Recently the House of Bishops released a report which affirmed the traditional and biblical position of the Church of England on marriage. For the report to be endorsed, it needed to proceed with approval through the General Synod via a voting process.
The General Synod is comprised of three houses:
1. Bishops
2. Clergy
3. Laity
This structure is designed to make it difficult for motions to pass through the Synod with the aim to preserve both canonical tradition and biblical practice.
Amongst other issues the most controversial debate of the Synod related to the Bishop’s report on marriage and its relationship to same sex couples.
The results were as follows:
House of Bishops: For 43, Against 1, Abstain 0
House of the Clergy: For 93, Against 100, Abstain 2
House of the Laity: For 106, Against 83, Abstain 0
In a surprising twist, the House of the Clergy led to the defeat of the endorsement for the report, leading to celebrations from more progressive members of the Church and disappointment from conservatives and traditionalists.
News reports followed that the Bishop of Coventry apologised for making a mistake voting against the motion of endorsement, with reported confusion found amongst the laity who deemed their vote against the report to be made in error.
Marriage?
Presently, marriage is hotly debated in both the halls of churches and of parliaments around the Western world.
Marriage, by its Christian definition, is a foundational building block of both society and the Church. It is marriage that is extensively used as a metaphor for the relationship between Christ and His Church.
In Ephesians chapter 5 verses 31-32 we see this illustrated: “For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”
The relationship between Christ and His Church reflects a heterosexual relationship because it is a joining between two distinct entities that do not share commonality in origin.
Natural law also argues in support of marriage to remain as it has been for more than a millennia, as the only natural means for reproduction is through a heterosexual relationship between a male and female.
What does this all signify?
For the Church of England to have the House of Clergy vote against a report that affirms the traditional and biblical, demonstrates that the rot of progressivism, moral relativism, and indifference to the scriptural definition of marriage runs deeper than expected in a mainline Protestantism in our present day.
I believe a core issue like marriage should not even be up for debate in the first place. Christians are supposed to be in society to please God, not to please man. More and more we see large mainline churches, like the Presbyterian Church (USA), Episcopal Church (US), and Scandinavian Lutheran Churches slip into over-concern for the world’s opinion of her, and bear a strong willingness to sacrifice truth and faith to advance in a worldly manner through their support of progressive ideas.
Very often we hear that to change a fundamental doctrine or practice will not lead to a slippery slope occurring, and often we are deceived.
Even small changes like the acceptance of female clergy, or the over-politicisation of Church doctrine has long-term effects on the practice and beliefs of Christians; an inclusion of female clergy is from the basis of equality, not of scripture or tradition thus causing friction with the God-ordained order of creation.
Politics has its place, but we should always prize fidelity to Scripture and to the orthodoxy of the Church over a desire to respond too quickly to the world’s trends.
The future for Anglicans
Whilst we see the bishops and laity of the Church of England lend strong support to retaining the traditional position on marriage, the feedback from the clergy shows that should the issue of same sex marriage proceed to receive official support from the mother church of Anglicanism, there is a high chance that the Anglican Communion will schism.
The preservation of unity in truth and charity is of highest importance for Anglicans, but also all Christians in this time of trial.
As we enter this new year, please pray for the Anglican Communion and the millions of Christians under the care of the leaders within it. May God lead us closer to himself and towards the growth of His Church.
Jack is studying Commerce and Arts at Macquarie University, he is part of a family of five, his hobbies include computer gaming, football, learning languages, and church history. He attends Gracepoint Presbyterian, and occasionally, St Paul’s Anglican in Burwood.
Jack Liang previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/jack-liang.html