What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • Referendum? On a human rights issue?

    At least one of the front pages of the Scottish newspapers is going to be full of Cardinal Keith O’Brien’s call for a referendum to be held on Equal Marriage – that being the issue that the Scottish Cabinet is due to talk about and hopefully make its mind up about on Tuesday. I think that there are a lot of people who would feel rather queasy at the idea of having a referendum on the human rights of others in society.

    Here’s what I say:

    The voice of Scotland’s Roman Catholic Cardinal is sounding ever more shrill as he appears to be losing the argument. These days, many view Equal Marriage as a human rights issue rather than something that one church should be able to rule out simply because of its own moral code. The time has come for the Scottish Government to legislate for Equal Marriage. If religious people do not want to conduct such marriages then that should be up to them – after all, no religious celebrant is ever forced to conduct any marriage currently and no religious celebrant will be forced to conduct a same-sex marriage if the law changes. The Roman Catholic Cardinal is not the moral arbiter of Scottish society. The decision about Equal Marriage should properly be taken by those elected to take it. The sooner that the Scottish Parliament gets a chance to vote for Equal Marriage the better. Marriage as an institution will be strengthened and reinforced as the gold-standard for human relationships when it is open to same-sex couples in the same way that it is currently open to couples of the opposite sex.

    , , ,

4 responses to “Book Review”

  1. Peter O Avatar
    Peter O

    I think you miss the point of the book Kelvin. It’s meant to be a guide to listening to *all* sides of the debate, not just those you agree with. That’s what makes the last section so good, because it forces us to deal realistically not just with the genuine evidence on the causality of homosexuality, but also the fact that some people *do* see remarkable change in their sexual orientation (and that others don’t).

    I wrote my own review here.

    Reply
  2. Avatar
    Anonymous

    We were not called by the last Lambeth Conference to listen to all sides in the debate.

    Reply
  3. ryan Avatar
    ryan

    Ruth Gledhill has posted a PDF of the whole thing, for those interested:
    http://timescolumns.typepad.com/gledhill/files/Final.pdf

    Reply
  4. Rosemary Avatar
    Rosemary

    I’ve now read the ‘scientific’ section – thanks for the link ryan – and I thought it was mixed. I thought Glynn Harrison made a serious attempt at dispassion. I think it is a fair point that any person must decide their own priorities, and the final argument must be between theologies, not sciences. I was not so impressed by David de Pomerai – though one could hardly quarrel with his conclusion that we simply do not know exactly what makes one person homosexual and the next heterosexual. However his whole argument was bedevilled by assumptions that, e.g. homosexual men will be more effeminate than straight ones. Anecdotal evidence instantly produces examples where it is the straight male siblings who are drama queens and run from spiders, while gay ones take it all in their stride.

    It must be accepted that both gay and straight people live with voluntary or enforced celibacy with no ill effects – and that some people can change their sexual orientation and live happily with the change. What I found truly heart rending were the desperate attempts and the high cost to those who actually did succeed in changing orientation – however much Harrison denies the skin colour analogy, it reminded me painfully of those endless jars of skin lightener which encrust Sri Lankan chemists, where beauty is measured in skin tone. Because whether or not genetic, orientation is not a simple free choice. But I suppose the answer would be: ‘And what is?’

    The final point, though, is always the same. Is Christianity a religion of an authoritative book, or an authoritative Person?

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Previous Posts

  • Back to PRI

    Back to Perth Royal Infirmary yesterday to have my mouth poked around with by my oral surgeon again. I seem to be there all the time. This time, the cause of my visit was that my mouth has healed far too quickly. However improbable this seems, it is true.So, another hole in my gums and…

  • Superwoman – Sermon on 21 September 2003

    Yesterday, we had a wedding in church. I always enjoy getting to know people who want to get married. They have a lot of things to decide. What kind of music? What kind of service? What bible readings? I have never had anyone choose the first reading this morning (the wife of good character from…

  • Park of Keir

    I've been asked to be the spokesperson for the Park of Keir campaign. If this massive incursion into the local green belt land is going to be resisted, it needs local people to work hard and write letters protesting about it.In particular, as well as writing generally to MSPs, letters need to be written to…

  • Cats and Dogs

    Tilly and I have guests – a friend and a friend's dog (Dana), staying with us for two nights. Things are not good between canine and feline worlds in this house. There has been much hissing and spitting. Roughly speaking, the house divides into two – cat space upstairs and dog space downstairs. The trouble…