The OT assists our understanding of the NT but it should not be used to diminish or contradict our understanding of the message of Jesus.
Likewise the exposition and development of the meaning of Jesus to be found in the NT outside of the synoptic gospels are just that. They are not to be understood as replacements, limitations or additional to the teaching of Jesus.
All of which leads me to the subject of full inclusion. Should Christan churches discriminate against individuals on the grounds of sexual orientation? The answer is mixed. Some churches do not.
The Church of England will not entertain same sex marriages and clergy in a same-sex civil partnership must be celibate. The CofE is considering the issue in February 2023.
The Salvation Army, according to its General, has no intention of changing its stance which is not to permit an officer to be in a same sex relationship.
In the case of both churches each side to the argument relies on scripture to justify their stance. As the Bishop of Oxford put it recently:
It is about giving priority to all those strands in scripture about giving affirmation to each persons individual love by God, how all are equal in his sight. And, therefore, all the texts in scripture that appear to prohibit relationships outside (heterosexual) marriage fall into a clearer perspective.
Very polite and measured as one would expect of a senior Bishop. Plain old me has no such scruples. In my opinion the principle of love overrides all and if fundamentalists wish to peddle notions based on selective use of texts out of context then they should be called out for their reliance on three elements: dodgy theology, scientific ignorance and possibly homophobia.
The same elements are present in the supporters of conversion therapy. My next post will consider this in some detail.
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