Politicians on all sides of the fence in Australia (Labor or Liberal) are dumb, bigoted, stupid and lazy! They get paid way too much (most over $AU300,000 per year) – to do very little work and are the least productive, compared to the rest of the western world! I am ashamed to call myself Australian sometimes! Welcome to Australia, the land of the not giving anyone in a same-sex relationship a fair go – when it comes to marriage!

  2. Matt Dunn, so there is no debate about same-sex marriage in South America? You seem to have forgotten a very large country there called Argentina which already has same-sex marriage. Uruguay will follow shortly, plus the Colombian Parliament have to legislate for same-sex marriage or the High Court will simply make it law! Other South American countries either have civil unions or are debating same-sex relationships. The issue is not western, it is called ‘human rights’!
    By the way, it may amaze you but not all people are Christians and as people are educated, especially ‘educated’ and ‘liberated’, the secular population on the planet will continue to grow apace. Africa and others? Once women are educated and begin to reject heterosexual male propaganda, repression and suppression, then watch the world change for the better!

  3. Has anyone ever wondered where same sex marriage will lead? Well it changes the meaning of marriage which was indented by God between a man and a woman. Pity these moron clergy don’t read their bibles and understand this, they aren’t real Christians. Same sex marriage then legitimizes any couple that “love one another”, so this raises the debate that incest or petrosexuality should be legal and marriage is alright for incest groups?
    This has happened in Switzerland in 2010:
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/switzerland/8198917/Switzerland-considers-repealing-incest-laws.html

    So while these socialists get a warm fuzzy feeling they are changing the world forever in the wrong direction. This same sex marriage debate is only relevant in the Western world, their is not such debate in Russia, Asia, India, South America and Africa.

  4. The reason Christ didn’t mention gay marriage was because He preached to the people of Israel and it wasn’t in the Jewish law to have homosexual marriages. It was not an issue. It is not homophobic to disapprove of gay marriage when ancient societies never accepted it, even though there was homosexuality. Somehow the ancients who were non-Jews and non-Christians knew instinctively that marriage was between men and women.
    The old and new testaments do not approve of homosexuality. Romans Chapter 1(NT) makes this quite clear. People try and find biblical loopholes so they can achieve some agenda but the bottom line is that Jesus and the apostle Paul said marriage was between one man and one woman.

  5. Oh Greg is that what happens to gay dolphins, they sneeze and all other Dolphins are gay? Or what about when lesbian mice are cloned and you get lesbian mice? Or what about gay fruit flies, did they need a Bible to explain their existence? You see when you clone them you get gay fruit flies.

    Did you wakeup and feel attracted to guys? No.

    And are all those psychiatrist and psychologist, in a galactic conspiracy against heterosexual people?

    The danger to the world is a not the few who are gay or lesbian, it is ignorance. What next do we round them up? Better still, fly a plane into a building in the name of our religion trying to convert others to our beliefs. There is a bottomless pit if we argue you should be like me or you, and not accept them as they are.

    Recently there was controversy about Bert and Ernie being gay, as they share the same bed etc. I rather like them the way they are –the profound message that people who are very different can get along is more important to me then worrying about if they should be this or that . A bit like a Buddhist, a Muslim, and different Christian denominations.

    The facts are there are always a small amount of homosexual and bi-sexual people. Always have been, and always will be.

  6. Lets assume everybody in Australia becomes gay and gets married. What will happen in 100 years, guess what, all the citizens of Australia will do, so will the existence of Australia, it’s your call. Self extinction so go ahead.

  7. A brief reply to Adam Newstead.Jesus condemned homosexual behaviour when he quoted God’s judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. (Matthew 10:15;Luke 10:12)
    Are you serious Richard? Any bible student knows that Jesus Christ offered the one perfect sacrifice of Himself for the sin of the world. I leave you to read all of Hebrews chapter 10 if you’re interested. O.T.sacrificial practices are over.
    The good news is that Jesus loves homosexual people the same as all people. He died and rose for them so they too can have eternal life through faith in Him. Christ can change homosexuals if they’ll let Him.(I Corinthians 6:11)

  8. While I don’t think _Garth was referring at all to the Catholic Church, it’s a good reminder to recall that Jesus did, in effect, ‘barge in’ on the Pharisees who had allowed the Temple to be treated like a common market place. Christians are to do likewise by rebuking fellow Christians when their actions and words contradict the scriptures – which is all that _Garth and a few others here have done.

