Is biblilly allowable for a pastor to be gay? |

Contents:

• LUTHERANS TO ALLOW PASTORS GAY RELATNSHIPS
• ELCA ASSEMBLY OPENS MISTRY TO PARTNERED GAY AND LBIAN LUTHERANS
• IS BIBLILLY ALLOWABLE FOR A PASTOR TO BE GAY?
• LUTHERANS TO ALLOW PASTORS GAY RELATNSHIPS
• LUTHERANS TO ALLOW GAYS CLERGY
• LUTHERANS OFFER WARM WELE TO GAY PASTORS
• OUTRAGE AS US LUTHERANS EASE RUL ON PASTORS GAY RELATNSHIPS
• LARGT US LUTHERAN NOMATN ADDS GAY PRITS, WHILE BREAKAWAY GROUP PLANS NEW CHURCH
• LUTHERAN GAY AND LBIAN PASTORS ARE 'REAL PEOPLE'
• 3 OTHER CHRISTIAN DENOMATNS THAT ALLOW GAY MARRIAGE

LUTHERANS TO ALLOW PASTORS GAY RELATNSHIPS

In 1991, the Churchwi Assembly passed a rolutn statg that, "Gay and lbian people, as dividuals created by God, are wele to participate fully the life of the ngregatns of the Evangelil Lutheran Church Ameri. CHICAGO (Rters) - Homosexual Lutheran clergy who are sexual relatnships will be able to serve as pastors, the largt U. Has jt said ‘Do not do punishments’, ” said Phil Soucy, spokman for Lutherans Concerned, a gay-lbian rights group wh the church.

8 ln members, had prevly allowed gays to serve as pastors so long as they abstaed om sexual nference also stcted a mtee that is velopg a social statement on sexualy to further vtigate the issue.

The mtee is schled to release s report the ELCA was found 1988, the group has orred three pastors gay relatnships to be removed om their mistri. The most recent se was cid July when the ELCA’s mtee on appeals voted to remove an openly gay pastor om St. John’s Lutheran Church gay clergy issue has bee a flashpot other fahs, cludg the Anglin.

ELCA ASSEMBLY OPENS MISTRY TO PARTNERED GAY AND LBIAN LUTHERANS

church to gay and lbian pastors and other profsnal workers livg. allowed gays and lbians to the ordaed mistry only if they. said, "Nowhere do say scripture that homosexualy and same sex.

But others said a greater acceptance of people who are gay and.

the gifts of gay and lbian pastors. 1964 July At s nventn, the Lutheran Church Ameri (LCA) releas the statement “Marriage and Fay, ” s first on the subject, which ntas no mentn of homosexualy.

IS BIBLILLY ALLOWABLE FOR A PASTOR TO BE GAY?

This statement ntas the Church’s first mentn of homosexualy, which is referred to as a s, but also claims that homosexuals are “often the special and unservg victims of prejudice and discrimatn law, law enforcement, cultural mor, and ngregatnal life. ” The statement nclus wh a fense of “unrstandg and jtice church and muny” of homosexual persons. 1971 March An article the New York Tim claims that the LCA is one of only two “natnal church nomatns” that have released a statement support of “homosexual rights” The other nomatn is the Unarian Universalist Associatn.

LUTHERANS TO ALLOW PASTORS GAY RELATNSHIPS

1974 Lutherans Concerned for Gay People [or Lutherans Concerned], a group prised of laypeople, pastors and ngregatns, forms orr to promote tolerance and acceptance among members of the Lutheran church. Individual ngregatns are urged to wele gay and lbian members. Among the other topics discsed, there are semars on homosexualy led by homosexual dividuals.

LUTHERANS TO ALLOW GAYS CLERGY

1975 October Lutherans Concerned is given $2, 000 by the ALC’s Divisn for Service and Missn Ameri, markg the first time a gay group has been given direct fancial support om s parent nomatn. Jam Cmley, who rponds to qutns about his stance on homosexualy the church by strsg an emphasis on creatg ls dividual regulatns while keepg church prcipl “basic.

1979 June The ALC’s Standg Commtee for the Office of Rearch and Analysis approv a paper “Human Sexualy and Sexual Behavr, ” which stat that is acceptable to be homosexual providg there is no “erotic behavr. 1986 Undated The LCA releas a study statg that the church n “neher absolutely nmn nor praise and affirm homosexualy, ” and also suggts that more of the Church’s ngregatns should wele gay and lbian persons.

