Anglican polity, by and large, knows only two responses to the question of “same sex marriage”: either you accept or reject! Those who reject consider those who accept as “immoral” while those who accept frown upon those who reject as “self-righteous”. My position is that there is another way. You may call it the third way. History of Religion(s), primarily, informs this position.
Marriage is a social creation, grafted only later as an aspect of religious institution – still later as one of the “seven sacraments”. Protestant reformation has firmly established that “marriage” is not a “sacrament” comparable to the Sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist. As soon as that part of the Church realized that Holy Matrimony is not the same as Holy Baptism, they “dropped” the number 7 and affirmed 2!
A similar thought was re-established when Canadian Anglicans pronounced that the “same sex marriage” does not make up the “core doctrine”. But this time nothing was “dropped”!
We must remember that the “dropping” – or to “let go” – the 7 was considered a part of “reform” and growth into vitality! What I am, then, suggesting here is the “dropping”, or that “letting go” of the “marriage” as a religious concern.
Contemporary Anglicans must “let go” that desire to “officiate” at every “social function” – and in this case marriage. Marriage in any case is a “social construct” changing from place to place and time to times! There are numerous types of marriages that I do not need to spell it here!
Marrying persons, or blessing persons, when they are socially (and legally) married was one of the many “mission” works that the church did in the past. This is in some sense parallel to the church “running educational institutes”. When the state began to do that work, and did it better, the church willingly, and at other times unwillingly decided to let go that function.
I believe Anglicans have arrived – long time ago – when they added or subtracted nothing through their liturgies to “those legal marriages”. Recognizing this fact, Anglicans must now withdraw their liturgies of “Blessing of a Marriage” from circulation.
Marriage is an affair of the state at the moment! And if Anglicans let go this business, they will have plenty of time to engage in the prophetic ministry of critiquing the state authorities and the market powers that infect and infest God’s world with consumerism, leading to all types of injustices impacting adversely the desired abundant life, which Jesus advocated. At present they are too busy debating and departing to christen, marry and bury, and this has nothing in common with the Nazareth Manifesto of Jesus, the bridegroom of the Church!
Marriage is a social creation, grafted only later as an aspect of religious institution – still later as one of the “seven sacraments”. Protestant reformation has firmly established that “marriage” is not a “sacrament” comparable to the Sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist. As soon as that part of the Church realized that Holy Matrimony is not the same as Holy Baptism, they “dropped” the number 7 and affirmed 2!
A similar thought was re-established when Canadian Anglicans pronounced that the “same sex marriage” does not make up the “core doctrine”. But this time nothing was “dropped”!
We must remember that the “dropping” – or to “let go” – the 7 was considered a part of “reform” and growth into vitality! What I am, then, suggesting here is the “dropping”, or that “letting go” of the “marriage” as a religious concern.
Contemporary Anglicans must “let go” that desire to “officiate” at every “social function” – and in this case marriage. Marriage in any case is a “social construct” changing from place to place and time to times! There are numerous types of marriages that I do not need to spell it here!
Marrying persons, or blessing persons, when they are socially (and legally) married was one of the many “mission” works that the church did in the past. This is in some sense parallel to the church “running educational institutes”. When the state began to do that work, and did it better, the church willingly, and at other times unwillingly decided to let go that function.
I believe Anglicans have arrived – long time ago – when they added or subtracted nothing through their liturgies to “those legal marriages”. Recognizing this fact, Anglicans must now withdraw their liturgies of “Blessing of a Marriage” from circulation.
Marriage is an affair of the state at the moment! And if Anglicans let go this business, they will have plenty of time to engage in the prophetic ministry of critiquing the state authorities and the market powers that infect and infest God’s world with consumerism, leading to all types of injustices impacting adversely the desired abundant life, which Jesus advocated. At present they are too busy debating and departing to christen, marry and bury, and this has nothing in common with the Nazareth Manifesto of Jesus, the bridegroom of the Church!
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