Article source: www.christian.org.uk
The incoming Archbishop of York believes biblical teaching on sexuality should come second to 21st century Western cultural beliefs.
Stephen Cottrell is currently the Bishop of Chelmsford and will take over from Dr John Sentamu next year to become the second most senior clergyman in the Church of England.
Bishop Cottrell made his comments on the Bible in 2017 as he welcomed the Archbishops of Canterbury and York’s plea for a “radical new Christian inclusion”.
‘Culture’
He said it would be wrong to ignore the “damage” that is done by rejecting Western society’s current view of human sexuality.
“I am not sure the church has ever before had to face the challenge of being seen as immoral by the culture in which it is set.”
He also claimed, in the same address to leaders in his own diocese, that taking a biblical view on same-sex relationships “can legitimise homophobia in others”.
Reinterpreting scripture
While Bishop Cottrell did acknowledge biblical passages spoke about the issue, he said they were merely “part of our story and our inheritance”.
“But what we can do is recognise that what we know now about human development and human sexuality requires us to look again at those texts to see what they are actually saying to our situation, for what we know now is not what was known then.”
The future Archbishop also said there was “no reason” why thanksgiving prayers or a communion service could not be offered for civil partnerships.
Repent
The doctrine of the Church of England, as enshrined in a 1987 General Synod Motion, is that homosexual acts should be repented of. This is further underlined by the 1998 Lambeth Conference Resolution which opposes the “legitimising or blessing of same sex unions”.
Following the announcement, Bishop Cottrell said he was “humbled and excited at the prospect of becoming the 98th Archbishop of York”.
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Date published: 15/01/2020
Feature image: Bishop Stephen Cottrell
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Since when does current culture judge Scripture. The new bishop has got it back to front. “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16 & 17. There are no Scriptures in the Bible where homosexual relationships, same sex marriage are endorsed. In fact, we know it is quite the opposite: In Leviticus chapter 20, God spoke to Moses covering these issues in quite some detail and then says in verse 23, “Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I shall drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them.” And verse 26: “Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be mine.” Romans 1:21-27; 1 Corinthians 6: 9-20; 1 Timothy 1:8-11. God holds believers, those of us who claim to belong to Him to a standard of holiness totally at variance with current culture and indeed always has been at variance with the culture of the day. Do we think 21st century culture is any different from cultures of ages past? Reading from Genesis and through the Tenach and the Gospels and Epistles through to the Revelation of John and Jesus messages to the 7 churches in chapters 2 and 3 and then the generation that is alive during the seal, trumpet and vial judgments of chapters 6 -19 convinces me otherwise. Definitely we have invented nor will we in the future invent anything new concerning human depravity. Just as much as when the Gospel was first preached do we in this century need salvation through repentance and faith toward God through Jesus Christ our LORD which salvation He purchased for us through the Cross and the shedding of His precious blood which speaks better than the blood of bulls and of goats. Ultimately who will we answer to, to whom will we give an account for our lives? To our 21st century culture? Is that what Scripture tells us? We know the answer, and we know to Whom we will give an account. So then, we know the standard by which we will be judged. And thankfully, it doesn’t change.
Further to my previous comment, current culture seems to have dispensed with conversation addressing the issue of morality and rather only addresses sexuality. This renders any conversation about morality totally up in the air. Therefore people today talk about your truth and my truth as if truth were a moving target. How absurd! Truth is not truth without being Absolute. God’s word to us, on the other hand, tells us clearly what is moral and what is immoral and therein defining our sexuality. To talk about sexuality as if it were exclusive from morality is therefore quite ridiculous. No wonder we now have all this controversy with so called preferred pronouns and gender identity. Is the new Archbishop of York up for these conversations? It is obviously part of the package.