A GAY DEBATE ON A WET FRIDAY AFTERNOON (Religion)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	Religion
Date:	18/07/03 (80 review reads)
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Religion has always been thought of as a tolerant home to thriving theologies founded on piety and repentance, such is a public perception based on apathy. With church going numbers dwindling over time, the church faces huge problems centred on very real business issues whilst the fulcrum of debate remains as lively as ever. It's incredibly hard to draw a pen picture of religion in England and the wider world without passing reference to the current debacle of sexuality and it's place in the central faith of this sceptred Isle.

For centuries the accepted representative of the cloth has been the stereotypical male. There is a wide divergence of thought as to how that particular individual should approach sexuality but the uniting factor across most religions was that the person in question should be heterosexual whether he decides to practice it or not. Whilst women have had their place in the shape of the Sisterhood of nuns, up until only recently the ordination of a female was unthinkable. True to form, the Church in general caught up with the rest of Society in the relative acceptance of equal rights only some 40 years after the idea took off. Hence, the acceptance of women priests in the Church of England.

One step beyond is the integration of homosexuals into the faith and this argument has been ignited by the declination of Jeffrey John to take up the position as Bishop of Reading. It seems that the Bible contains text that would infer that homosexuality is not acceptable in a true Christian form leading to the current ostrisisation of any one straying from a more normal path. However, in a determined enough fashion, John's original sponsor, Richard Harries, Bishop of Oxford has drafted a report entitled "Some Issues in Human Sexuality" which looks to argue the case for the acceptance of gay people in the church. With a creeping sense of advancement, a "legitimate diversity" is already accepted within the Angli
can church, it does seem that the elders of the religious community are slowly coming around to the idea that there is a wide spread of differing lifestyles and types that want to be part of a worshipful set up.

This new document argues "What makes us Christians is our common relationship with Christ, which is rooted in repentance, faith, baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit, and not the correctness of our beliefs about matters of sexual conduct or the impeccability of our own behaviour." However, George Austin, the former Archdeacon of York, has criticised sexual behaviour being sidelined stating "... the Church of England should welcome all people whether gay or straight, but anyone who knows the liberal mind will realise this document is simply a ploy to push ahead the gay agenda in which all homosexual activity by priests and lay people is accepted in the church."

What I find extraordinary is the fact that these debates have raged and moved on in Society and yet the Church is only just engaging in subjects that have found acceptance outside the safe annexes of religious life. One can't help but ponder the strict interpretation of chastity that consigns a Catholic priest to a life of abstinence with occasionally tragic results in the form of cases of paedophilia. Whilst most religions welcome the union of men and women and in some cases multiple unions, there does seem to be a conflict between the living of a normal life and all that entails and the Monkish approach of self denial that can reduce those involved to pseudo martyrs.

The charge into the 21st century is more of a canter although I did see recently that the notion of inflatable churches has recently been hatched with worshippers entering the equivalent of a kid's bouncy castle. My own experiences are hazy. I can't really pretend to be a churchgoer of any description and find it hard to accept the existence of a deity. However, I have bee
n to Church courtesy of my family connections and been surprised at the modern stance that some seem to have adopted. At this particular church, hymns are sung from compositions drafted within the last few years, the songs are accompanied by bands replete with guitars and drums whilst overhead projectors bring a much added lift to the common perception of a dreary old priest sermonising from his pulpit (which I've also seen albeit that comfortable image sat well with me even if I was bored).

You can't help but perceive the religious debates to be something of a side-show when the real story is still unfolding in countries like Iraq. It seems rather sad that all the good work done through channels like these are pushed into the shade by seemingly inconsequential slanging matches whilst the rest of the world struggles with more pragmatic problems.

I suppose it would be easy to write religion off as an irrelevance especially when you begin to add up all the lives lost over many centuries due to the obsession with bending other people's will to the acceptance of a true faith. The Crusades from the Middle Ages saw mind numbing cruelty along with the slaughter of many thousands. The Spanish Inquisition proved just how fear inspiring a religious cause could be whilst the cases for suicide cults from the twentieth century are well documented. Of course, many millions find comfort in the ideal of praying to their God and the family values preached in houses of worship can only go to underpin a stable Society with moral values that advance human kind.

Realistically, I find it hard to draw a conclusion about the true value of religion almost like trying to reconcile the financial impact on the country of not having a Monarchy. It seems to be a case of swings and roundabouts with many evils perpetrated in the name of God whilst a tidal wave of good goes relatively unnoticed by many. In essence I'm not sure but I do know that the Church
simply has to succumb to those things that are eventual (I must stop using that Stephen King phrase). The world is made up of people that are not heterosexual and they have a right to worship along with everyone else. I wouldn't want anyone thinking if me as some kind of Peter Tatchell (who, needless to say, is caught up in the debate) but I simply believe in an overriding sense of equity.

Thanks for reading and see you all when I get back from (sunny) Dorset in a fortnight :O)

Marandina

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