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VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - North Carolina Episcopalians on the Wrong Side of History:
North Carolina Episcopalians on the Wrong Side of History
EDITORIAL
By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
May 9, 2012
Once again, three bishops of the Episcopal Church, this time in North Carolina, found themselves on the wrong side of history and theology. Episcopal clergy across the state had expressed their opposition to Amendment One also known as the "marriage amendment" that upholds marriage between a man and a woman. Yesterday voters passed the constitutional measure by a margin of more than 20 percentage points. It was Bill Clinton vs Billy Graham. Clinton lost.
Bishop Michael B. Curry, Diocese of North Carolina, Bishop Clifton Daniel, III, Diocese of East Carolina, and Bishop G. Porter Taylor, Diocese of Western North Carolina all co-authored a joint letter opposing the amendment.
The state's Episcopal Church leaders have been visible opponents to the measure as were California's Episcopal Church bishops during the Proposition 8 campaign that ended a brief window of same-sex marriages in that state.
These liberal bishops were theologically and morally outflanked from the state's two Roman Catholic dioceses, as well as prominent pastors from historically black churches who vocally supported the measure. (Blacks deeply resent their color being equated with sodomy). The Roman Catholic bishops of Charlotte and Raleigh also issued a mailer calling for support of traditional marriage. Even Billy Graham weighed in in support of Amendment One.
In states where same-sex marriage has appeared either on the ballot or in legislatures, Episcopal Church bishops have typically supported, alongside Unitarian Universalist and liberal Protestant officials, legalizing such unions. A rare exception was Rhode Island Episcopal bishop Geralyn Wolf who argued in 2011 against efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in that state.
Yesterday, voters in North Carolina voted overwhelmingly to uphold marriage as between one man and one woman as the only legal domestic partnership recognized by the state. They did not recognize civil unions either.
The arguments raised by Episcopal liberal bishops are typical of most arguments raised by liberals who believe they can change God's mind for Him.
"We oppose Amendment One because the love of God and the way of love that has been revealed in Jesus of Nazareth compels us to do so. We oppose Amendment One because every time we baptize someone in the Episcopal Church, the entire congregation vows to 'strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.' We oppose Amendment One because it is unjust and it does not respect the dignity of every human being in the state of North Carolina. If passed, it will harm not only law-abiding gay and lesbian citizens but other men, women and innocent children in our state," reads one excerpt from the letter.
This is theologically flawed at many levels.
The love of God revealed in Jesus has never embraced sexual behavior of any kind outside of marriage between a man and a woman. Jesus affirmed this in the gospels: "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning ... God made them male and female" (Matthew 19-4 and Mark 10: 6).
What right do these Episcopal bishops have to believe they can reverse what Jesus personally spoke and affirmed? Do they really think that God's love can suddenly embrace what His Son firmly rejected? Of course Jesus didn't address homosexuality specifically He didn't need to. He also never addressed bisexuality, lesbitransgay, bestiality and a host of other sexual sins and aberrations. He openly affirmed the Genesis record and His Father's created order pronouncement. That was enough, no more needed to be said.
To use baptism to affirm homo-erotic behavior blasphemes the very nature of baptism. "Respecting the dignity of every human being" is not a license to respect the sexual behavior of a small group of men and women who scream that they have the same rights as heterosexuals and demand it be affirmed when sodomy is ontologically unacceptable, theologically without foundation, medically dangerous and fails the test to bring another human being into the world.
Furthermore, there is not a shred of evidence that law-abiding gay and lesbian citizens and other men, women and innocent children in the state will be harmed more or less than by heterosexual violence.
According to the North Carolina Department of Justice State Bureau of Investigation, the rate per 100,000 people of Crime Index offenses reported to law enforcement agencies throughout North Carolina decreased 5.6 percent during 2010 when compared to the figures reported in 2009. The rate of violent crime (which includes murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) decreased 10.2 percent statewide. Individually, the murder rate decreased 7.3 percent, the rape rate decreased 14.3 percent, the robbery rate decreased 19.4 percent, and the aggravated assault rate decreased 5.3 percent. This includes all homosexual assaults.
Where is the foundation for the claims made by these Episcopal bishops that homosexuals will suddenly experience an uptick in domestic violence?
There were 27 LGBT people and HIV-affected people killed in 2010 in the United States, according to the latest numbers from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP). The statistics did find that LGBT people of color and transgender women were subject to a disproportionate number of attacks - 70% of the 27 murders in 2010 were LGBT and HIV-affected people of color, while transgender women made up 44% of the murder victims.
By contrast, there were 13,636 murders in the US. Of those, 9,146 were caused by firearms.
In 2005, the most recent year for which mortality data are available, suicide was the second-leading cause of death among Americans 40 years of age or younger. Among Americans of all ages, more than half of all suicides are gun suicides. In 2005, an average of 46 Americans PER DAY committed suicide with a firearm, accounting for 53% of all completed suicides. Gun suicide during this period accounted for 40% more deaths than gun homicide.
If these Episcopal bishops feel so concerned about the rights of a handful of pansexualists where is their outrage about gun violence in America, the incredible suicide rate ripping apart our nation's youth and a culture that is taking them to hell faster than they can say The Creed?
It is hypocrisy and hubris of the highest order for these bishops and clergy to wear T-shirts proclaiming "Vote Against Amendment One" to appease a cultural aberration. Despite the belief that following the consecration of Gene Robinson in 2003, Episcopal churches have not rapidly filled with pansexualists.
Archbishops and bishops in the worldwide Anglican Communion have denounced same-sex marriage, including the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and Archbishop of York John Sentamu. Global South archbishops and bishops have vigorously denounced both homosexuality and same-sex marriage regarding it as a deep violation of the mind and will of God as it is revealed in Holy Scripture.
Yesterday, these NC bishops lost and their dioceses will continue to shrink. Siding with the world is not winning them new parishioners in their churches and souls for the Kingdom.
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