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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009

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Texas Accidentally Bans Straight Marriage

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Episcopal Church Lifts Ban on Gay Bishops

Deeper rift with conservatives looms

By Jason Farago| Posted Jul 15, 09 5:54 AM CDT|

(Newser) – Leaders of the Episcopal Church voted overwhelmingly yesterday to allow the ordination of gay and lesbian bishops, risking further fissures with conservative parishes and the Anglican Communion. The new policy reverses a 2006 compromise that prohibited the consecration of homosexual clergy, in line with other Anglican churches. Episcopalians will vote on blessing same-sex unions in the coming days, reports the Los Angeles Times.

"I'm simply delighted at the possibility that another diocese will recognize the gifts of a gay or lesbian clergy person," said Gene Robinson, the openly gay bishop of New Hampshire. "I long for the day when someone who shares my experience as an openly gay bishop joins me in the House of Bishops. It has been lonely."

Gene Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire, speaks in the House of Bishops at the 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Anaheim, Calif., Monday, July 13, 2009. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson is photographed in a Oct. 1, 2005 file photo, in Concord, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)

Katherine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the US Episcopal Church, at Lambeth Palace, the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, the U.S. Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop, right, shakes hands with Mo Baxley in the gallery of Representatives Hall in the State house after lawmakers voted in... (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

The Rev. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, listens as lawmkers debate gay marriage on the House floor in Concord, NH, Wednesday, June 3, 2009. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

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27 comments

VIEWING:

armywife
Jul 15, 09 7:42 AM CDT

awesome! lead the way, episcopalians! Reply

-2

| 0 minutes ago

Fondue
Jul 15, 09 8:13 AM CDT

Yes. This is good news. Reply

-3

| 0 minutes ago

doingtherightthing
Jul 15, 09 8:57 AM CDT

Episcopalians might call themselves a church but the reality is this; they are not a Christian church any longer. God makes it clear about homosexuals and those who practice such things. God is against them He sets the laws to live by, not man......... Reply

-1

IN RESPONSE:

OrganicTea
Jul 15, 09 9:29 AM CDT

Which "God" was that again? There are so many I get them all confused... The only one I know of is the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and He, in His noodly glory, doesn't have a problem with homosexuals.

-1

IN RESPONSE:

bcfilmguy
Jul 15, 09 9:39 AM CDT

He also makes it "CLEAR" about mixing fabrics and planting crops together. And shellfish. And condones slavery. And stoning your wife if she is not a virgin. Interpret and touch up your religion to make it more accessible, but any way you slice it the god of the bible is a barbaric monster of unparalleled proportions.

IN RESPONSE:

Fondue
Jul 15, 09 9:51 AM CDT

Amen!

-2

IN RESPONSE:

wwwonderer
Jul 15, 09 10:55 AM CDT

@Organic. You forgot about the GODS that were all in fashion BEFORE Christianity. @bc. I wonder have ANY of these people that use the bible and say what God wants EVER read Leviticus. You're not supposed to cut your hair or eat anything with a split hoof. Literal translation of the bible is the problem. C'mon. My view is this, I enjoy the Star Wars series. There are very good lessons about diversity, forgiveness, sacrifice, etc. I DON'T believe in ACTUAL Wookies.

IN RESPONSE:

Mad
Jul 15, 09 10:58 AM CDT

bcfilmguy: Righteous! --- OrganicTea: I think I've actually heard of the "Flying Spaghetti Monster", but can't recall if it was in here or elsewhere. Do you have many practitioners who proselytize in other forums?

IN RESPONSE:

Fondue
Jul 15, 09 11:01 AM CDT

I like both of your replies www. I think the real problem with faith is organized religion.

-3

IN RESPONSE:

kokuaguy
Jul 15, 09 2:40 PM CDT

I get a tingle up my leg every time I read one of your stirring, heart felt posts, raht thaaang. Why caint I quit you, dude !!!