Febary-April Three “openly gay” semary stunts are certified by the Pacific Lutheran Theologil Semary Berkeley CA, provokg a ntroversy. 1989 June The Church officially tablish guil that “practicg homosexuals” are to be exclud om ordaed mistry. Two San Francis ngregatns, however, announce plans to fy the official policy and orda a gay pastor and lbian uple rpectively.

LUTHERANS OFFER WARM WELE TO GAY PASTORS

1990 January Two San Francis church proceed wh their ordatn of gay and lbian pastors, makg them the first openly homosexual dividuals to be ordaed the Lutheran church. July The two San Francis church are officially spend by a disciplary mtee of the ELCA for ordag openly homosexual misters who did not take a vow of celibacy. The mtee also suggts an “extensive study” of homosexualy and ordatn.

Undated The ELCA’s Church Council drafts a document lled “Visns and Expectatns: Ordaed Misters the ELCA” that, among other thgs, stat that homosexual ordaed misters are “expected to absta om homosexual sexual relatns. Undated Lutheran Lbian & Gay Mistri (LLGM), a “natnal missn society that supports openly intified sexual mory pastors, semarians, and lay misters who have been discrimated agast bee of their sexual orientatn, ” is found at the two San Francis church who were punished for ordag gay misters ntradictn to the Church’s official policy. 1991 Undated The Churchwi Assembly acts to wele gays and lbians as members of ELCA ngregatns, but do not “bls their mted relatnships, nor do allow gays and lbians mted relatnships to be ordaed or to rema as clergy.

Among other thgs, the document exam homosexualy and affirms that “sexualy is God’s good gift…to all people, ” and stat that “Many gay men and lbian women are well-adjted and live out fahful, mted sexual relatnships, but whout the social approval and support that heterosexual upl take for granted. ” It do, however, nmn “sual” sex, both hetero- and homosexual.

OUTRAGE AS US LUTHERANS EASE RUL ON PASTORS GAY RELATNSHIPS

January One of the San Francis church spend for ordag a gay man has further fied the ndns of s spensn by officially hirg the gay mister. November After a four-year effort, the first draft of a statement on human sexualy by a mtee of the ELCA, which claims that the Bible do not nmn homosexualy and that both homosexualy and masturbatn are scribed as a “healthy part of human life, ” is leaked by the media and provok a firtorm of ntroversy among Church members.

LARGT US LUTHERAN NOMATN ADDS GAY PRITS, WHILE BREAKAWAY GROUP PLANS NEW CHURCH

1994 Febary A regnal panel of the ELCA vot to “ock” an Oakland pastor after he announc that he is homosexual. This marks the first trial of an openly gay pastor the nomatn.

1995 Undated At s Churchwi Assembly, the ELCA lls for “words of prayer, pastoral ncern, and enuragement” for gay and lbian members of the Church. 1996 March The bishops of the ELCA release an open letter to Church members rponse to the ll for ma at the 1995 Assembly, which they reerate the Church’s prev statements welg gays and lbians to ELCA ngregatns and supportg civil rights for homosexuals. The letter acknowledg the “bter” bat around homosexualy wh the Church but tri to create a greater sense of uny.

LUTHERAN GAY AND LBIAN PASTORS ARE 'REAL PEOPLE'

June The ELCA’s Southwtern Texas Synod feats a rolutn at s assembly that would have weled lbian and gay Lutherans to s ngregatns as both members and clergy.

The report barely mentns homosexualy at all, but do not clu a list of “some mis of sexualy” that the church oppos cludg adultery, promiscuy, prostutn, “practic that spread sexually-transmted diseas, ” and pornography. 1998 A gay Lutheran pastor Iowa is brought to a church trial for beg homosexual and ultimately has his ordatn revoked.

3 OTHER CHRISTIAN DENOMATNS THAT ALLOW GAY MARRIAGE

[New York Tim 02/01/1998] 1999 Augt The Churchwi Assembly of the ELCA, the major legislative body, officially vot for the first time on the issue of gay clergy.

In a vote of 820 to 159, “sexually-active” gays and lbians are prohibed om ordatn.

Some people nsir themselv gay bee they are attracted to members of their own genr, even if they do not act on those attractns. So may be biblilly allowable for a pastor to nsir himself gay—that is, he stggl wh homosexual attractn—if he is mted to sexual pury, never acts on those sir, and never enurag anyone else to do so (see Romans 1:32). For the purpos of this article, we will fe gay as “practicg a homosexual liftyle.