Faith in Marriage

It has been brought to my attention that there is a group Faith in Marriage who are campaigning religious groups  to be allowed, but not forced, to carry out same-se marriage in Scotland.


It has the backing of:

• United Reformed Church (National Synod of Scotland)
• Scottish Unitarian Association
• Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Scotland
• Liberal Judaism
• Iona Community
• Humanist Society Scotland
• Metropolitan Community Church
• Open Episcopal Church in Scotland
• Pagan Federation (Scotland)
• Community of Interbeing (Zen Buddists)
• One Spirit Interfaith Foundation
• Edinburgh Shamanic Centre

As well as support from

• Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement
• Quaker Lesbian and Gay Fellowship
• Jewish Gay and Lesbian Group
• Gay And Lesbian Vaishnava Association (Hindus)
• SARBAT – LGBT Sikhs
• Affirmation Scotland
• Changing Attitude Scotland
• CourageSCOTLAND
• OneKirk
• Scottish Rainbow Covenant – LGBT Jews in Scotland
• World Congress of GLBT Jews: Keshet Ga’avah
• Ekklesia

And individual support from

• Rev. David Coleman, Convenor, Church and Society Committee, United Reformed Church (National Synod of Scotland)
• Rev. Fiona Bennett, Minister, Augustine United Church 
• Rev. Zam Walker, Minister, Greenock West United Reformed Church 
• Roddy Macpherson, President, Scottish Unitarian Association
• Rev. Maud Robinson, Minister, St Mark’s Unitarian Church, Edinburgh 
• Robin Waterston, Clerk, Religious Society of Friends in Scotland 
• Phil Lucas, Religious Society of Friends in Scotland (Quakers)
• Nicola James, Honorary Quaker Chaplain, University of Glasgow Chaplaincy 
• Rt. Rev. David Gillham, Bishop of Scotland, Open Episcopal Church in Scotland
• Rev. David Furniss, Vicar General, Open Episcopal Church in Scotland
• Rev. Jane Clarke, Minister, Metropolitan Community Church, Glasgow
• Rev. Maxwell Reay, Minister, Metropolitan Community Church, Edinburgh
• Rev. Peter Macdonald, Leader, The Iona Community
• Rabbi Danny Rich, Chief Executive, Liberal Judaism
• Rabbi Shulamit Ambalu and Rabbi Aaron Goldstein, Co-Chairs, Rabbinic Conference of Liberal Judaism
• Rabbi Mark L Solomon, Rabbi, Sukkat Shalom: Edinburgh Liberal Jewish Community
• Louise Park, Presiding Officer & Celebrants Coordinator, Pagan Federation (Scotland)
• Suzanne Dance, Facilitator, The Community of Interbeing
•  Rev. Jane Patmore, Interfaith Minister and Celebrant, One Spirit Interfaith Foundation
• John Bishop, Secretary, Humanist Society Scotland
• Stephen Chinn, Policy Development Officer, Humanist Society Scotland 
• Ross Wright, Marriage Celebrant, Humanist Society Scotland 
• Rt. Rev. Richard Holloway, Former Bishop of Edinburgh & Primus, Scottish Episcopal Church.
• Rev. Kelvin Holdsworth, Provost, St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow, Scottish Episcopal Church
• Rev. Donald Reid, Associate Rector, St John’s Episcopal Church, Edinburgh & Co-Convenor, Edinburgh Interfaith Association (EIFA)
• Rev. Ross K. Bell, Priest, Diocese of Edinburgh, Scottish Episcopal Church
• Rev. Lindsay Louise Biddle, Chaplain, Affirmation Scotland & Minister Locum, Anderston Kelvingrove Parish Church, Glasgow (Church of Scotland)
• Rev. Peter Johnston, Convenor, OneKirk
• Rev. Dr. John W. Mann, Minister, St. James' Parish Church, Glasgow (Church of Scotland)
• Rev. Scott S McKenna, Minister, Mayfield Salisbury Parish, Edinburgh (Church of Scotland)
• Rev. David McLachlan, Minister, Langside Church, Glasgow (Church of Scotland)
• Claudia Goncalves and Mark Halliday, Co-founders, Edinburgh Shamanic Centre
• Rev. Sharon Ferguson, Spokesperson, Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM)
• Mary Woodward, Membership Secretary, Quaker Lesbian and Gay Fellowship
• Peggy Sherwood, President, Jewish Gay and Lesbian Group (JGLG)
• Amara Das Wilhelm, President, The Gay And Lesbian Vaishnava Association 
• Rev. Ruairidh MacRae, CourageSCOTLAND 
• Jaye Richards-Hill and Beth Routledge, Co-Convenors, Changing Attitude Scotland
• Rebekah Gronowski, Co-Founder, Scottish Rainbow Covenant – LGBT Jews in Scotland
• Howard Solomon, President, The World Congress of GLBT Jews: Keshet Ga’avah
• Jonathan Falk, Secretary, The World Congress of GLBT Jews: Keshet Ga’avah
• Simon Barrow, Director, Ekklesia

