One of the errors that people make is that they think the Church is the institution or the denomination. That the Church, and here I think I have Roman doctrine correct, is the Catholic one, and all others are in error. Well, it’s not the belonging that matters, but what is in one’s heart.
This leads to the secular thinking that if they can geld the church, particularly in places, like Denmark, with a state church (of which 80% of Danes are members) that Parliament can legislate theology. The same error occurs in England, for the same reason.
In what could be a prophetic sign for the church at large, Denmark’s parliament is forcing its will on the church.
A new law there now mandates that churches in the nation conduct gay marriages instead of short ceremonial blessings that some pastors have been performing up until now.
The new law does have one saving grace. Clergy can refuse to officiate the actual ceremony. Nevertheless, that bishop, pastor or priest is charged with arranging a replacement venue for the service.
Denmark has sanctioned gay civil unions since 1989. The nation legalized gay marriage in 2012.
The answer to this is no, it will not make a difference but to the apostates who accede to this evil plan. YOu do not have to be a member of the state church, and the state cannot force all denominations, for they are not established, and do not take state monies. In NZ, where gay marriage is legal, the pressure is more subtle: if you rent your church buildings out for marriages you cannot discriminate because that is a commercial transaction. The solution is simple for my congregation: we do not rent the building, instead (because of the cost of the new earthquake regulations) we will pull the 80 year old church down.
The believers will exist. For the church is not as much visible, but within the heart of the individuals. We need to meet (Anastasius got that bit right) but if the governance of the institution forces us to be evil, it is time to leave. It is time for the confessing church.
25Circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law; but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26So, if those who are uncircumcised keep the requirements of the law, will not their uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27Then those who are physically uncircumcised but keep the law will condemn you that have the written code and circumcision but break the law. 28For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. 29Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart – it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God.
1Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2Much, in every way. For in the first place the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3What if some were unfaithful? Will their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4By no means! Although everyone is a liar, let God be proved true, as it is written, “So that you may be justified in your words, and prevail in your judging.” 5But if our injustice serves to confirm the justice of God, what should we say? That God is unjust to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) 6By no means! For then how could God judge the world? 7But if through my falsehood God’s truthfulness abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8And why not say (as some people slander us by saying that we say), “Let us do evil so that good may come”? Their condemnation is deserved!
There is a second point within this passage that matters. And that is that we cannot be justified hy the law, and whatever standard we use on others will be used against us. If you go around calling all people you dislike evil, trolls, and getting quite personal, expect it back. How you treat others is how you will be treated. For we all treat each other shabbily at times.
What she’s really demonstrating here with her butthurt sniffling and pouting is that she can dish it out but she can’t take it. Oh, it’s all well and good when you slam techies, call them unattractive dweebs and blame them for women’s dissatisfaction, but when someone turns it around and takes a shot at Tricia it’s so mean that it’s “trolling.” There oughtta be a law or something…I’ve taken a lot of shots in life, and some of them took a hell of a toll. I’ll probably never fully recover from some. So now, when I see someone calling me names or insulting me online, it’s really so trivial that it hardly matters. How could it possibly compare to being menaced by men in uniform with assault rifles and legally raped in court? But for these female writers, it’s a horrible violation. Something they cannot bear.
What outdated Victorian nonsense! I thought they were all tough riot grrrls here — especially in Seattle.
So along with my previous bit of advice to Tricia that she stop acting like an adolescent girl, I’ll add something else:
If you don’t want people to attack you personally, don’t personally attack an entire class of people. Because if you do, you’d better be prepared for them to bite back.
Consider for a second the lectionary text. It is not merely enough to be circumcised, to be baptized, to be within the rituals of faith. Those these are important, you need to live within the covenant to which you have been enrolled. Either the covenant of law or of mercy. In one, you obey because if you do there is life, or else there is damnation — and that is the Jewish covenant, and it still stands. What Paul is saying — and he is Jewish, with a full and sophisticated training — is that no one can keep this, and one’s status does not justify. We need to turn to the new covenant of mercy, where Christ has atoned us. And in this, we obey because of gratitude. For what we do will reflect now not only on us, but Christ.
Let the Danish Parliament do what they will. It will just winnow out the faithful, while the liberals become more fragile by the day. Their time is passing: but the Church is Christ’s and will outlast this world