"Sex is for married heterosexual couples only, says Church of England; "sex outside of heterosexual marriage ‘falls short of God’s purpose’.”

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Every time I read about opposition to upholding traditional marriage , there is a professor appealing to the numbers game fallacy (i.e. the moral majority don’t agree with this, therefore the church shouldn’t teach it).
 
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I know they can be rather ambiguous on many issues, but did the C of E not believe this already, that civil partnership couples are supposed to live in celibacy? Are they just reiterating it now, to be clear?
 
I actually didn’t realize they taught this, so I’ve learned something new.
 
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They did, but there are several openly gay clergy who are required to live celibately and there is a new study coming out this year called living in love and faith that they’re carrying out so this may just be a foretaste of that/reminder to the followers
 
This seems to represent a change since the statement Issues in Human Sexuality (1991):
5.6 At the same time there are others who are conscientiously convinced that this way of abstinence is not the best for them, and that they have more hope of growing in love for God and neighbour with the help of a loving and faithful homophile partnership, in intention lifelong, where mutual self-giving includes the physical expression of their attachment. In responding to this conviction it is important to bear in mind the historic tension in Christian ethical thinking between the God-given moral order and the freedom of the moral agent. While insisting that conscience needs to be informed in the light of that order, Christian tradition also contains an emphasis on respect for free conscientious judgement where the individual has seriously weighed the issues involved. The homophile is only one in a range of such cases. While unable, therefore, to commend the way of life just described as in itself as faithful a reflection of God’s purposes in creation as the heterophile, we do not reject those who sincerely believe it is God’s call to them. We stand alongside them in the fellowship of the Church, all alike dependent upon the undeserved grace of God. All those who seek to live their lives in Christ owe one another friendship and understanding. It is therefore important that in every congregation such homophiles should find fellow-Christians who will sensitively and naturally provide this for them. Indeed, if this is not done, any professions on the part of the Church that it is committed to openness and learning about the homophile situation can be no more than empty words.
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I can only imagine that this reflects the growing influence of the conservative evangelical wing of the Church of England as well as a desire to avoid alienating more conservative provinces in the developing world (with the notable exception of the province of Southern Africa).
 
“The Church should not collude with the present assumptions of society that all close relationships necessarily include sexual activity.”
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Did someone invent a time machine?
 
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The Church of England’s problem is that they are supposed to be a national church in a nation that generally accepts homosexual relationships. The national church is out of step with national opinion, so they are under a lot of pressure from society to change their views on marriage while also being under pressure to maintain orthodoxy.
 
I realize the Episcopalian church in USA and the Church of England in UK are basically two separate things now, but it’s bizarre to read stuff like this while the Episcopalian churches in USA are all putting rainbow “Everybody Welcome” signs on their lawns or so it seems.
 
I didnt read the article completely but does it also explain sex is solely for the purpose of having a child and if that is not what a heterosexual married couple trying to do they should also abstain?
 
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I’m way, way confused as to how all that works. It seems you have the Church of England; and the Anglicans; and the Episcopalians. The Episcopalians seem to have the same beliefs as the CofE but don’t recognize the authority of the CoE over them; then you have the African Anglican Bishops; who seem in full communion with the CoE… AAGGHH.
 
Jimbo said:
I’m way, way confused as to how all that works. It seems you have the Church of England; and the Anglicans; and the Episcopalians. The Episcopalians seem to have the same beliefs as the CofE but don’t recognize the authority of the CoE over them; then you have the African Anglican Bishops; who seem in full communion with the CoE… AAGGHH.
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Well we had better try to get our heads around it as it seems to be being driven down the track towards us at great speed at the moment !
 
So from the very beginning God created man and woman and that man would leave his Mother and Father and he (man) and his wife (woman) would become one flesh…so it seems like the CofE recognizes that…yet at the same time it appeases the LGBT community by allowing gay clergy and gay laity to live together as long as they remain celibate…(yeah…riiiiight) and if you read the Wikipedia article it seems the CofE is all over the place in different countries on this…so it’s really meaningless…isn’t this one of the reasons some Anglican priests and even whole Anglican dioceses have come over to the Catholic Church…

 
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All member Churches of the Anglican Communion are independent autonomous Churches. And make their own rules.

Some member Churches of the Communion are/have been in impaired communion with other member Churches, for this and that reasons.

Not all Anglicans are in the Anglican Communion. But make their own rules, likewise.

Complicated. But why does it concern you?
 
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I’d venture a guess (I’m almost positive) that the Anglican Church’s strong presence overseas is helping to keep it somewhat anchored in orthodoxy.

I remember reading a recent report by the Episcopal Church. Its membership is close to 90% white and the average age is almost 60. Lots and lots of people, predominately female, with unearned privileges in life. Also, there are more churches with an average attendance of less than 10 than there are churches with an attendance of more than 300. The Anglican Church is more African, more young, and more male.

So yeah, the CoE and the Episcopal Church are very different entities demographically.
 
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