Quite a list there including some whose church stance is still undecided of being dictated from the top is opposed to idea of same-sex marriage. 

So next time anyone says that same-sex marriage has no merit with people of faith maybe you should direct them to this list, which is only in Scotland and point out that they are those who want the freedom of religion to carry out equal marriage regardless of the sexuality of the couple before them and God.

The next time someone goes on about how churches are opposed to same-sex marriage, point them to these groups and others that say they want the freedom, but not forcing others to have to, to practice their faith AND carry out same-sex marriage. That is surely true freedom of religion not what leading members of the Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian Church in Ireland and others are saying. 

What is...are...the biblical definitions of marriage?

Certain groups opposed to marriage equality will like to tell you that marriage is defined as one man and one woman. They are clearly missing out on how the men of God were told to view marriage.

Now clearly marriage has been redefined since the days of the bible and churches don't insist on parts of the law of Moses such as the rape victim having to marry her rapist. God chosen people and the line that bore Jesus were a line of polygamists and men with concubines.

Just saying. So why when they say that marriage is all about love and point to Leviticus as the reason that man and man can't be together and woman and woman can't be together that so often the marriage then is not about love. That the love often comes with a subsequent wife or concubine.

Jeffrey get your facts right about cafés, the bible and LGBT in this country

Today in PMQs the DUP's MP for Lagan Valley, Jeffrey Donaldson, asked David Cameron the following question:

Q8. [76635] Mr Jeffrey M. Donaldson (Lagan Valley) (DUP): The Prime Minister has warned African countries that unless they improve gay rights, he will cut their aid, yet in many African countries where we pour in millions of pounds of aid, Christians face great persecution and destruction of churches, lives and property. Here in the UK, anyone who displays a Bible verse on the wall of a café faces prosecution. Was Ann Widdecombe right when she said that in the 21st century hedgehogs have more rights than Christians?

Now me being curious wanted to take a look at just how many cafe owners had faced prosecution for the offence of displaying a bible verse as I know a few of them around Northern Ireland that do so. Though I do know that potentially there are a few that are on permanent display on roadsides in Northern Ireland that could cause offence to certain sections of the community under section 75 (1) of the Belfast Agreement and I have yet to hear of anyone or any LGBT group protesting or prosecuting their existence.

It appears I wasn't the only one to want to do a fact check, read this piece by full fact check.

The Ann Widdecombe reference comes from this article in her Express column. But she doesn't mention anything about Cafes.

No that honour goes to the Fail on Sunday (again I have to apologise to readers for the link). After 24 paragraphs of reporting in which it is said that

• the cafe owner was threatened with arrest
• that he was told to stop playing his DVDs of the New Testament
• that he faced and intensive inquisition for over an hour after the police arrived unannounced
• that he was being bullied by the police
• that he feared being put into handcuffs
• that the Christian Institute (yes them again) are preparing a complaint on the cafe owners behalf

We get to this statement from Lancashire Constabulary after it says that they turned up to look into a complaint from a member of the public under the Public Order Act 1986 (which also for the record states that criticism of sexual conduct shall not in itself be deemed threatening or to stir up hatred):

"At no point did the officer ask the cafe owner to remove any materials or arrest the man and we took a commonsense and objective approach in dealing with the complaint. We believe our response and the action we took was completely proportionate and our officers are always available should the cafe owner want to discuss the matter or need any advice in the future. 

