An Episcopal bishop, William Love, got so fed up with the Episcopal church’s stance on homosexuality and gay marriage that he decided to unilaterally ban gay marriage in his New York diocese.
As you might imagine, the Episcopal church is not happy and have now overriden his order and are going to discipline Love for his actions:
CBN NEWS – A New York bishop now faces disciplinary action after barring all same-sex marriages in his Albany-based diocese.
The Rev. William Love claims the church has been “hijacked by the Gay Rights Agenda,” according to The Associated Press.
Last week, the Episcopal Church nullified Love’s order. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry wrote that Love’s action “may constitute a canonical offense” and referred his case for disciplinary review. While the case is pending, Curry placed restrictions on Love that forbid him from penalizing clergy, laity or worshippers in the diocese for arranging or participating in same-sex marriages.
Love said he would abide by the restrictions against him but would appeal any disciplinary action.
“While I obviously would rather not have had disciplinary actions taken against me, and hope to see it overturned in the near future, I will abide by the restrictions placed on me by the Presiding Bishop during the appeal process,” he said in an open letter to the diocese on Friday.
Here’s what Love wrote in November before deciding to take action and ban homosexual marriage in his diocese. And it’s AWESOME:
Love wrote in an eight-page letter in November that: “The Episcopal Church and Western Society have been hijacked by the ‘Gay Rights Agenda,’ which is very well organized, very strategic, very well financed, and very powerful.”
“Jesus is calling the Church to follow His example. He is calling the Church to have the courage to speak His Truth in love about homosexual behavior — even though it isn’t politically correct,” Love wrote.
“Sexual relations between two men or two women was never part of God’s plan and is a distortion of His design in creation and as such is to be avoided. To engage in sexual intimacy outside of marriage between a man and women, is against God’s will and therefore sinful and needs to be repented of, NOT encouraged or told it is OK.”
He added: “Satan is having a heyday bringing division into the Church over these issues.”
BOOM!
He’s absolutely right about this and I love what he said. He didn’t just condemn same-sex marriage, he said that homosexuality itself was never God’s plan and is absolutely a distortion of what God created.
Love’s conviction on this should be an example to others in the episcopal church as well as Christianity at large. The adoption of homosexuality and same-sex marriage in some of these denominations has become a cancer to the rest of the church and it must be purged everywhere we find it.