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 | "If I am found guilty by a trial court, then the order and discipline of the United Methodist Church is in conflict with the Gospel. It is arrogance on the part of the church to elevate some people's relationship with God, while denigrating that of others on the basis of innate sexuality." Jimmy Creech, 1999-NOV, on the eve of his trial for conducting a same-sex union ceremony. |
| "...no annual conference board, agency, committee, commission, or council shall give United Methodist funds to any gay caucus or group, or otherwise use such funds to promote the acceptance of homosexuality." 2004 General Conference resolution' passed 497 to 418. |
| "Go back 150 years and you'll find good Christians arguing on behalf of slavery, offering all sorts of biblical justifications. Go back a few years, and churches, including the Southern Baptists, argued against ordaining women. Not just time changes, but people change. I honestly believe God is doing something new here." Mike Underhill, director of program ministries at Bering Memorial United Methodist Church, Houston, TX, 2005-FEB-12. (Actually, the Southern Baptists -- alone among American denominations -- have since reversed their stance for a second time and banned female ordination.) |
| "Some minds and hearts are not open to the great diversity of humankind - diversity created by God. God is all loving and merciful and cares a great deal for justice. I have trouble understanding this discrimination that causes so much hurt and pain for people who are gay and lesbian." Rev. Marilyn Meeker-Williams, senior pastor of Bering Memorial United Methodist Church, Houston, TX, 2005-FEB-12. |
Overview:
Of all of the Christian denominations in the United States, the Episcopal Church (USA), the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the United Methodist Church are probably experiencing the greatest amount of conflict over the rights of its gay and lesbian members. More liberal Christian denominations have already largely accepted homosexuality as simply another normal and natural sexual orientation. More conservative denominations have retained the historical Christian beliefs which condemn all same-sex behavior.
Topics covered in this section:
| Overview: (The UMC. The Book of
Discipline. Future church split? Author's comments) |
| Gay-positive and negative groups in the UMC |
| Decisions by United Methodist conferences |
| Church trials: (Rose Mary Denman, Jimmy
Creech, Gregory Dell, Mark Williams, Karen Dammann...) |
| Rev. Dawson Taylor's personal story |
| Activity by various UMC groups |
| Within mainline denominations, is compromise possible, or is schism inevitable? An examination of the homosexual conflict in various Christian denominations |
Reference used:
- Todd Ackerman, "Local gay, lesbian couples wed in mass ceremony," Houston Chronicle, 2005-FEB-12, at: http://www.chron.com/
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Home page > Christianity > Mainline Christian conflicts > here |
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or Home page > Conflict > Homosexuality > Churches > here |
Copyright © 1997 to 2008 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance
Last update: 2008-MAR-21
Author: B.A. Robinson
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