Evangelical seminary ‘wishy washy’ claim
Emily Pollok
Fuller Seminary, one of the largest evangelical seminaries in the US, is making waves in the evangelical Christian community after reaffirming the school’s historic position on marriage while leaving room for Christians to have other beliefs.
“After several years of consultation, feedback and dialogue, the Board of Trustees reconfirmed the institution’s commitment to its historic theological understanding of marriage and human sexuality – a union between a man and a woman and sexual intimacy within the context of that union,” said Presidential Chair David Emmanuel Goatley in a statement on Fuller’s website. “At the same time, we acknowledge that faithful Christians – through prayerful study, spiritual discernment, and lived experience – have come to affirm other covenantal forms of relationship.”
culture watch
Pride month: Is culture telling more of the Beautiful Story?
Rebecca Chapman
June has been Pride month – a global series of gatherings, begun as a march in the 1970s, that celebrate LGBTQ+ rights.
Interestingly, there have been articles this year suggesting that just perhaps we are starting to reach “the end of the rainbow” – some Reform-led councils have taken down Pride flags from their municipal properties. There are reports that Whitehall has banned civil servants from buying Pride lanyards.
Landmark win for Darlington Nurses
en staff
Eight pioneering nurses who formed their own union to defend the rights of women “have won a landmark battle for a female-only changing room,” website dailymail.co.uk reports.
“The Darlington nurses launched a legal action saying transgender policies put them at risk, deprived them of dignity and breached their human rights,” according to the Daily Mail.
Today’s church gender debates must be re-centred on Christ
Over the past year, the Church of England has spent considerable time engaging in cultural debates about sex and gender identity. Yet across these discussions, one question remains strikingly absent – as shown by the Living in Love and Faith process, and Sarah Mullally’s appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury: what do these debates have to do with Christ and His relationship to His church as the fulfilment of creation?
Most public arguments about women in ministry, church order, or gender identity, tend to revolve around three familiar questions: the interpretation of key Biblical texts, the role of historical-cultural context, and whether individuals possess the relevant gifts or capacities. Those are not trivial issues. But they are not where Paul begins.