Wedding Forum - Gay marriage in Church...

the government is going to make gay marriage in church legal what do we all think
I have put the link to the artical on my wall

note please be nice if you do not agree with someones opinion its just that it their opinion not yours

There should be more equality for everyone where the Church is concerned. I dont see why choices should be restricted just because of their se xual preference. I have male and female friends which are gay and I think the Church should become more open to todays world if it wants to remain serving the community. Everything moves on, so should the Church. xx

The government will have to make a lot of things legal in that case as there are a couple going to the european court for human rights at the moment over civil partnerships and marriage.

Basically the case is that a heterosexual couple have applied to become civil partners as opposed to being married. They have been told that this is only possible for gay couples who cannot get married to which there was a lot of outraged people. So they are now fighting to get their side of things heard and have gay marriages legalised as well as heterosexual civil partnerships.

And for those that didn't know the difference i have outlined them below:

A particular difference between a civil marriage and a civil partnership is the form of words used: for a civil partnership, unlike a civil wedding, no particular form of words need be used, only requires that both civil partners have signed the civil partnership document. Once this has happened the partnership has been registered. It is not as restrictive as a civil wedding in this way and this is to recognise the fact that it is NOT a marriage.
This is also to do with legal status in terms of possessions and assets. In civil partnership due their relationship not being legally defined as a marriage assets are not shared as opposed to the legal status of a married couple whereby assets can be divvied up between the two people should the marriage be ended through divorce.

Therefore if a heterosexual couple wanted to register themselves in a civil partnership to protect any property or income they may have should the marriage not work, and without the requirement to sign a prenuptial agreement beforehand, this would be possible if it were legal. However civil partnerships have only been granted to homosexual couples and marriages to heterosexual couples

Be interesting to hear what people think on this and sorry the post is so long! x

Its all very well the GOVERNMENT making it legal

The churches governing bodies will have to make it possible for it to happen. Easier said than done for a body like the CofE currently struggling with similar issues such as women bishops and homosexual clergy. The smaller independent churches are more likely to offer it sooner.

They turned you down due to disability????????????/ Seriously???? Thats disgusting! xxx

TBH I struggle with the idea.
by forcing the church to do this they are forcing the church to go against a strongly held belief. are they not restricting the churches ability to choose for itself. So by forcing it you are undermining another group of peoples rights to express themselves.
you right in a lot of ways the church does need to start moving more with the times.

maybe a better way is to outlaw marriage in church all together and say everyone needs to do the civil partnership thing and then if you are religious you can have a blessing in church.

I would like to say Jo that that very much depends on the church you are talking about they are all independent of each other. my church has good disabled access.
have you tried another denomination CofE is not your only option when it comes to a church wedding

Although that is like saying that if a religion starts up believing its OK to hate someone because they believe they are wrong and you have to respect their believes. Yes people have the rights to believe what they want ............... but to a certain extent. They have to have boundaries in which they can practice them. To me faith of any kind is about being a good person and being nice to all. That is what the essence of all religions are about so why should they be able to allow rules to then hate or discriminate against others because of a difference? This hatred and exclusion is what starts wars against each other which is the exact opposite of what having faith is all about.

The problem is the bible was written by men who in them days were too narrow minded to think any other way. Its like saying because the laws in the olden days when blacks were enslaved should not be changed because they were the rules of the land at that time. Sometimes you have to accept that they way things were done in the past were not always the best way and need to be updated.

A lot of things were written to protect people such as the Jews not eating pork as in them days it was rife with disease. Halal meat was also made part of the Muslim religion to protect them from disease as that was the safest way to eat meat before we had abattoir. It had nothing to do with God but was there to try and keep the people safe or gain control of their actions just the same as our laws today. Doesn't always mean they are right though.

The thing with any religion is that it should not be taken literally from the things that have been written in the past as these can be corrupted and misinterpreted but as a guide to lead a good life.

Like I said our understanding of the Bible changes with each generation those laws against black people and woman in general where based on limited reading of the text, taking verses out of context. which is something I admit could be a problem with the current understanding of Gay people as seen from an interpretation of the bible. which is why I think It should be re-visited by the theologians.

But my point still stands that this is not something that can be decided by people outside the faith it effects.

