Mixed views about the marriage canon report: Theologians give their two cents worth on commission findings
https://archives.anglican.ca/link/article38574
- Author
- Forget, André
- Material Type
- Journal Article
- Journal
- Anglican Journal
- Date
- 2016 March
- Author
- Forget, André
- Material Type
- Journal Article
- Journal
- Anglican Journal
- Date
- 2016 March
- Volume
- 142
- Issue
- 3
- Page
- 6
- Notes
- "A church commission's report providing a biblical and theological argument for the adoption of same-sex marriage does little to bridge the ideological gap between conservatives and liberals in the Anglican Church of Canada, according to theologians interviewed by the 'Anglican Journal'". "It was not a theological report. It was a report that used some theology, but for a non-theological purpose', says the Rev. Ephraim Radner, a professor of historical theology at Wycliffe College in the diocese of Toronto who has frequently spoken out in opposition to same-sex marriage". "But Radner's frustration also stems from the fact that the commission's mandate was not to look into the theological possibility of same-sex marriage, but to provide an argument for why Canon XXI, which governs marriage, could be changed to include same-sex couples". "Archdeacon Alan T. Perry of the diocese of Edmonton disagrees. While quick to acknowledge that the report was responding to a very specific mandate, he does not believe this undermines its integrity". "Michelle Rebidoux, a professor at Queen's College in the diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, rejects the notion that because the report was building on previous theological work done by General Synod, it was necessarily compromised. 'They may start from precedents, but they base it on really good theology', she said". "Bishop Linda Nicholls, a member of the commission, says she understands why theologians like Radner find the report frustrating. Some on the commission also felt providing a rationale was 'difficult to do', she says. However, she says, the report was born of a perceived need to clarify the biblical and theological reasons for why some Anglicans might support a change to the marriage canon".
- Subjects
- Marriage - Religious aspects - Anglican Church of Canada
- Same sex unions - Religious aspects - Anglican Church of Canada
- Anglican Church of Canada. Commission on the Marriage Canon
- Theologians - Anglican Church of Canada
- Anglican Church of Canada - Parties and movements
- Radner, Ephraim L. (Ephraim Louis), 1956-
- Perry, Alan T.
- Rebidoux, Michelle, 1970-
- Nicholls, Linda (Linda Carol), 1954-