In this post, I wanted to first review Jesus’ position on marriage, and then we’ll look at a couple major churches that have decided to bless same-sex relationships. And not minor churches, either. The Church of England and the Roman Catholic church. Let’s take a look at what Jesus says, and then what these two major churches say.

We find Jesus’ teaching on marriage in Matthew 19.

Matthew 19:1-6:

1 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.

2 And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?”

4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female,

5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?

6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

To be a Christian, minimally, is to be a follower of Jesus Christ. That means that we accept what Jesus teaches, on whatever he teaches about. We don’t overturn the teachings of Jesus in order to make people who are rebelling against God feel better about their rebellion. It is central to the Christian worldview that Christians care more about what God thinks of them than what non-Christians think of them. In fact, Christians are supposed to be willing to endure suffering rather than side with non-Christians against God’s authority.

So, with that said, let’s take a look at what the Church of England is doing about marriage.

Look at this article from the UK Telegraph:

For the first time in history, same-sex partners can receive a blessing to celebrate their unions…

[…]With the rainbow LGBTQIA+ flag waving outside, Jane Pearse and Catherine Bond became one of the first couples in England to receive a prayer that would publicly affirm and celebrate their union. A move made legal at the turn of midnight Saturday – instead of the usual clink of teacups, the pop of champagne corks punctured the post-service chatter, with congregants and the women, both vicars, well aware of the magnitude of the morning’s celebration.

I thought this part was interesting:

Bond and Pearse got together six years ago, when working in the same benefice (an ecclesiastical office), and now live in Felixstowe and are both associate priests… Both have adult children from their prior marriages, to men.

So both of these women were married to men, and left those marriages. That’s how they got their children. And they inflicted divorce on those children.

The Church of England was not the only organization trying to gain the respect of the secular left by compromising on the plain meaning of Jesus’ words about marriage. They are event investigating a vicar who called the the institution’s first transgender archdeacon a “bloke”.

The UK Telegraph reported on that, too:

The Church of England (CofE) is investigating a vicar after he called the institution’s first transgender archdeacon a “bloke”.

The Rev Brett Murphy faces an official rebuke from the CofE over “intentionally derogatory and disrespectful” remarks he made about the Rev Canon Dr Rachel Mann shortly after her appointment in June.

LGBT+ campaigners had hailed her appointment as a “beacon of light and hope”.

For Protestant Christians, it’s easy to switch from Bible-denying denominations to Bible-believing denominations. But it’s not so easy for Roman Catholics to do the same.

Here’s another story reported by Crux, a Catholic news source:

In the hours that followed release of a Vatican note outlining the pastoral grounds for same-sex blessings, reactions among American Catholics seemed to run the gamut from styling it as a major step forward to insisting on hitting the brakes, on the grounds that not much has really changed.

[…]The declaration outlines situations in which blessings are appropriate for same-sex couples or those in irregular unions. It states that these blessings should never be given “in concurrence with the ceremonies of a civil union, and not even in connection with them.”

The declaration continues that the blessing cannot be performed with any clothing, gestures, or words that are proper to a wedding. Conversely, the declaration states that the blessings can be provided in informal situations such as a visit to a shrine, a meeting with a priest, a prayer group, or during a pilgrimage.

Still, despite its narrow scope, LGBTQ Catholics view the declaration as a significant step forward.

Francis DeBernardo, executive director of the Catholic advocacy organization New Ways Ministry, said in a statement that “it cannot be overstated how significant the Vatican’s new declaration is,” for the fact that it “expands the ways that LGTBQ+ Catholics can know God’s love.”

Father James Martin, a leading minister to and advocate for LGTBQ Catholics, in a series of statements called the declaration “a major step forward in the church’s ministry to LGBTQ people and recognizes the deep desire in many Catholic same-sex couples for God’s presence in their loving relationships.”

“Along with many priests, I will now be delighted to bless my friends’ same-sex unions,” Martin said.

So, that’s where we are now. Major denominations have abandoned Jesus’ teaching on marriage. And why? Who are these church leaders trying to impress with their faithlessness? Wouldn’t it be much better if they dug into some studies and make a defenseof the teachings of Jesus using evidence? It’s not that hard. I’ve been doing it for nearly 15 years on this blog. But you just have to accept that it may not win you respect from the secular leftists who run the corporate news. I accept that. Why can’t they?