More United Methodists are throwing their support behind clergy in California who want to perform same-sex "marriages" despite the denomination's stance that homosexual practice is "incompatible with Christian teaching."
On Thursday, delegates from the Northeastern Jurisdiction Conference of the United Methodist Church - from Maine south to West Virginia - approved a resolution expressing respect for clergy in the California regional bodies who participate in wedding same-sex couples "as a matter of Christian conscience, spiritual discernment and prophetic witnessing," as reported by the United Methodist News Service.
The vote comes months after the United Methodist General Conference, the denomination's highest governing body that meets every four years, rejected changes to its constitution that would have liberalized the church's stance on homosexuality. In April, measures that would have removed the ban on noncelibate gay pastors and the statement that homosexual practice is "incompatible with Christian teaching" were voted down after emotional debates.
In the following months, however, regional conferences have approved measures supporting homosexuals after the California Supreme Court legalized gay "marriage" on May 15.
Methodists from the California-Pacific Annual Conference passed in June a resolution supporting same-sex "marriage" and encouraged congregations and pastors to welcome and embrace such families.
More recently, more than 80 retired United Methodist clergy from northern California have offered to conduct same-sex "marriage" ceremonies on behalf of clergy who cannot perform them.
The latest move by the Northeastern Jurisdiction Conference, which met July 13-18 in Harrisburg, Pa., for its 18th session, was applauded by pro-gay Methodists. Acknowledging that the United Methodist Book of Discipline – Church law – forbids churches and clergy from performing same-sex unions, the approved resolution also asks for lenient disciplinary action against clergy who disobey church law on the issue.
Laws can only be changed by the General Conference and this year, many have opposed changes and called Methodists to be faithful to biblical teaching.
Conservatives, meanwhile, observe a continuing liberalization and decline in the United Methodist Church.
Membership has dropped annually since 1968.
The Northeastern Jurisdiction Conference is one of five U.S. jurisdictions serving United Methodists. Delegates met this week to elect and assign bishops for the next four years among other business. This year's meeting was themed "Extreme Church: Extreme Expectations."
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"the point is if operatable testes is not the determinate of receiving the word about one flesh man woman relationship then obvious when christ uses the word eunuch he is referring to a group not about that."
The word indicated someone who does not burn with passion - for either gender.
Your problem is that you do not want to accept the word of God for anything, you simply want to justify using a lack of logic.
Below is the UMAction press release on this story, thought it might be of interest to people.
Institute on Religion and Democracy
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Contact: Loralei Coyle 202-682-4131, 202-905-6852 cell, lcoyle@TheIRD.org
Radio Interviews: Jeff Walton, jwalton@TheIRD.org
California Same-Sex Unions Challenge United Methodists
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feetxxxl said:
"the point is if operatable testes is not the determinate of receiving the word about one flesh man woman relationship then obvious when christ uses the word eunuch he is referring to a group not about that."
why not 'GROUPS' 6 men 2 women or 2 men and a goat or 4 women and a man or beastiality, hey we can make the Scriptures into whatever we want them to be. woohoo anything goes baby just have to say 'its right with the spirit'
and why not premarital sex, after all gotta see if it will last right, dont want to marry the wrong person/animal and all that.
And look at me i got Scripture to back me up.
Lev 18:23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.
this Scripture is invalid since the old testament in now gone so marry a goat or a mule and be happy! hey marry the farmers daughter and the whole barnyard! who cares, be tolerant!
the point is if operatable testes is not the determinate of receiving the word about one flesh man woman relationship then obvious when christ uses the word eunuch he is referring to a group not about that.
I was discussing the term eunuchs. I did not mention anything about emotional attraction. I posted the following on a different thread, but it fits here.
According to the Bible, when homosexuals have sex together, they are harming themselves and each other.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20 (NASB)
Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
The word for immorality is transliterated porneia. This is the same word Christ used.
It has been translated as fornication, but includes all illicit sex.
Mt 5:32
but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the cause of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Mt 15:19
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.
Mt 19:9
And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.
Mk 7:21
For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
It refers to illicit sex - that which is prohibits in the Old Testament.
Definition:
1. illicit sexual intercourse
a. adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, intercourse with animals etc.
b. sexual intercourse with close relatives; Lev. 18
c. sexual intercourse with a divorced man or woman; Mk. 10:11,
2. metaph. the worship of idols
a. of the defilement of idolatry, as incurred by eating the sacrifices offered to idols
It is specifically NOT adultery, which is transliterated moicao.
Additionally, because homosexual sex is a sin, you are causing your brother to stumble when you participate in it.
