Full of Christian hate

The online Christian Today reports that as many as one-fifth of all Church of Scotland (Kirk) clergy have signed an online petition against the appointment of an openly gay minister.

We reported in April on the Rev. Scott Rennie, who’s open about his sexuality and has a male partner.

There’s concern, says Christian Today, citing the BBC, that, if the Kirk doesn’t overturn Rennie’s appointment, “there could be a mass walkout by members of the Church”.

This band of bigots have signed a petition, which reads:

We urge the Assembly to support the position of those who stood to defend Christian orthodoxy in Aberdeen Presbytery, and ensure instead that the Church will apply and assert in practice its clear doctrinal position on all matters of marriage and human sexuality, by refusing to condone homosexual practice in general, and among its leaders in particular.

So far, 230 Kirk ministers, 2,000 of its members and 3,000 other church members worldwide have signed the petition.

All doing their Christian duty of loving their neighbour, then.

BBC Scotland says that, when Rennie was appointed minister of Queen’s Cross Church in Aberdeen, members of his church said that they were happy with the appointment, and that the national church should welcome a broad range of lifestyles and beliefs.

But that’s not good enough for the bigots.

One of those organising the petition against the appointment was the Rev. Steven Reid of Crossford and Kirkfieldbank Church in Lanarkshire. He said that, while he would stay within the Church of Scotland, many others probably wouldn’t.

“The minute you’re talking about the division of a church over areas that are deeply held on both sides of the discussion, you realise there’s the possibility of that division happening and you can’t rule it out,” he said.

There’s an evangelical group within the Kirk laughingly called Forward Together, which, as you would expect, is at the forefront of the chorus of bigotry. It has said in a statement on its website:

Mr Rennie has openly stated that he is intending taking his male partner with him to live in the manse. [Horror of horrors!]

This has caused enormous tremors [God’s tectonic plates a-trembling?] throughout the Church as it is aggressively taking the debate on homosexuality onto a new level.

Forward Together is deeply concerned over this development and asks for Christians to pray for wisdom for those in Aberdeen Presbytery and the wider courts of the Church.

We cherish the peace and unity of the Church and feel this new development will seriously undermine both.

How can you cherish peace and set out to wreck it just because you hate poofs, you bunch of snivelling morons?