A while ago we had a real treat at St Mary’s. Prof John Curtice gave a talk about public opinion and same-sex marriage. It was one of those forums which was very special for those who were there. There simply isn’t anyone who knows how to read and interpret public opinion as John can and it was great to see him in action.
It was also one of the first forum meetings which I videoed. Unfortunately, the talk that John gave was fantastic but the audio on the video was terrible. Lots of people tried to listen but some were quite disappointed. For that reason, I was delighted that John agreed to give a similar, though slightly updated, talk to the diocesan synod that we held here in the Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway on 1 March 2014. Once again, John was gracious enough to allow it to be videoed and this time the audio is tip-top, thanks to Kennedy Fraser’s work on the sound-desk.
This can be posted freely. I suspect that it may help far more people in the church get their heads around where public opinion lies on this question than were at the synod the other week. Do share and use on other blogs and diocesan websites. And take a look – it is well worth putting aside half an hour to watch.
Now the question for the day, is – in what ways does public opinion matter when the churches make their minds up about same-sex marriage?
You know I have already blogged about my disquiet over these conversations. The process is unsafe and does not follow best practise. I am very much afraid that handing over clergy education entirely to England as is now being done will further nudge the attitude in that direction (of recent years we have been doing a little better in that way). It is desperately sad. I suspect that, if I were not at St Mary’s, I might well find it impossible to continue in the SEC.
I do not understand any of this. Not only is it clearly against the flow of society around us, it is also so stupid. It is so illogical. It is totally against the main stream flow of the entire New Testament, with its insistence that it is the inner spirit of things that truly matters.
It does look like a top-down attempt to make things harder for LGBT clergy and laity – of course the clergy suffer worse because in the final instance the laity will walk away so much more easily. Why would anybody do that? (it makes me furious because they are wrecking my church, and my grandchildren’s church)
I don’t agree that clergy education is being handed over completely to England.
“in what ways does public opinion matter when the churches make their minds up about same-sex marriage?”
Public opinion is seldom a good guide to ethical and moral issues. We have abolished the death penalty yet to follow public opinion, that can be fickle, could lead to its reintroduction – heaven forbid! History is replete with examples of public majorities driving forward both the best and worst of reforms.
However, the Church is not called to march to the drum of public opinion but to be faithful to God and God’s self-revelation in Jesus. This faithfulness needs to be irrespective of whether the Church is moving with or against the flow of public opinion or history.