"The Constabulary is respectful of all religious views. However, we do have a responsibility to make sure that material that communities may find deeply offensive or inflammatory is not being displayed in public. 

"No complaint has been received about the conduct of the officer in question and we are satisfied that they performed their duties professionally."

Yeah it is another non-story in the Fail.

Maybe Jeffrey should look at some of the activity within his own party. Of course there is the former chair of the Health Committee who said that homosexual should see her little Christian psychiatrist friend for a cure. Or the current deputy chair who says that all those who take part in Pride are repugnant. Even those it would seem who offer counselling to suicidal LGBT young and not so young people, those who offer sexual health advise to all whether LGBT or straight, those who are men/women of the cloth, those who sit with them in Stormont or council chambers across Northern Ireland.

In America the so called family group, the American Family Association (AFA), have this week attacked the Trevor Project, a helpline for suicidal prevention among LGBT teens. So clearly they don't want people to tell these LGBT teens, who are five times more likely to take their own lives that straight teens, not to commit suicide. Sadly that is not so far removed from the actions and words of many in the DUP and indeed the tone with which Mr Donaldson asked his question. The figures for homophobic bullying of teens in Northern Ireland are as bad as in the USA where the AFA operate are just as bad.

Those of us who have been through those feelings in the past want to tell Northern Ireland LGBT teens, young people and not so young that it gets better, but how can we when our leaders fail to get their facts right about issues of homophobia real or alleged.

Christian Institute bullies its way over homophobic bullying education pack - then rejoices

Apparently the Christian Institute are rejoicing because they think they have squashed a homophobic bullying help pack which has been taken down pending looking into their complaint.

In their article they wrote  that the pack "was styled as guidance on preventing bullying", before the Institute's Mike Judge went on the say

"a hierarchy of victim has seeped into our education system where some forms of bullying are taken more seriously than others".

Strangely that is just the reason why material looking how teachers can deal with homophobic bullying is needed. Teachers in our schools everywhere know how to deal with racist bullying, they know how to deal with sectarian bullying. These types of bullying are taken seriously. It is the homophobic bullying that is one of the areas that is overlooked.

Mr Judge also says:

"Schools have become factories for undermining family values and brainwashing children."

The problem is that the group mentality and peer pressure of fellow students is what leads school children to get away with bullying or to take part in it. One of my friends at school would often join in with the homophobic bullying of me at secondary school. He would later always apologise for doing so, saying that the reason he did so was to fit in with the others and not to be attacked by them for other reasons. Yes, to avoid him getting bullied by that group he would take part in the verbal bullying (he never took part in physical bullying of me) that was going on.

So Mr Judge yes we have to ensure that no type of bullying is superior to another, but when you attack a resource that is there to deal with one of the most harmful types of bullying still prevalent in our schools. Earlier this week the figures from Rainbow Project/ Cara Friend report Left out of the equation looking at LGBT young people in schools showed that 84.5% had contemplated suicide, 35.3% had attempted it and 41.2% had self harmed. Indeed at that age I was part of whatever those first two statistics would have been. It also pointed out that while young people racially or religiously victimised had other family members to rely on, LGBT youth could only rely on the professionals that they came into contact with.

That is why it is important that our teachers know how to deal with homophobic bullying, have resources to change that group mentality in the classroom. So that no type of bullying is better resourced than any other to be dealt with in our classroom. If the Christian Institute can't get that they aren't very Christ-like.

There is one piece of truth in the Christian Institute article:

Anne Jardine, Director of Learning and Community at the Education Scotland quango, said the document had been removed from its website, "pending further discussion".

According the NUS LGBT Officer Nathan Sparkling the complaint had coincided with a staff holiday so the person to make a decision was not available and the procedure was to suspend this until it could be considered and action agreed by the person responsible. This apparently should be happening soon and the pack will be reinstated on the website.

Note The institute has a whole section tagged as 'homosexual rights' or actually if you read the material how they have tried to block those rights every step of the way for the last 15 years. It shows you exactly what stance they would take on anything, even if it is logical, makes sense and may even prevent harm, if it is seen to acknowledge that homosexuals exist everywhere, even in their churches.

