ECLA vote on homosexual leaders unwarranted
Kailey Mezera
Issue date: 9/17/09 Section: Editorial/Opinion
Immanuel Lutheran Church of Eau Claire and the rest of the members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) decided, after a majority vote, that the ELCA would find a way for homosexuals to serve as rostered leaders in their church and to support members of the congregation who are homosexuals.
Why is it necessary for the churches to vote on whether or not to support lifelong, monogamous same-gender relationships? I don't believe that a congregation should have to 'consider' whether or not to support their fellow church members. In the end, they are all at church for the same reason.
Because one of the members or leaders in a church may be in a homosexual relationship should be no different than the color of their skin, their status in the community, or the type of car they have. Technically, whether they choose to be with a male or a female, it just doesn't really affect anyone else.
If you attend church and your pastor is gay, overall does that change the experience you have in church? If it does, then maybe you are in church for the wrong reasons. Maybe a re-evaluation is in order on what your religion really means to you. You may or may not agree with homosexual relationships, but that still does not actually affect you. The pastor will still preach the same sermon, and worship the same God, so how does their partner choice really have anything to do with you? Is there actually any real answer as to why someone who is gay should not be supported or can't be a rostered leader of their church? Some interpret the Bible in a way that it disagrees with homosexual relationships. Whether or not that is how it is supposed to be interpreted, there is no harm being done by supporting them. In the end, we are all people, and we are all different, and frankly, if we aren't already, we all need to get used to people who are different. Generation after generation, it seems as if our culture becomes more and more diverse. People may not agree with life choices that others make, but that does not mean that people should not accept them.
No matter how many questions are asked, it does not change the fact that too many people still see homosexuality as an issue, and will be for some time. I am excited that ELCA is making the move towards accepting and supporting homosexual relationships in the church; it seems that far too many are far from accepting it.
Why is it necessary for the churches to vote on whether or not to support lifelong, monogamous same-gender relationships? I don't believe that a congregation should have to 'consider' whether or not to support their fellow church members. In the end, they are all at church for the same reason.
Because one of the members or leaders in a church may be in a homosexual relationship should be no different than the color of their skin, their status in the community, or the type of car they have. Technically, whether they choose to be with a male or a female, it just doesn't really affect anyone else.
If you attend church and your pastor is gay, overall does that change the experience you have in church? If it does, then maybe you are in church for the wrong reasons. Maybe a re-evaluation is in order on what your religion really means to you. You may or may not agree with homosexual relationships, but that still does not actually affect you. The pastor will still preach the same sermon, and worship the same God, so how does their partner choice really have anything to do with you? Is there actually any real answer as to why someone who is gay should not be supported or can't be a rostered leader of their church? Some interpret the Bible in a way that it disagrees with homosexual relationships. Whether or not that is how it is supposed to be interpreted, there is no harm being done by supporting them. In the end, we are all people, and we are all different, and frankly, if we aren't already, we all need to get used to people who are different. Generation after generation, it seems as if our culture becomes more and more diverse. People may not agree with life choices that others make, but that does not mean that people should not accept them.
No matter how many questions are asked, it does not change the fact that too many people still see homosexuality as an issue, and will be for some time. I am excited that ELCA is making the move towards accepting and supporting homosexual relationships in the church; it seems that far too many are far from accepting it.
Viewing Comments 1 - 9 of 9
Conservative Mark
posted 9/17/09 @ 2:29 PM CST
It is beyond me how any TRUE Chrsitian can accept wrong as right and it truly amuses me some of the lame arguments homosexuals and homosexual friendly try to make to further their cause. (Continued…)
Luke
posted 9/17/09 @ 7:05 PM CST
Well first off, a 'humanist' church in the truest sense would be a church that denies supernatural beings (ie God), which doesn't make much sense.
If this informant of yours meant the secondary definition of humanism (which I'm assuming they did) then they were saying that the ELCA is attempting to value each individual's worth as a person. (Continued…)
Conservative Mark
posted 9/17/09 @ 11:40 PM CST
Homosexuals have value. I have known and loved many as friends. Still, the homosexual agenda as it has presented itself in the ELCA is beyond contempt. (Continued…)
Tom L
posted 9/21/09 @ 12:12 AM CST
Gee, Conservative Mark, I haven't read "The Homosexual Agenda." I didn't know we homosexuals had such a handbook. I must rush out and get a copy. Perhaps this book would help me better relate to the love my husband shows me on a daily basis. (Continued…)
Jake
posted 9/21/09 @ 7:20 PM CST
hahahaha...I'm still laughing at CM's comment about homosexuals and "their kind." I love the Christian loophole that allows people like him to say they "love" someone but "hate" what they are. (Continued…)
Conservative Mark
posted 9/22/09 @ 4:55 PM CST
And if this were the 1950's Jake, homosexuality would still be illegal in every state of the union which it still should be.
Homosexuality is a choice rooted in severe mommy and daddy issues. (Continued…)
LJS
posted 9/24/09 @ 9:04 AM CST
Conservative Mark,
The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
Your issues are showing loud and clear through your homophobia. Most people who are secure in their sexuality and their identities don't have problems with gays having the same civil rights as everyone else. (Continued…)
I Have A Brain
posted 9/24/09 @ 11:05 AM CST
Dear Conservative Mark,
Your religious beliefs have no rational basis. There is no evidence for anything you say other than it is your faith and what you believe. (Continued…)
A Different Jake
posted 9/24/09 @ 9:31 PM CST
Well Conservative Mark it sounds to me like you are a Lutheran of some sort ELS, MELS, or WELS maybe. I myself have gone to private school for my entire life at WELS schools until I came here to UWEC. (Continued…)
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