Baptist church stand on gay marriage
Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ+ Issues: American Baptist Churches USA
BACKGROUND
The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is the fifth-largest Christian denomination in the Joined States, with approximately 1.3 million members and 5,000 congregations worldwide. Although ABCUSA shares many traditions, beliefs and standards with other Baptists, ABCUSA is a distinct entity from its relatives, the American Baptist Association (ABA), the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the Alliance of Baptists, and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
Following more moderate ideals than the ABA and SBC, ABCUSA is considered one of the most inclusive and revolutionary Protestant bodies. At its core, ABCUSA believes in and advocates for autonomy in religious corporation and function, religious freedom through verbalization and cultural/ethnic inclusion within the church. Of its more traditional values, the denomination believes that the Bible is the divinely official guide for serving God, that believers in Christ require to participate in the Lord’s Supper and full-immersion or believer’s baptism and that all members have the responsibility to inform others of Christ through evangelism and missionary work
This week, the Baptist Union Council, tracking two years of consultation with individuals and churches, announced it will not modify its existing rules on marriage.
Chris Goswami is Associate Minister at Lymm Baptist Church and takes a traditional view on marriage. A stone’s throw away, Ashley Hardingham is Lead Minister at Altrincham Baptist Church and has taken his church through an 18-month conversation to a “fully inclusive” view. They are good friends with contrasting views. Both feel that being able to disagree well is more important than their opinions. They hold offered the monitoring articles to Premier Christianity in the hope of illustrating the importance of continuing dialogue in a spirit of love and openness.
What follows is Ashley Hardingham’s perspective. You can read an alternative view from Chris Goswami here.
In my experience, the ““slippery slope”” argument which Chris uses is a commonly stated challenge to an inclusive position.
I recognise the examples given with regard to divorce and euthanasia. I am no fan of divorce, and accept Malachi 2 and Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 with all seriousness. But it’s possible to recogni
Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ+ Issues: Southern Baptist Convention
BACKGROUND
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) traces its history to 1845 when it broke off from Northern Baptists over slavery. The roots of Southern Baptist history go assist to the Baptist churches established in the American colonies in the 17th century.
By 1891, the SBC formed its own Sunday School Board, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Providing typical literature for all Southern Baptist churches had a strong unifying effect, solidifying the Southern Baptist Convention as a denomination.
Among doctrines Southern Baptists emphasize is the doctrine of local church autonomy. Working through 1,136 local associations and 42 state conventions, Southern Baptists share a shared bond of basic Biblical beliefs and a pledge to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the entire world.
LGBTQ+ EQUALITY
ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION & GENDER IDENTITY
In a 1996 “Resolution on a Christian Response to Homosexuality,” the SBC declared that “even a desire to engage in a homosexual relationship is always sinful, impure, degrading, shameful, unnatural, indecent and perverted.”
In the 2000 Baptist Faith and Messag On the issues of marriage and sexuality, Texas Baptists have spoken with a clear and decisive voice through the decades. In short, Texas Baptists, meeting in annual conventions, have affirmed that sexual relationships honor God only when they occur within marriage between one dude and one woman. Most recently, in 2016, messengers approved a motion dealing with the issue. It noted the following: The 2016 motion implemented in a practical conduct (dealing with cooperation) what Texas Baptists have been saying through resolutions over the past few decades. These resolutions consistently affirmed the Texas Baptist position. A simple resolution in 2004 noted the following: Since 2022 Baptist Union Council has been considering a request from LGBT+ ministers and their allies that the rules for Baptist Ministers be changed so that entering a lgbtq+ marriage would no longer be considered ‘gross misconduct’. On 20th March, the motion was overwhelmingly rejected, meaning that the denomination has actively chosen to continue down a path of discrimination, inequality and exclusion. For those of us who are LGBT+ Baptists, the events of 20th March do not remain in isolation. Despite requests and complaints, the Baptist Union has repeatedly failed to take any deed on conversion therapy. LGBT+ ministers and church leaders have been consistently harassed and bullied by others within our Baptist Union. All of this and more has cemented the Baptist Union’s reputation as an institutionally homophobic and unsafe organisation. There are, of course, a number of inclusive churches within our Baptist movement, alongside a myriad of allies who have stood with LGBT+ Baptists as we contain pushed for equality and inclusivity. These churches, because of the way our ecclesiology works, have the right to register for same-sex marriage should they wish – and a number ha
Marriage and Sexuality
...that because of the historical and biblical positions of the BGCT as stated in multiple resolutions, motions, and deeds, that any church which affirms any sexual bond outside the bonds of a marriage between one man and one miss be considered out of harmonious cooperation with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
WHEREAS the Bible teaches that marriage is a holy union between a male and a woman; and
WHEREAS Scripture instructs that the divine ideal is for husba