Forty Eight Hours of Worship!

Over the weekend there was a marquee erected next to Bangor Abbey and inside for 48 hours there was continuous praise going on. It was an event organised by Celts on Fire an organisation founded by dear friends of our family Tom and Iris Ross.

You may think that 48 hours is a long time for a cycle of people to keep up praise to God yet in the 6th and 7th centuries it is believed that for 150 years the practise of Laus Perennis (continual prayer) was kept up at the Monastery in Bangor, close to the present day Abbey.

It was considered to have been interrupted by the raids of the Vikings. So it was fitting that on Friday night at the start of the 48 hours of worship that Scandinavian Christians led the first hour.

Some of you who followed my Twitter over the weekend will have been aware that I spent the first hour I had back in Bangor* (in the early hours of Sunday morning) at the marquee. I also sandwiched in another couple of hours in the afternoon between being part of the Worship Group at Trinity Presbyterian Church for both Sunday services (my first time playing bass guitar, or any instrument, in public for a number of years**).

Some people ask it is possible to be a Liberal politician and a Christian at the same time? It was actually the subject of yesterday's evening's sermon on 1 Thessalonians 4, which at one point made me a little tense. But I say it is, contrary to the sermon last night, though I've come on a long road to get to where I am and I'm sure it's not travelled yet.

But seeing people reaching out and back to the early traditions of our Christianity is invigorating to see (and if you see my current reading material courtesy of Mícheál also intriguing). There is a lesson never lose sight of the past while striving towards a better future, that is true of both fields.

* Having spent most of the week up in Belfast with a post-hospital Mícheál.
** So what better way to do that than with only a brief run through once as the only rehearsal time.

Probably Going to Get Turned Down

I see with regret that Stephen Green of Christian Voice has fallen right into the trap laid out by the Atheist Agnostic* bus campaign. He is snared in a heffalump trap of his own making. Some of my fellow Lib Dems will be smiling with glee but I just struck my forehead firmly to my hand.

The advert's wording is:

There's probably no God.
Now stop worrying and enjoy yourself.

It is being displayed on buses up and down the country. But Mr Green is one of 57 complainants to the Advertising Standard Commission. Now I'm happy for him to decide to do that because we live in a free and democratic society that allows him to voice his opinion. However, it is argument he gives that makes me cringe. He says:

"It is given as a statement of fact and that means it must be capable of
substantiation if it is not to break the rules.

"There is plenty of evidence for God, from people's personal
experience, to the complexity, interdependence, beauty and design of the natural
world.

"But there is scant evidence on the other side, so I think the
advertisers are really going to struggle to show their claim is not an
exaggeration or inaccurate, as the ASA code puts it."

Ok lets take a look at the two statements. It a court of law the use of the word probably would not count as being beyond reasonable doubt. Probably still suggests that is possibly some probability that you are wrong. Foot in mouth one.

Foot in mouth two comes in last two paragraphs of Mt Green's comments. He says there is scant evidence for the counter cause to theism, whilst listing what a court of law would deem the circumstantial evidence for theism. You see Stephen Green has forgotten one thing with his conviction in these statements, the evidence that he has talked about needs more that just those personal experiences. To link the complexity, interdependence, beauty and design of the natural world requires a faith in a deity.

Now if you please all turn in you pew or hotel room bible or look up at the bus advertising hoarding on the wall over you head. And turn please to Hebrew's chapter 11 and verse 1 we find:

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not
seen. "

Sadly Stephen you conviction that there is a God is the same as mine, not solely based on the things you listed above, but in association with that faith. A faith of things yet to come and conviction of things we have not seen.

By your own argument Churches should also be banned by the ASA from advertising and therefore I know that your complaint will fail. It only succeeds in doing one thing giving a little bit more publicity to the opposition's view point.

Of course the British Humanist society should probably have used the word "possibly" in the ad if they wanted avoid so many complaints. But then the end result is possibly just the exact reason why they ended up going with "probably".

*As the campaign says has the word "probably" in it rather saying an atheistic "There is no god" it clearly is false advertising by the press to call this agnosticism an Atheist Bus Advert.

