The Lutheran Church of Norway has voted in favor of allowing members in same-sex partnerships to serve in ordained ministry.
The 50-34 vote on Friday came near the end of a difficult week of debate on the issue during the church body’s General Synod, held last Tuesday to Saturday.
The Church of Norway, to which 83 percent of Norwegians are members, remains deeply divided over homosexuality, with many feeling that the acceptance of homosexuals as clergy goes against Scripture.
Last Friday’s compromise vote was a testimony of the lack of clear consensus over homosexuality within the state church of Norway.
General Synods in 1995 and 1997 had established general guidelines that members living in registered same-sex partners were allowed to hold some positions in the church body, but not positions of ordained ministry.
In September, however, the Church of Norway’s National Council told the General Synod, the highest decision-making body, that the split on homosexuality was so close that it now found it “difficult” to uphold earlier Synod decisions maintaining an outright ban and therefore recommended that general guidelines on appointments no longer be issued from the center to bishops or appointing bodies.
This, ultimately, led to last Friday’s vote in favor of admitting homosexuals to ordained ministry.
Reactions to the vote remain mixed. Marit Tingelstad, head of the Bishop's Council for southeastern Norway's Hamar district, told Norwegian radio network NRK: "This will create peace in the Church, and security for homosexual clergy."
Bishop Ole D Hagesaeter of the Bjoergvin district was quoted by the International Herald Tribune as saying, "This is a sad day for the Church. It will be a splitting factor and lead to many feeling homeless in the Church."
While the long-standing absolute ban on employing homosexuals in the clergy has been lifted, the ultimate decision on whether or not to appoint them has been left for individual bishops to make.
Comments
Time for them to come home to the Church of Rome.
Book of Jude Continued:
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
22 And on some have compassion, making a distinction;[d] 23 but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire,[e] hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
Glory to God
24 Now to Him who is able to keep you[f] from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
25 To God our Savior,[g]
Who alone is wise,[h]
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,[i]
Both now and forever.
Amen.
Continued: Book of Jude
8 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
Apostates Depraved and Doomed
12 These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about[c] by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; 13 raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, 15 to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
Apostates Predicted
16 These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. 17 But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: 18 how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. 19 These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.
The Book of Jude: (New King James Version)
3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God[b] and our Lord Jesus Christ.
5 But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
The Book of Jude:
1 Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,
To those who are called, sanctified[a] by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:
2 Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
Footnotes:
Jude 1:1 NU-Text reads beloved.
Jude 1:4 NU-Text omits God.
Jude 1:12 NU-Text and M-Text read along.
Jude 1:22 NU-Text reads who are doubting (or making distinctions).
Jude 1:23 NU-Text adds and on some have mercy with fear and omits with fear in first clause.
Jude 1:24 M-Text reads them.
Jude 1:25 NU-Text reads To the only God our Savior.
Jude 1:25 NU-Text omits Who . . . is wise and adds Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Jude 1:25 NU-Text adds Before all time
tlo 332:
Romans 12:1
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
tlo 332:
John 14:6 (New King James Version)
New King James Version (NKJV)
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
tlo332:
"My question to you all is, if the Bible is the definitive word of God, then wouldn't reading it LITERALLY undermine the profundity it of it. I mean, even human poetry can't be read literally to be truely understood. If your God is so great (which I don't doubt is true) why do you insult him by reading your Bible as a literal work? I mean what gaul to think you actually understand what is meant in the Bible - and then to judge others based on your reading no less!!!! WHere's the humility?? Isn't this the very thing that got Jesus killed?"
Jesus' life was not taken from Him. He gave it up voluntarily and allowed everything to transpire the way it did. You know why? Because it was God's Will that there be only One Way to restore the relationship between fallen sinful man and God; this Way is Jesus Christ. So what did Christ the Son of God do? He descended from His heavenly throne where He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, and humbled himself and became God in the flesh for us, so He could save wretched sinners like you and like me if we only repent of our sins, and put our total faith and confidece in HIm. This is why the LITERAL Word of GOD is so important; it is not to be taken out of context. Christ Jesus who became God in the flesh, gave up His life for us, and so the Scriptures would be fulfilled, He rose from the dead on the third day to show He alone conquered sin and death, and deserves all Power, and Glory, and Honor forever and ever, and ever amen and amen.
Tlo 332, Would you like to know the Risen Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?
I am a non-christian. I belong to and practice another religion. As feedback, I would like to say that much of the response on this board might as well have come from the Pharasees. I read your Bible and realized that their sin was thinking they knew what the "Law" was and because of that they couldn't hear Jesus's words. In fact, because of that they crucified him.
My question to you all is, if the Bible is the definitive word of God, then wouldn't reading it LITERALLY undermine the profundity it of it. I mean, even human poetry can't be read literally to be truely understood. If your God is so great (which I don't doubt is true) why do you insult him by reading your Bible as a literal work? I mean what gaul to think you actually understand what is meant in the Bible - and then to judge others based on your reading no less!!!! WHere's the humility?? Isn't this the very thing that got Jesus killed? While you all are worrying about who is and who isn't getting into heaven, and who is and who isn't righteous, the world is falling apart - in need of someone with love to engage with it. There are oceans of people out there suffering and calling out for help. Please dont sit around pointing fingers, and reading out Bible quotes, pretending like you actually understand definitively something about their meaning. I don't think yours is the place to diagnosis why somebody is suffering - yours is to love and alleviate their suffering as much as you can. If you can't open your hearts and minds to the poor and sick, then who will? (and don't tell me you are by trying to save people's souls - in my opinion and experience that is arrogant and more about you than anybody else - if you really care about someone you will meet them where they are and love them with all your heart). thank you.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (New King James Version)
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals,[a] nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
Footnotes:
1 Corinthians 6:9 That is, catamites
Only the Blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ can cleanse us of all unrighteousness and filthy sin - this does include many other things, but as it pertains to this article - adultery, fornication, and yes, homosexuality. Too many in today's church want to cover up sin, and be politically relevent to today's "culture". They water-down the Wrod of God, and twist it to make it seem more "pleasant" to the ears. Many people want to hear what feesds their ego; they don;t want to hear the truth that transforms lives for their own good and for God's pleasure.
The Bible tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. None of us are without sin. The Good News is that Jesus Christ became God in the flesh for us! He decended from his exalted heavenly place, and willfully shed His Prescious Blood and gave up His life so that we may have a relationship with God the Father our Creator.
We need to first acknowledge that we are all sinners; we need to repent - that is to literally and willfully choose to turn away from our old life of living in sins; we need to ask for forgiveness and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior of our lives (this means we hand over our free will to Him, and choose toi obey His commands and teachings). We must put our total trust and confidence ino Him, and then follow Him.
The question is, have we trully repented, and turned back from our sin. That is to say, if we're willfully, and rebelliously living in sin, have we made a conscious choice to turn from that sin, die to ourselves, pick up our crosses daily and follow Christ?
None of these sins are unpardonable, but God has given us a free choice. We must choose this day whom we will serve. Are we going to choose to gratify our flesh and live in sin, or are we going to die to ourselves, and choose to follow Christ Jesus?
Whoever doesn't truly know Christ on this site, please give your life to him. You will not regret it. He will never bring up your past. We all have pasts, but God can make you a new person, and as you continue to seek after Him and as you surrender your life to Him, He will continue to mold you and make you into the vessel of honor He wants you to be. I hope this touches someone out there, and may the Lord turn your heart to repentance. God Bless You.
Torus,
I'll except that, but you never answered my question in regards to 'do you know everything?'. I am still curious on your answer and also on your silence. The reason why I ask is because if you do know everything... then you could state with fact that God does not exist, however, since you cannot and do not know everything... you therefore cannot ever state that God does not exist... and therefore cannot be an atheist.
I was once an agnostic, but after studying for myself the bible based on scientific data, historical evidence and cross referencing the New Testament with the Old, it was plain to me that Jesus was in fact real, lived the way the bible says he did (man cannot conceivably make up the life of Christ) and in fact rose from the dead.
The kicker for me was not just Christ, but the way in the Old Testament it states that God spread out the heavens... never does the bible ever try to prove God's existence, it merely just knows that He does exist.
You do know that the universe is basically flat right and could be rolled up like a scroll by an entity that was viewing it from outside... much like the organisms living on a piece of paper... you could roll it up, light it, and be done with it... same for our Creator.
As a Christian , I feel a Profound sorrow for the News of Ordaining Gay / or Lesbien Ministers, to shepherd the the Little Flock of our Lord Jesus Christ , Have We reached unto The Last Days !?? Logically , Can the astrayed ones find the Lost Ones !? , How could a diseased Physician to Heal sick People !? , We feel Pity for such Churches , which turned into a Secular Congregations detached from its Light , Origin and Founder, We sadly Pray for them.
Torus you should just leave us christians alone. We are not trying to force you into believing the word of God. We are obligated just to let your know. You and all the atheist running the anti christian campaign in America are just people are crying out for help and I want to let you know Jesus is your only hope. God Bless you and give him a chance. Gods word is true and it has stand in the test of time.
The gay community has been successful in changing America’s(The World’s) view on homosexuality, so now they feel they can change the church. Just in case they didn’t know, Everything but The Word of God is going down.
Matthew 24:35
35Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not pass away.
Isaiah 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth:
but The Word of our God shall stand for ever.
There is no so thing as a homosexual/lesbian bishop, pastor, or leader, in The Kingdom of God. We should really pity homosexuals/lesbians who think they can change God’s Word.
Check the record(The Bible), God always wins.
Let’s pray for them.