It’s time for the Church of England to lay down the law on marriage

The Telegraph 16 February 2017
Family First Comment: Superb commentary:
“People in society expect the Church to believe and teach the Bible. What other authority can the Church have? … The undeniable truth is that the Church can’t give its blessing to same-sex marriages when its sole source of authority does not.”
Wednesday’s vote in Synod was not a victory for the LGBT lobby. In whatever way that vote in synod is spun, the real issue is not about same-sex marriage but about the authority of the Bible in the Church of England.
The effect of the vote is that there is no change in doctrine or practice. Marriage remains, as it has for all Christendom, a lifelong union between a man and a woman.

This moment presents a great opportunity for the House of Bishops to embrace that truth and to act to uphold it firmly within the Church, disciplining those who would seek to abandon the authority of the Bible, and whose actions will eventually bring down the Church by actively denying that truth.

The Bishops’ Report on Marriage and Same Sex Relationships was in danger of weakening the Church’s teaching. It sought to hold together two positions that are irreconcilable – the orthodox position holding to the teaching of Jesus Christ, and the alternative which seeks to revise his teaching by insisting on acceptance of same-sex marriage.
People in society expect the Church to believe and teach the Bible. What other authority can the Church have?
Moreover, God’s people are called to be “set apart” and clergy are supposed to be examples to their people. Today, however, a crucial faultline has opened up in the Church of England because it has permitted those who openly defy the teaching of Jesus into positions of authority and influence. Male clergy who declare to Synod their “marriages” to other men are applauded, despite the fact that this is directly contrary to the Church’s own teaching.
READ MORE: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/16/time-church-england-lay-law-marriage/