Friday, February 3, 2012

Answers > The Orthodox Church Threatened to Leave the World Council of Churches if a Gay Church Joined. Thoughts?

The Orthodox Church Threatened to Leave the World Council of Churches if a Gay Church Joined. Thoughts?

by Generous Orthodoxy on November 26, 2011

One said "if we allow gay churches in [churches with gay priests in them], then what's next? The alcoholic church? The gambling church?". The council abided by the orthodox position.

Tags: , , , ,

east orhodox christian church homophobic, leaving the orthodox church, to be an orthodox priest do you have to agree with all church positions

Related Orthodox Church Posts

{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }

Bored Observer August 31, 2010 at 1:04 am

that’s their prerogative.

RU486 August 31, 2010 at 2:02 am

Good riddance to bad rubbish. An alcoholic church is one I would actually join.

Pat August 31, 2010 at 2:04 am

The WCC should have let them go.
And yet they dare to call themselves “christian”.

onelm0 August 31, 2010 at 2:29 am

Sort of a moot issue since most churches are simply social clubs.

cheens girl August 31, 2010 at 3:14 am

i don’t know but if those open up, send me an email, i’m joining.

eep August 31, 2010 at 3:36 am

Good. Maybe people will join them less and they will have less of a chance to spread their hate.

de facto atheist August 31, 2010 at 4:24 am

An Alcoholic Temple, I’m interested.
You were merely tempting me you heathen shite.

Cake or Death? August 31, 2010 at 5:05 am

Too late! The Church of England is already there.

PaulCyp August 31, 2010 at 5:14 am

A Church which officially allows sin is not worth being associated with.

Colette Pioline ART August 31, 2010 at 6:12 am

Aren’t all churches alcoholic?

teapot agnostic August 31, 2010 at 6:26 am

if we got an atheist church to join do you think the rest would leave as well

lady of liberty August 31, 2010 at 6:43 am

good for them

The Oracle August 31, 2010 at 7:11 am

Vile and judgmental

solarius August 31, 2010 at 7:38 am

There’s a lot to love about the Orthodox churches, but homophobia wouldn’t be one of them. In my opinion, there is no place in a modern Christian continuum for churches, groups, or individuals that refuse to treat gays (or anyone else) like human beings. Discrimination doesn’t flow very well with Christ’s “love thy neighbor” dictum.

Old Timer Too August 31, 2010 at 8:34 am

I think they were referring to a gay denomination. As pointed out a number of denominations (including members of the Anglican Communion) already have gay priests.

Destined To Win August 31, 2010 at 8:53 am

You know , I’m sure this is very old news. I’m sure there are already many churches who are members of this organization that have openly gay minister & priests. The world council of churches openly accept all religions etc. I think this orthodox priest finally realized what was happening in the ORG.

bob j August 31, 2010 at 9:17 am

The answer is…..no Christian church….believes in homosexuality.

The bible clearly states “homosexuals will not enter the kingdom of god”

blitzmoney94 August 31, 2010 at 9:59 am

How can there be a gay church when in the bible it says homosexuality is bad…i agree with the orthodox.

Rossonero NorCal SFECU August 31, 2010 at 10:06 am

I have to wonder what they’re doing in the wcc in the first place, it’s an organization that not only says nothing about the plight of the persecuted church, it’s gone so far as to defend the persecutors.

Penney August 31, 2010 at 10:52 am

Sadly they are homophobic and intolerant.

The priest’s argument is fallacious. He might as well have said “The Mafia Church” or “The Nazi Church” or “The Racist Church.”

They are all equally silly.

People are born with their sexuality determined, it’s not a choice. As such there is no reason that gay priests should not be accepted. Whatever you judge in another person always reflects something within yourself.

People who judge others’ sexual preferences and/or are homophobic have issues with, and are fearful about their own sexuality so need to look within. (That comment is based on medical research, not opinion.)

laura s August 31, 2010 at 11:09 am

I completely agree. If or when it happens I know the end of the world will be near.

Larry R August 31, 2010 at 11:36 am

The World Council of Churches is a joke, and has been for a long time.

That’s why the Catholics never joined. Any denomination would be well served by leaving it.

Personally I find this hard to believe, as while I support the sentiments allegedly expressed by your unnamed Orthodox Priest, the Episcopal Church has been a member of the World Council of Churches for a very long time, and it is about as gay as one can get.

Follows Jesus August 31, 2010 at 12:15 pm

They are staying true by the word of God and not changing the message to become friends with the world

Curtis K August 31, 2010 at 1:00 pm

At least the Orthodox Churches aren’t putting up a false pretense of wanting some kind of genuine, productive dialogue…

What can you do? Someone is excluded either way. For years the Orthodox Churches have given their Western counterparts the cold shoulder, no matter how much they have begged and pleaded. The Catholic Church in particular, especially under Pope John Paul II, bent over backwards for these guys. On the whole, Christendom has been impressed with the culture and longevity of the practices of the East–but thus far it’s really been quite one-sided.

Maybe, as harsh as it sounds, the EOCs just need some time to cool off from that little conundrum 1000 years ago. We can’t force their forgiveness, nor their openness. It’s best we set an example and hope for eventual unity.

Ben Yeshua August 31, 2010 at 1:12 pm

Well, Sisyphus:

It’s fine to be hot against sin, but the Orthodox church venerated statues and changed God’s Sabbath many centuries ago.

So, whoever breaks the least of these commandments will be least in the Kingdom.

The Greek and Roman church will soon combine, though–as all churches unite to form a one-world church and combat terrorism.

The Bible code tells you who to fear: http://abiblecode.com

Shalom, peace in Jesus, Ben Yeshua

waygoddoesthings August 31, 2010 at 1:23 pm

This is called freedom of religion. Those that believe that the nasty behavior of homo’s is a sin, can choose to exclude those who choose that as their lifestyle.The homo’s can band together and join whatever churches believes this is just an alternative lifestyle. They do not have a right to push their lifestyle on those opposed to it.

DS06 August 31, 2010 at 1:43 pm

I’m not Christian, but is it permissible for a church to be homophobic?
Absolutely.
If your bible said not to have gay sex, then its fine. Frankly, if a Jewish person wanted to be a rabbi and be actively gay I would have major issues.

I would definitely abide by the Orthodox position.
One of the Jewish principles of homosexuality is that it is natural to have homosexual impulses but one is not allowed to act upon them. ( God knew that we would have such impulses or else it would not have been mentioned in the Torah)

Galactic Emperor August 31, 2010 at 1:55 pm

Previous post:

Next post: