Since the gospel is for ALL sinners, we hold that it is actually discriminatory to preach that same-sex activity should be accepted and not repented of, as it excludes a group of sinners from the hope of forgiveness and transformation offered to all through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

* Can the bishops agree that active, unrepentant, deliberate homosexual acts exclude people from the Kingdom of God?

* If not, on what Scriptures do they base their idea that it is otherwise?

If the Church were to decide that homosexual activity (within whatever kind of relationship) is to be affirmed, we would again see this as exclusive and discriminatory against certain homosexual people in particular – those who as part of their Christian discipleship refrain from homosexual temptation and seek to live celibate lives. What message would we have for them - that their discipleship has been a ‘sham’? Does the bishops’ process of listening include hearing from celibate homosexual Christians?

We regard the current understanding of the Biblical texts as affirming homosexual practice to be a late twentieth-century innovation. What cannot be denied, surely, is that throughout the Bible, homosexual activity is never promoted nor portrayed in a positive light. This is consistent across the various genre of the biblical corpus. Those within the church who advocate the acceptance of homosexuality have a mammoth task to prove otherwise, and no change should be made to the Church’s current teaching until that case can be conclusively made.

We would not like to see the debate captured by the emotive voices of experience rather than based on the careful consideration of Scripture. An over-reliance on experience and testimony would tend to ‘personalise’ the debate in a very negative way and indeed could drown out the authoritative and decisive testimony of Holy Writ.

* Do the Bishops agree with us that Scripture is the central and final arbiter in this debate?

We are grateful that the Windsor Report declares the 1998 Lambeth Resolution I.10 to be the normative teaching of the Anglican Communion. We are concerned with the sneering attitude towards Lambeth I.10 in some quarters of the Church of Ireland and hope that this is not replicated within the House of Bishops. The EFIC certainly do not consider this resolution to be Holy Scripture, but we accept its scriptural content. We feel it is significant that the recent motions passed at the Clogher and Down & Dromore Diocesan Synods affirmed ‘the biblical teaching on marriage and sexuality’ expressed in Resolution I.10. (Italics ours).

We would wish to ask the bishops:

* How will discipline be exercised within the Church of Ireland in the light of Lambeth I.10’s declaration that a homosexual lifestyle is not compatible with Christianity?

* What steps will they take to maintain this teaching in the life of the Church?

We would again wish to voice our concern at the continued link between the Diocese of Limerick and New Hampshire. While we appreciate that there may be a certain protocol attached to such inter-diocesan relationships, can an assurance be given that this relationship will not be renewed when the current period expires?

We are also unclear as to the status of Gene Robinson’s ministry if he were to come to Ireland. It does not suffice to declare that there are no legal or canonical irregularities when the theological and moral irregularities remain unresolved!

It seems to us that despite the best efforts of the Windsor Commission, there may yet be realignment within the Anglican Communion. Much of the ‘Western’ Anglicanism has declared its preference; so too the greater part of the two-thirds world. Where does that leave the Church of Ireland should such a scenario emerge?

Are we to remain with the materially rich yet dying Anglicanism in the West that affirms all sin except the sin of ‘intolerance’? Or will we build ever-closer ties with those Anglicans who seek to be faithful to Scripture in deed as well as in word, and who have much to teach us about being faithful and distinctive for the Gospel’s sake, even in the face of secular and cultural pressures?

Read the entire piece Sexuality and the Gospel from the EFIC.

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