The Confessional

I've been sort of umming an ahing about just how far to post today following the Pope's comments in which I took a satirical look. However, following seeing what young Alistair Wood has had to say I felt that the time is probably right for one of the most heart on a sleeve blog posts seen here on my journal. Some of the stuff you will see below has been hinted at in part though the history of the blog, but this as it were is sort of the lid of the jigsaw box as it were. So the Pope has a thing about two men kissing or getting jiggy between the sheets so where does that leave us. Does it really make things as bad for mankind as losing the forests.

Alistair laid out some key biblical quotes and I'm going to do the same. First of we need a key definition what does it take to be a Christian. Well Paul says the following in Romans 10:9-10

"If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes,
resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in
salvation."

Now I don't know about you but that is one of the clearest definitions of what it takes to be saved and therefore is a definition of what a Christian is. Indeed that is exactly what I did when I was only 9 years old.

Unlike the Pope there is no mention of any particular sin excluding anyone. Indeed Paul goes further in Ephesians 2:8-9 to say:

"For by grace you have been saved though faith; and that not of yourself, it is
the grace of God; not as a result of works so that no one should boast."

Now I think I'd been the ideal example for the whole nature versus nurture debate. I mean born again at 9, in Northern Ireland one of the most religious areas of the UK, son of a Church elder who was also the Boys Brigade (BB) Captain. Well versed in the bible so much so that at Uni one of my fellow Christian Union (CU) committee member wrote:

"Your Love of God and your dedication is a real joy to see. It is encouraging for me
to find someone who finds so much help from the Bible ad from other. You are a
good guy - and a real Son of God."

Now these comments were meant to be anonymous but I knew the handwriting and this future President of Kingston's CU had also confessed to be a little envious of my knowledge of the bible in our first term.

This dedication from me after two years on the CU committee moved into mission, upon return to leading the Church youth group, then when I returned home teaching in the Bible Class and being an officer in the BB. So clearly the Pope up to this point of my life would not see me as a problem case, after all I fell into line long before I was sexually mature enough to contemplate sex. Incidentally you now chronologically have me in my early 30s.

There's just the one issue that since my late teens despite all the outward signs I've been struggling with a tough issue I'm attracted to other guys not to girls. My fantasy life when it develops is based on guys even in my sleep states. Now where did I get that nurtured into me. I think the experts would all say that is nature at work. As I've hinted before I took the same stance as Iris Robinson and believed it could be prayed out of me.

Now I had quite a unique Christian experience for a Northern Irish lad in his early twenties. I was firmly grounded in the Word but after about one year of Uni I needed more than that I needed a faith that was as real today as in the book of Acts. So I found the more charismatic end of things, even being given leadership of teams in some of the lease keep your hands by the side teams for Summer or Easter with Operation Mobilisation who I also did one year of mission with

Now I still and on three occasions including once during that year of actually serving in that

way someone in the congregation had a word of wisdom that could only relate to me. Especially on two of those occasions the person ended up praying for me and ht even more specific nails squarely on the head. However, you know what Iris and everyone else it didn't change who I was no matter how much I wanted it to.

Now here's where I will diverge from Alistair. He did an exposition that set about showing that being homosexual isn't a sin. You see I don't care whether it is or it isn't because the bible also says "we are all sinners saved by grace". Indeed it is Paul again who when talking about rewards in heaven says:

"If any man's work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward.
If any man's work is burned u, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be
saved, yet so as through fire." 1 Corinthians 3:15

Now to me as I've said above the act of personal salvation is there in the past. The bible says that nothing can take that gift away. No whether Alistair is right with his interpretation of me acting on who I am and experiencing full emotional and physical love with someone of the same gender being covered by exclusion, or exception of other OT abominations in the NT, or whether it is still literal. There is comfort in the fact that as with the adulteress brought before Jesus in John 8 there is no one out there without sin. Therefor at the back escaping as if from he fire there will be many who other's may not have expected to be there, my guess they won't be for one type of sin either.

But they would have one thing in common.

Redemption through grace alone. No matter what the state of the rain forests or the sexual ambiguities of their times. If being a sinner makes any one a worse candidate for inclusion in the church, then there is no church, no Bishoprics and no Pope.