-1

IN RESPONSE:

OrganicTea
Jul 15, 09 3:10 PM CDT

@Mad: www.venganza.org -- The "Church" of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Have fun. :)

| 0 minutes ago

doingtherightthing
Jul 15, 09 12:12 PM CDT

I love the atheist comments. Why comment on God at all if you don't believe in God. Frankly, it doesn't concern you unless, your curious to know whether or not God exists........either way the Episcopal church is operating against God's command for those who believe in God's word........save your breath atheists; go tell a tree your problems........... Reply

IN RESPONSE:

Snarfeh
Jul 15, 09 12:33 PM CDT

Ok, I'll bite. I actually do believe in God :::gasp::: Yes, a homosexual liberal believes in God. However, I don't believe in the dogmatic, fundie approach to God. The Bible itself tells readers to seek God's Word. If God's Word were nowhere but the Bible, there would be no point in telling someone to seek a Word that is already being read in the only place it can be found. My point is, dogmatic fundamentalists need to look outside the Bible for God. And should you look outside the Bible for God, you would learn there are a MINIMUM of 13 religions that came before Christianity that have: a virgin birth, a savior who performs miracles, a savior who is tempted to the dark side, a savior who is sacrificed for the good of all and a savior who rises from the dead. If you were to actually study religion, as I have, you would learn that much of what you read in the Bible is symbolic of something much deeper than the fundie shit spewed by evangelists nowadays. Let those who have ears to hear, hear. And the Bible also says you cannot take one section or portion and live only by that. It's all or nothing. My point there is that, if you are a real Christian and not a hypocrite, then you know that EVERYONE is a sinner. EVERYONE. If you are not a sinner, you are the second coming of Jesus the Liberal Guy. Therefore, to judge one sinner as better than another sinner is a sin in and of itself. Thus, IF homoseuxality is a sin, you are also sinful if you judge homosexuals as more sinful than anyone else. And, thingamabob, if you eat cheeseburgers while judging homosexuals, you are also a hypocrite because Levitcus also says do not mix dairy with meat. I do not believe for one nanosecond you are sinless, therefore, you *are* a hypocrite. So, um...go to hell and don't let the door hit you on your ass, I mean head, on your way in....

| 0 minutes ago

kokuaguy
Jul 15, 09 2:45 PM CDT

This is for all the rest of us, I know. But I hope you will respond to this point by point right thing. I can't waste my time on you, but I am extremely grateful to Sharfie for doing so. You should also check out her profile and awesome avatar too. Reply

-2

IN RESPONSE:

doingtherightthing
Jul 15, 09 3:04 PM CDT

the rest of who should I check out kokuaguy. None of you know anything about the bible. If you did know something we could debate this issue, however, you can't Its not in your DNA. Since, you know more than me read Rom 1-26-32 and you tell me if I'm wrong.........

| 0 minutes ago

doingtherightthing
Jul 15, 09 2:55 PM CDT

Snarfeh.......God is the word and the living word is Christ. These are the written works you'll find in the bible. The bible includes the books of old such as Vulgate, Masorettic Text, Manuscripts and more. So, without knowing what God wants you can't please God either. You accuse me of judging. I didn't judge I pointed out a fact as it is written. Try Romans 1: 26-32 for a answer to how God feels about homosexuality....... Christianity is living by the word the bible. You sir are greatly mistaken, thinking the Episcopal church is living by the written word. They claim to be a Christian church yet they teach by there own bible not Gods works......prove me wrong...... Reply

-1

IN RESPONSE:

Mad
Jul 15, 09 4:46 PM CDT

Righthing, you have yet to prove you are correct!

IN RESPONSE:

Snarfeh
Jul 15, 09 6:20 PM CDT

RT, there is no way to prove you are right or that you are wrong. No one can prove God exists or doesn't exist. It is a matter of beliefs. If you had been born in the Middle East, you would have a completely different set of beliefs & you'd be dead certain your beliefs were the Truth. Operative word here is beliefs. As for the section in Romans, Paul wrote that letter to Rome after his missionary tour of the Mediterranean. On this tour, he saw temples built to various gods & goddesses & witnessed, what he considered, abundant sexual depravity which included sexual acts besides homosexual acts. Were he to have listed them all in his letters, it would have been quite a list. It appears he summed them up in the ones he found most unappealing (and if he thought 2 women together was unappealing but he is not gay, then I feel sorry for him). He saw acts related to fertility religions which incorporated sexuality into their rituals & he also had a corn cob up his own ass (my personal opinion). The Bible says our sexuality is a gift but like all of our gifts, it can be abused. Paul is not God so he cannot *possibly* express God's feelings on homosexuality. That's the same thing as you or me saying we speak for God. Paul's letters are Old Testament which is essentially a re-working of the Torah. And another thing about the Bible. It has been translated & re-translated so many times, it contradicts itself in many places. Have you ever played the game where several people stand in a circle & one whispers something to the person on his right & it is subsequently whispered around the circle until it comes back to the originator? I have played this game & not once has what was originally whispered ever come back correctly. My point is that by the time the Bible has been translated so many times, it has been translated incorrectly & it has also been subjected to opinions of the translators. Thirdly, a lot of the material in the Bible is symbolic. I'll use creation as an example. If you think God needed dirt & bones to create humans, you are not giving God very much credit. An all powerful God should not need dirt & bones to do His creating. The Adam & Eve story is symbolic & if you want to know what it symbolizes, I'll be glad to enlighten you, but it's off subject. I was raised as a Christian & when I finally began to admit to myself that I was gay, I struggled with this. I may talk a lot shit here, but I am not a bad person; at least no worse than the next person. I help little old ladies across the street (did that just a month ago at the grocery store), I hand over a few dollars to some guy in a parking lot begging for some spare change (done that twice now & I cannot control his choices on how he uses the money I gave him; I can control that I gave willingly to someone in worse circumstances than myself.) & I generally try to do the...(ahem) right thing & I manage to do that sometimes & sometimes I don't. But my struggle led me to...

IN RESPONSE:

Snarfeh
Jul 15, 09 6:23 PM CDT

(continuation because evidently I fond Newser's limit on characters allowed ;-) But my struggle led me to start researching homosexuality with regards to religion because I could not believe I would be condemned any more than the person who will *not* give to the poor or who only does so for the tax break or the person who gossips nastily or the thief or the murderer & so on. I don't believe in hell anymore, but if there is a hell, there are a LOT of people who don't expect to go there who will find themselves surprised upon their arrival at the lower gate instead of the higher one. I feel sorry for people who lack compassion due to their fears.

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doingtherightthing
Jul 15, 09 4:57 PM CDT

I just gave you the info Mad to prove me correct .....read it or go away but don't go away Mad.......... Reply

| 0 minutes ago

doingtherightthing
Jul 16, 09 1:41 AM CDT

snarfeh.........Paul writes much of the new testament. To say Paul doesn't count, is a mindless statement to discredit him. Paul was struck down by God on the road to Damascus (Acts). God sent Paul to the gentiles to teach the word. To discredit Paul is to discredit God. Here's more examples for you to read; how God feels about homosexulaity: Leviticus 18:22, 1Cor 6:9, 1Tim 1:10 these verify what I said homosexulaity goes against God's command. Adam & Eve are not symbolic they're real flesh and blood. Gen 2:7 God formed man (Adam) from the dust of the ground (read). Gen 2:22 he formed Eve.......To argue about God is to know there is a God. The bible is a story about a family "Gods family" which is the genealogy of Christ starting with Adam to His birth. Your trying to justify your actions. I simply pointed out how God feels about those actions.........The ball is in your court. The decision to follow God is yours not mine..........it sounds as though your struggling with this issue. Is it right or wrong to practice homosexulaity; answer: wrong.........I'll leave you with this Prov 1:7..... learn the truth...... Reply

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IN RESPONSE:

Snarfeh
Jul 16, 09 5:55 PM CDT

RT, Levitcus is not how God feels about anything. It is how a bunch of old men trying to rule the tribes felt about several things, including eating meat with dairy, eating shellfish (remember Jesus said later it was not that which went into the mouth that is unclean, but that which comes out, something you'd do well to remember). Romans, which you originally quoted, is Old Testament. Adam & Eve are a symbolic story similar old men made up to scare the men of the tribe into keeping their women away from the earlier goddess religions, which by the way, still existed at the time. The apple tree is an old symbol of the early goddess religions & the snake is a ancient, i.e., pre-Christianity, symbol of knowledge (hence it is still used in the form of the Caduceus, the most well known sign related to healing, doctors & medicine). The message was, keep your women submissive & dumb & don't let them participate in the goddess religions. As an aside, the earliest signs of *any* religion are those of the goddess. The Adam & Eve story is also symbolic of our eschewing living right & doing right things (represented by peaceful living in Eden) and instead being materialistic & self-centered, thinking only of ourselves. And you say you simply pointed out how God feels about something? You know how God feels? Or, you know how the Bible tells you God feels?

