Civil partnerships have finally arrived and there is a predictably mixed response in the secular and Christian world. The BBC reporting Scottish Same-Sex Partnerships is typical of the secular coverage - a triumph for equality.

As a Christian seeking to uphold the teaching of the Bible, I would find it difficult to support same-sex marriages - which despite the ‘civil partnership’ label is effectively what we now have. As Christopher Ash clearly argues in his Marriage book, Marriage is a creation ordinance, and so is relevant for all people - not just the redeemed people of God. Therefore, it is right that Christians should be proclaiming God’s standards in this debate.

However, as he also clearly argues, marriage as part of God’s creation order:

“exists as a significant institution in the world whether or not societies conform to its free constraints. So when as Christians we seek to persuade society about this moral order, we are not defending the institution of marriage, as though the God-given institution of marriage were under ontological threat. If ethical systems were voluntarist contructs, that is indeed what we would be doing, engaging in a power struggle for the convictions of the people. But it is not within the power of humankind finally to destroy the created order. It was given to humankind in creation, it stands above human history and the human will, and finally it will be restored and transformed in the new heavens and earth. No institution that is part of the created order can be destroyed by human disobedience. Human noncomformity leads not to the destruction of the order, but to judgement on human beings. No Christian movement needs to defend marriage: rather we seek to protect human beings against the damage done to them by cutting across the grain of the order of marriage. That knowledge takes a burden off our shoulders. When teaching ethics we are engaging in proclamation of a given order and appeal to men and women to live in believing obedience to that order in Christ; we are not engage in a desperate attempt, like King Canute, to turn back the tide of social affairs.”

Christopher Ash, Marriage: Sex in the Service of God, IVP 2003, p82.

Phew, and Amen!

So says David Jackman in a helpful article you can read here.

As a young man in training for the ministry I found David’s article to well analysed some of the problems in some independent churches. Let’s be praying that the Lord of the Harvest will be raising up workers.

This is a post just to highlight an excellent website by the UCCF which I have not looked at for a while. It is called BeThinking.org and is full of excellent resources and articles, which seek to engage with culture and provide some answers. There are audio versions of most of the talks and also transcripts of some. Have a look…

This is a most intriguing article looking at the results of a survey on religious beliefs in Britain. Although it was based on a sample of only just over 1000 people, and so may not be statistically significant, the idea that over 40% of Muslims questioned thought that it was “important” that Britain should retain Christian values is surprising.

It also confirms a regular finding that although more than 2/3 of the people surveyed described themselves as “Christians” only 17% regularly went to church.

Read more here: Britons ‘back Christian society’

Good news for the Church of England with the arrival of the new Archbishop of York, John Sentamu. He is the first black Archbishop in the history of the Church of England, and there is a sense of expectation about what he may achieve under God. He will certainly present a lively contrast to the more reserved academic stlye of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

You can read his Inaugoral Sermon here - his agenda seems to be discipleship and practical outworking of the love of Jesus in our community. Something which I, for one, want to applaud.