I think that any form desrimination goes against the principle of being a good christian. Everyone should have an equal right to marry in Church if that is their wish. The last thing I want to get into is a heated discussion on Religion, however the one thing most people dont realise is that there were over 40 diferent authors who contributed to the Bible and over a 1.500 year period, the first of those being Moses in the 15th century BC. The words written were originally stories handed down through generations and will undoubtedly have picked up the views and attitudes of those living at the time rather than Gods view. It is a shame that after all these centuries some still adhere to those particular views. xxx

This is just another post that is going to cause a debate and issues and has nothing to do with the planning of our own weddings.

It would be nice to see the church do under their own steam and start to prove that they practice what they preach. I've been C of E for many years but have to admit I have now lost faith in the church. When I say faith in the church it is just that. I still follow what I believe in but I don't have any respect for the church as a body anymore. It would be nice to see them doing something to work towards getting that faith back.

I beleive that the Bible is just a rule book invented to control the masses...... and the church is nothing but a business, but that is my opinion and i have no problem with people believing in whatever god they choose.

EVERYONE no matter what their sexual orientation should have the right to marry in a church if they choose..... IF they believe in a god. Otherwise i think its takin the pee out of others beliefs.

The church is so damned hypocritical.... how man gay priests are there again??

I rest my case......

i'm with you Goff x

people could say that im wrong for getting married in a church when im not religious,
yes ive been christened and had my own children christened as its a tradition in my family but im marrying h2b in the church as its sentimental rather than being religious xx

If people actually read the whole bible you would see that there isn't actually anything in there that outlaws gay couples or homosexual relationships. This was purely an interretation in its own right by priests and ministers who during times of prejudice would rather not see a gay man with another. You will be interested to know that lesbianism on the other hand was not outlawed but gay men could not have s3x until 1967 legally! The ability for same s3x couples to marry came 32 years later so things are moving forward just not with the church who seem to be stuck in old fashioned morals and beliefs that don't really apply so much in this day and age! x

I think everyone has the right to live their lives as they see fit. We have a Gay Vicar living and working in our town. He has "wed" his partner in a civil ceremony and had his relationship blessed by the Bishop.

I think in todays society with medical advancement, human relations and technology, religious sects need to move forward with open hearts and minds and not try to push their prejudices onto people.

I am a Christian but one of my best friends is Gay and wishes to properly marry his partner of 5 years - I would love this for them as they are so in love.

I'd be all for it but I do understand and appreciate your feelings hunni xxxxx

i do however apologise for the spelling xx

Firstly, I don't think this is just another post to cause controversy as someone suggested earlier in the thread - it is wedding related and we are all adults, we can have a healthy debate where everyone expresses an opinion surely!? Isn't that part of what a forum is?

I think that any 2 people who love each other and want to make a commitment to each other should be able to do so, and se xuality should not be the sole reason stop them doing so in the same way that others are allowed to. If a same sex couple are religious, why not let them be married in their own place of worship?

If you go down the debate about the bible then we'd be here all day, in my opinion it should not be taken literally! But some people do and that's up to them. I'm a practising catholic, if I had a same sex partner I would be happier to be married in a church of course, I think otherwise it can be classed as discrimination but so can so many other things within the subject of religion as a whole and in the world in general!

I do think this is a positive step for the church overall.

I think that this is essentially what the Government is doing according to the article (see my wall) but the fact that they can give us permission offends me in the first place!
As h2b said the church is not a public service they provide services to the public and should be open to all but until we get government funding why should we be controlled by anyone but ourselves.

That's my point exactly. Gay Muslims live in fear but are the government able to tell a Mosque to change its beliefs to protect these people?

Please before I start do not take offence to my view it is simple my view.
I find it really sad that the people in life that call themsleves Church goers, true christians etc. are the first people to judge others. Why??? Regardless of whether we/they attend a church week in, week out does that not mean we/they deserve to be married in a Church? How do you not know that although not church goers, we/they pray, or practice our faith in privacy???
The biggest point to make is....arent we ALL Gods children? If so....why can we not marry in the eyes of God regardless of how we practice/show our faith. Its hurtful to know that there are people with the view that because you don;t attend Church you have no right to marry in Church! This is not directed to anyone personally but a view I have held for a long time, but I think the people that call themselves Church Goers should take a long, hard look at their own attitudes and ask if this is the Christian view to take. xxx

I think Suzie said attend OR believe. I'm with you Dee, you have every right to get married in a Church if you believe and worship in your own way. I think Suzie was trying to get across that some people use the Church for sentimental and aesthetic reasons when they are not religious at all. x x x

Can I just raise the point the church goers are the people who pay for the upkeep of the church between weddings so should they not get a say in who can and can't get married in the building that they put their money into?