Gay Danish couples win right to marry in church.
Homosexual couples in Denmark have won the right to get married in any church they choose, even though nearly one third of the country’s priests have said they will refuse to carry out the ceremonies.
The country’s parliament voted through the new law on same-sex marriage by a large majority, making it mandatory for all churches to conduct gay marriages.
Denmark’s church minister, Manu Sareen, called the vote “historic”. “I think it’s very important to give all members of the church the possibility to get married. Today, it’s only heterosexual couples.”
Under the law, individual priests can refuse to carry out the ceremony, but the local bishop must arrange a replacement for their church.
The far-Right Danish People’s Party mounted a strong campaign against the new law, which nonetheless passed with the support of 85 of the country’s 111 MPs. “Marriage is as old as man himself, and you can’t change something as fundamental,” the party’s church spokesperson Christian Langballe said during the debate. “Marriage is supposed to be between a man and a woman.”
Karsten Nissen, the Bishop of Viborg, who is refusing to carry out the ceremonies, has warned that the new law risks “splitting the church”.
My comments:
The trouble when we are unequally yoked with the state is that theology does not matter anymore. Only the pursuit of civil rights that are blind to all distinctions -- no matter how moral or natural. I actually hope that the church does split, split away from the state, split from those who have substituted a justice issue for theological truth, and split from the prevailing societal norm that membership bestows more rights and privileges than it does expect adherence to normative truth.
As is always, "historic" as a term literally means radical departure from established truth, doctrine, and practice. Every radical shift from truth is deemed historic because it is the only word one can use for heresy and apostasy, since they sound bad.
Brick by brick the church falls. . . and so brick by brick she must be built up again. . . it is as it always was and it is as it shall always be until Christ comes in His glory to bring to conclusion all things with which we struggle this side of glory.
3 comments:
Amen.
Thank you for posting. Your articles may be uncomfortable for some, but they are right on every time. Please know that there are plenty of us out here who know you speak the truth.
How do you feel about receiving the Body of Christ in the hand?
The article is misleading (and 2 years old):
1: "Any church" only refers to churches (church buildings) of the Church of Denmark (the state church).
2. There were two different acts of the Danish parliament. First they amended the marriage laws to allow same-sex marriages. And then, acting in their role as the ruling assembly of the Church of Denmark, ruled that the Church of Denmark would perform same-sex marriages, with an opt-out clause for individual priests.
3. No other religious institutions were affected, it is up to them if they want to perform same-sex marriages.
4. Since a solid majority of both members and priests of the Church of Denmark approved, it is hardly correct to say that they were "forced" to accept same-sex marriages.
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