  9. _Garth,

    What next, will you barge in on Catholic Churches and tell them what to do also? Where does “My religion is better then yours end”?

    The only sin I see is by you and your rage against Jesus.

  10. To those goodly Christians who insist on quoting Bible passages and insisting they we taken literally, please tell me which church you attend so that I may take my animal offering there, pour its blood all over the altar and set fire to it. I have to do this because I accidentally touched a dead insect (Leviticus 5:2).

  11. Based on some of the comments above, it seems the lackies of the Australian Christian Lobby read the Star Observer. Well there you go. I love the way they pick and choose obscure verses from their book of beautiful lies to justify their position – mind you they can’t quote anything that Christ said about gays marrying, because he didn’t say anything on it!

  12. Ya gotta love the Bible bashers ….. they’ll beat you over the head with their beliefs when it comes to pointing out how your behaviour doesn’t fit the rules set out in the work of fiction they choose to live by …
    Of course, when their behavior is contrary to the ‘Good Book’ (and I use that term with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek, since in the Bible God kills more people that you can actually count based on his whim of the day), they’ll stick their heads in the sand like ostriches and cry, ‘but you shouldn’t take it literally’.
    If you want to live your life by said book, go right ahead … but respect my right to live my life in another way and stop trying to force me to conform to your out-dated, oppressive and controlling beliefs.

  13. When preachers start preaching a gospel other than that which is clearly laid out in the Bible, they become apostate and spiritually irrelevant. But they also become dangerous to those who are young in God and who do have not studied the Bible effectively, and thus are easily swayed by “nice sounding” sound bytes.

    http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/08/18/rebellion-deception-and-the-hallmarks-of-our-condition/

    This all-inclusive free to sin “gospel” is not the straight and narrow path that Christ talked about, any more than the rampant divorcing and remarrying that goes on in modern churches. It comes from the same place – the fulfilment of fleshy selfish desires as opposed to obeying the clear commandments in the New Testament. Jesus repeated several times that to love Him was to obey Him. Paul the Apostle spoke about our freedom in Christ, a freedom from sin, a freedom to choose NOT to sin, and a freedom to live unselfish lives, as opposed to the bondage of sin. These preachers are simply preaching that it’s OK to sin – but God is not mocked. Woe betide these people calling themselves emissaries of God who lead others astray.

  14. Helen Thomas, may I suggest you join one of those doomsday suicide cults if you truly believe the end is nigh? The removal of your rhetoric would be a blessing upon us all. Also, if you could kindly convince Ewan McDonald to go with you, that would also be greatly appreciated.

  15. There are so many faulty arguments presented in this article, it almost defies belief:

    “How can I … tell anyone else they don’t have the right to form a loving, committed, lifelong union …?” <<– You don't need to be married in order to do this. And many other types of relationships could also meet this criteria, i.e. friendships, bonds between siblings, a businessman and his accountant …

    “I long for the day when my partner Susan and I can finally marry with the full blessing of the ‘church and state’. God is not against us but unfortunately some Christians are. Be assured there are many Christians out there who stand in solidarity with us.” <<– you mean the biblically illiterate Christians like the congregation you lead? I think even a cursory read of the bible will reveal that God indeed is against homosexuality (1Cor 6:9-10)

    "Honest theological reflection in this modern era makes it impossible to see homosexual orientation and behaviour as aberrant or sinful." <<– I think there is much equivocating on the word 'honest' here. (cf. Rom 1:26-27)

    “We want politicians to understand that marriage equality is not about ‘God versus the gays’, but about principles like justice and inclusion …" <<– See the negative language used to describe the defence of traditional marriage? Those who defend traditional marriage do not argue on the basis of "God versus the gays" but on the social good man-woman marriage has for the health and prosperity of children and wider society.

    “We urge all Christians who support marriage equality to email their local MP.” <<– on 'equality', it's already there: the exact same restrictions within the Marriage Act apply equally to all Australian constituents, chief among them being that no one (irrespective of sexual preference) can marry someone of the same gender.

  16. It’s a good thing that these “pastors” have put themselves on the record as supporting SSM. It’s always helpful when apostates identify themselves in this overt way rather than pretending to be orthodox and then deceiving many.