IN RESPONSE:

Snarfeh
Jul 16, 09 5:56 PM CDT

The Bible is full of wisdom, but it has been shat upon too often by your ilk for it to have any meaning today. People scoff at the Bible because of the idiocy of the people who have used it to justify murder, slavery, discrimination & oppression. How sad the beauty in that big book is overlooked by so many thanks to radical fundamentalists who have misused and misinterpreted it. I'm not struggling with anything anymore. My journey led me to realize that a greater consciousness begat this universe. Quantum physics has led me to realize this could not have happened haphazardly. There are FAR too many coincidences of nature for this to have all happened via a big bang. #1 - our planet is exactly the right distance from the sun to support life, known amongst scientists as the "Goldilocks Zone." Other Goldilocks Zones have been acknowledged by science. #2 - Our moon is just the right size to stabilize earth's orbit. Any smaller & DNA could not have been created. #3 - We live in the Goldilocks zone of planetary masses. If our planet were even a little bit smaller, its gravity would be so weak that it could not keep its oxygen. This planet has just the right weight & mass to keep an atmospheric composition beneficial to life. #4 - We live in the Goldilocks zone of permissible planetary orbits which means earth won't come close to any planets that would be gas giants with the gravitational ability to disrupt earth's orbit.

IN RESPONSE:

Snarfeh
Jul 16, 09 5:59 PM CDT

#5 - Earth is in the Goldilocks zone of the Milky Way Galaxy, about 2/3's of the way from the center. If the solar system were too close to the galactic center, where a known black hole lurks, the radiation field would be so intense that life could not have been sustainable on earth. Too far away and there would not be enough higher elements to even create life. Astronomers Peter Ward & Donald Brownlee have posited that we live within even more Goldilocks zones. They recite an incredible list of ways the earth has "just the right" amount of oceans, plate tectonics, oxygen content, heat content, tilt of the axis, and so on to create and support intelligent life.

IN RESPONSE:

Snarfeh
Jul 16, 09 6:02 PM CDT

There is no fucking way, in my opinion, this all happened via a big bang, unless the big bang was God farting. I believe in God or a higher consciousness or higher intelligence or whatever one wants to call it, but I believe it is so far advanced that the Bible's many stories are pitiable attempts by mankind, an early unadvanced mankind, to explain how it was done. Dirt and Bones! Your god is weak if dirt and bones are needed to create human beings. Remember, Genesis said God said "Let there be..." to create the world. So, after just essentially saying "make it so," your God has to scratch up a little dirt to create man & then steal one of his bones to create woman? How stupid is that? Are you even aware that the same number of ribs can be found in both men & women? Man, I really feel bad for you. I honestly do. There's no help for fundies. None a'tall.

IN RESPONSE:

Snarfeh
Jul 16, 09 6:04 PM CDT

Oh yeah...and for the Goldilocks zones, credit to "Parallel Worlds" by Michio Kaku - Professor of theoretical physics at the City University of NY and cofounder of string theory.

| 0 minutes ago

Laugh
Jul 16, 09 3:12 PM CDT

"Gay Bishop" (just like "Straight Bishop") is a contradiction in terms. Aren't they supposed to live absolute asexual lives; abandoning all desires of the flesh and be totally devoted to God? Stating a sexual preference is perpendicular to this line of thought. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

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Episcopal Church Lifts Ban on Gay Bishops

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Robinson will speak Sunday, has been critical of Warren

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Gay Bishop, Obama Discuss Dangers of Being 'First'

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Episcopal Splinter Group
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Barack Obama • gay marriage • Episcopal Church • Gene Robinson • Episcopalian • inauguration • Rick Warren • gays • President Obama

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