An oxymoron (plural oxymoron’s or the Greek plural oxymora) (from Greek ὀξύμωρον, "sharp dull") is a figure of speech that combines normally-contradictory terms. Oxymoron’s appear in a variety of contexts, including inadvertent errors such as extremely average, deliberate puns like same difference or pretty ugly, and literary oxymoron’s crafted to reveal a paradox
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxymoron
Episcopal Committee Is Working on Gay Rite
By RICHARD PARKS
Armed with a new $400,000 grant and the support of the Episcopal Church, a Berkeley seminary is convening priests from across the country to craft the liturgical rite for same-sex couples to receive religious blessings.
The new rite, which will take years to complete, will most likely consist of a series of original prayers, Bible readings and two essays: one on the theological meaning of same-sex blessings, and one advising priests who administer the new rite. If approved, the new blessing would be just the third addition to Episcopal liturgy since 1979.
“This is very significant,” said the Rev. Ruth Meyers, chairwoman of the church’s Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, who is heading the effort. “It does acknowledge a fuller participation of gays and lesbians in the life of the church.”
The Episcopal Church approved the development of “theological and liturgical resources” for the blessing of same-sex relationships at its 2009 convention, citing “changing circumstances in the United States and other nations.” It then partnered with the Berkeley seminary, Church Divinity School of the Pacific, which last month received a grant from the Arcus Foundation, a gay rights organization in Kalamazoo, Mich., to coordinate the effort.
Most of the grant money will finance travel and accommodations for a series of meetings to garner contributions from all 110 Episcopal dioceses, most in the United States.
An official blessing would formalize what has long been an unofficial practice at some dioceses across the country. Unofficial blessings have taken place in Bay Area churches since at least the 1980s.
But not all Episcopalians support adding the blessing – Rest of the article here – http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/us/30bcrites.html?_r=3&pagewanted=print
I was reminded of a quote by Soren Kierkegaard when reading this article –
The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly."
— Søren Kierkegaard
The issue of homosexual marriage/relationships is a non-issue from a Biblical point of view. The Bible never condones,encourages,or suggests that men should marry men. As a matter of fact there are several Scriptures that condemn homosexuality outright. The Scriptures are known by all who discuss this topic,and by the Episcopal Church. The sad fact is that the Scriptures do not matter to those are seeking to legitimize the practice of homosexuality and homosexual marriage.
[Godlessness in the Last Days]
[3:1] But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. [2] For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, [3] heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, [4] treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, [5] having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. [6] For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, [7] always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. [8] Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. [9] But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.
(2 Timothy 3:1-9 ESV)
There is hope for homosexuals. The grace,loving kindness,and power of Jesus Christ can break any bondage. Here is a testimony to that amazing grace –
A Changed Life, A Changed Man.
by Mike Goeke
View a pdf of this testimony. Copies may be distributed free of charge.
My dad was a loving leader, Spiritual and otherwise, of our family. My parents were equally active in the lives of both my brother and me. I experienced no sexual, emotional or physical abuse. While I know now that my family had its own issues, there were none of the ‘red flags’ often associated with homosexuality. Yet, in the midst of my very typical middle class family existence, I developed an early attraction for men. I was sensitive, insecure and artistic, and the other boys treated me differently and made fun of me. I was called a ‘fag’ for the first time in the sixth grade at my Christian school. I did not know what it meant, but nevertheless the seed of a new identity was planted.
My intense desire to be like other boys turned sexual in junior high school. I was mortified by my desires, and vowed never to act on them and never to tell anyone about them. I suppressed my homosexual desires by seeking perfection in academics and leadership – areas that seemed to be within my control. I was a high achiever throughout high school, college and law school. Suppressing my desires, however, did nothing to stop the feelings and longings that grew within me. My heart began to resemble my exterior less and less. As I became more and more religious, my relationship with the
Lord became less and less real, and more and more contrived.
Following law school, I began dating a fellow Baylor graduate named Stephanie. We had a good group of friends, and were active leaders in Bible Study Fellowship. On the surface our relationship was founded in the Lord, but it was also rooted in deception. My secret struggles had continued to grow, and I was beginning to become depressed. I pursued marriage with the hope that it would squelch rumors about my sexuality and, even more, that it might help ‘fix’ me. Stephanie and I married in September of 1994. We lived in Midland, Texas, where I was an attorney and Stephanie was a teacher. We were involved in church and Bible study and lived a ‘perfect couple’ existence. All the while my secret homosexual desires continued to grow. In December of 1995, I discovered America On Line (AOL). AOL was the beginning of the end.
Rest of the story –
http://www.exodusinternational.org/content/view/22/14
God creates out of nothing. Wonderful you say. Yes, to be sure, but he does what is still more wonderful: he makes saints out of sinners."
— Søren Kierkegaard
elpisman