1 Cor 10:31-32
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God
So, according to the Bible, when a homosexual has sex with another homosexual, he is hurting himself and his partner. If you love someone, you will not cause someone to sin.
first of all there have been many one flesh man woman flesh relationships that have been consummated in marriage where one pardner was without testes or was of the same nature because he had some form of spinal paralysis.
making it clear that the condition of an operable testes is not the motivating factor for consimating the relationship, but the intimate emotional, spiritual, and psychological feelings between the the 2 persons.
A eunuch was someone who was missing testicles. He could be a man who is castrated. Or he could be a man who is missing testicles by some process other than castration, such as crushing, or by atrophy due to illness, or one who was simply born without testicles. Such a eunuch would be, technically speaking, not castrated. But he would still be a eunuch. Such a person does not burn with sexual passion - for men or women.
Since there are many homosexuals who have had sex and reproduced, it is evident that at least some homosexuals can reproduce. Homosexual sex is when a man lies with a man or when a woman lies with a woman. God defined that as bad. God defined marriage as between a man and a woman.
In Matthew 19:3-12, Jesus quoted Genesis 2:24 as he defined marriage and at least part of its purpose. Also, Christ mentioned eunuchs in reference to abstaining from marriage between man and woman - the thing God created which allows people to "join together".
But even if God WAS talking about homosexuals when he mentioned eunuch (which I doubt), Isaiah 56:3-5 reads,
3 Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely exclude me from his people." And let not any eunuch complain, "I am only a dry tree." 4 For this is what the LORD says: "To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant- 5 to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off."
Note that the eunuch was to do what pleases God and hold fast to His covenant to get an everlasting name. So, again, belief, love, obedience are what was required for the eunuch to not have to worry about having an everlasting name - which is what is required to have eternal life. Such a person would have to refrain from sin, including homosexual sex, since Isaiah was written after the Law defined some of the things God hates.
One thing missingin this story is the fact that this group represents a very, very small percentage of Methodist pastors, plus the California-Pacific conference is literally dying as a conference, as is the NE jurisdiction. Methodism is growing in other areas, especially Africa and Asia, where Scripture is still used as the basis and the Book of Discipline is followed. It's interesting but those areas of the US where the clergy/conference/laity are embracing homosexuality are in serious decline. Every denomination which has embraced homosexuality is in decline (Anglican, UCC, etc.) Can there be a cause and effect here? I think so. You simply can't mock God and expect to get away with it. Those who try to use and manipulate Scripture to justify a sinful practice will eventually experience the error of their ways. That's been proven time and time again through history. Our choice, today as always, has been whether to listen to the Word of God or not. Methodists far and wide are beginning to come back to the Word of God, which is why even though we have a vocal and lively small minority within our denomination which supports, affirms and approves homosexuality, the vast, vast majority of Methodists do not. That's the real story. God Bless.
As I read this thread, I see a position hanging on a thread of confusion around the word "eunuch." Let's look at the Bible in context: what about all those other verses that say those who give in to their homosexual tendencies will not enter the kingdom of heaven? You just can't get by that.
To be fair, we all struggle with something, every one of us. It's just that we eventually realize that God's ways are best for us, whether we understand it at the time. For this same reason, a man and WOMAN leave father and mother and are joined to each other, and they become one. I don't see any other eunuch loopholes around that verse, friend.
The greatest thing about time is that soon all these Liberals will pass and be judged for their sins against God.
These 80 retired Ministers are extreme liberal relativists. Let us pray for this denomination to stick with what the New Testament clearly teaches about marriage. Between one man and one woman.
Homosexual actions are disordered.
wikipedia
A eunuch (IPA: /Ë
The word translated eunuch in Mat 19:11-12 is the Greek word "eunouchos" and it means one who has been castrated, one who is physically unable to have children or one who abstains from marriage to avoid having children. It has absolutely nothing to do with homosexuality.
celibacy for god is an annointing from heaven.
as i said matt 19 is a spirit teaching for all time, not just for the time christ gave it. so an euneuch is one who is not given the word of bonding with the opposite sex.
the question is..... are they given another word. as identified by the fruit of same sex bonding("you will recognize them by their fruit") and because they bond in the same spirit as heterosexuals and because they have the same capacity to embrace the fruit of the spirit in their relationship as heterosexuals, the spirit witness is.......... that they are given another word...../;........to bond with the same sex.
we know john4 "the true worshippers will worship in spirit and truth" and paul's directive that we are" led by the spirit"
all truth will be identified by the spirit associated of and in that truth.
Translation is God's Word Bible
feetxxxl, a eunuch cannot have intercourse, for whatever reason and including castration.
Now there are those who can have intercourse but have decided that they will be celebate and not marry for God , to devote themselves to him. Like Paul did. I know some will say thats wrong , but from what i read in the Scriptures paul was celebate for God.
1Co 7:7 I would like everyone to be like me. However, each person has a special gift from God, and these gifts vary from person to person.
1Corinthians 7:8 "I say to those who are not married, especially to widows: It is good for you to stay single like me."