  17. Ben,

    There are many fundamental problems that need addressing, one of which is Biblical interpretation. Simply picking a Levitical law and saying “hey, do you apply this” is not correct use of the Scripture. Scripture is a progressive revelation of God’s plans for the world, culminating in Jesus Christ. Jesus himself said that he “had come not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it”. Therefore we need to interpret the law and it’s complete fulfillment through Christ. Paul said a similar thing and so did the writer to the Hebrews. The OT was a pointer toward something else, namely, Christ. Therefore we are not under obligation to live by the old covenant and it’s laws. If we were, Christ failed to achieve the very thing he was sent to do, be a perfect sacrifice who fulfilled the law on our behalf. This is basic Christian belief, so it is worrying that people can call themselves ‘gay christians’ but have such a fundamental flaw of biblical knowledge and interpretation.

    BTW, polarising pro SSM advocates as ‘lovers’ and those against it as ‘haters’ adds nothing to the debate, except the irony that the side who thinks they are ‘lovers’ are obviously not so accepting of those who disagree.

    As Christians we need to get back to the basics. Does God exist? If so, has he spoken? If yes, are his words in the Bible authoratative? If so, interpret them correctly and obey them.

    If you affirm all of the above, then it is near impossible to believe in such a thing as ‘gay christian’. Only by rejecting the above can one hold to such a teaching, but then it really ceases to become anything recognisable as Christian.

  18. Graham Lawn, picking and choosing bits of the Bible is the story of religion…please contradict me if you obey all laws, including that one about onanism.

    Three cheers to Bill Crews for choosing to love people born lesbian or gay instead of the path of hate taken by Pell & Jensen!

  19. How sad it is when some Christian ministers continue to pick and choose what they will believe in the Bible. Of course the Bible declares that God loves and accepts all people, regardless of their beliefs. Christians must do the same. Yet the same Bible clearly declares that marriage was God’s will for the life long union of a man and a woman. Homosexual relationships are not real marriage, only an imitation. The same Bible clearly declares that God calls homosexual behaviour an abomination and He will judge it. Even non -Christian cultures instinctively know that their “marriage” is between a man and a woman.
    Christian ministers are called to declare the truth even when it’s not popular.

  20. Jean – could you please share your insight into how you know what God wants? Also, correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t the apostle Paul of Tarsus mention that living freely was living by the living word of God?

  21. Within living memory in Australia, Church leader after Church leader came out against the White Australia Policy. At first there was a trickle, then a great biblical flood of support. The quest for Equality is transforming our nation; it is turning the Labor Party upside down and helping it return to its roots as a progressive party. We are a witness to an import part of our history, where the start of sweeping reforms is transforming the lives of many.

    At the heart of this eloquent proposition is a simple quest -to live as freely as the next person, no more, and no less.

    The bitter days of Catholic fighting Protestant fighting Catholic have left us, where family would not talk to family, where jobs could say “No Catholic need Apply”. Today women can get a mortgage, people can get the job not based on their skin colour but their skills and experience, and soon very soon, the GLBTI community will also have equality before the law. You are witness to one of the great Civil Rights battles of our time, and some of you like Penny Wong will one day tell your children’s children, about these days we lived-the olden days!

  22. This is so encouraging and it is only a sign of things to come.

    My partner Sam and I are openly gay Christians and we would love to get married one day. To hear straight pastors affirm our relationship really means alot.

    Thank you!!

  23. It is not about living freely it is about living by Gods word – same sex marriages where never mention in the bible. I respect homosexual and I pray for there deliverance but I don’t believe God ever meant for them to be married.

  24. We have come far down the yellow brick road of equality, and our journey is almost at end. The winds of change are blowing accross Australia. Soon we will have equality, as my Bishop said, those agaist equality will be confined to the same narrow corners of history as those supported the White Australia. Such views will be confined to academic study.

    My local Uniting Church recently started an anti-homophobic and I found out it was one of many. They have also tried to get Fred Vile along.

    Over 700 Church leaders supported Marriage Equality in New York.

    To quote from a great man who understood discrimination:

    “To penalise someone because of their sexual orientation is like what used to happen to us; to be penalised for something which we could do nothing [about] — our ethnicity, our race. I would find it quite unacceptable to condemn, persecute a minority that has already been persecuted.” Nobel Peace Prize winner and Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

    My local Anlican Bishop travels Australia giving talks about GLBTI Rights. It was an Angical Priest who at the Rudd 20/20 Summit argued for Equality in Marriage and 99% of people agreed with him.

    There are some fundamentalist haters that write into here from time to time, but they are just small bumps along the yellow brick road of equality and easily overcome with facts.

    So we will keep marching, as more and more Australians join us, in our determination to live as freely as other Australians.