tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8598504451838456622.post7585071604009393883..comments2023-09-28T10:35:05.852+01:00Comments on Flight of the Skypilot: Equal MarriageJohn Simmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16501970239050498930noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8598504451838456622.post-25172866502914831902013-02-06T08:38:46.151+00:002013-02-06T08:38:46.151+00:00Marriage is only a sacrament in the Roman Catholic...Marriage is only a sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church, I think. For Protestants it's simply a contract which God blesses. A sacrament is a symbol of the nature of God that actually embodies that nature in some way. The logic of which is that God is in essence male-and-female (which begs the question as to why the tradition calls God "Father, Son and (masculine) Holy Spirit). But I don't recall any of this being part of the discussion. It sits uneasily with Paul's "neither male nor female in Christ" and John's "where true love is, God himself is there".Dick Wolffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09111414869380445624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8598504451838456622.post-15061202219337379792013-02-05T16:22:17.552+00:002013-02-05T16:22:17.552+00:00I agree John. Much of my received view of marriage...I agree John. Much of my received view of marriage was, I now recognise, based on tradition and the culture in which I was raised, not on Scripture. So far as Civil ceremonies are concerned, it is a committment by the couple and acknowledgement by the State that a stable relationship is "good" for society, so sexual orientation has no relevance - so "marriage" for all. Within the Church it is a sacrament and my personal view is that the Church should be asking God's blessing on all sincere committments - in fact it has no right to withold. I do however also have to recognise that some (many?) religous people take a different view, so it should be left to individual churches / faith groups to work out their own understanding - much as we have with women priests. Or is that just sitting on the fence? Donald MilneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com