The Church of Scotland is still under fire after its decision to accept ministers who have gay relationships.
The conservative leaning Presbyterian Church in Ireland is uneasy about the liberal move. Traditionally the Presbyterians are allied with The Kirk, which recently voted 351 to 294 to lift the ban on gay clergy.
The next day the Scotsman newspaper seemed to reflect a note of public understanding “It was a long and understandably passionate debate, but finally last night the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland voted to allow presbyteries across the country to choose gay or lesbian ministers”.
Yet the moderator of the Church of Scotland Rev. David Arnott was weary of The Scotsman’s interpretation of events. He told his Irish counterparts that the issue was up for wider theological debate and the Church would need to re-evaluate the matter at a later date.
Rev. Dr Norman Hamilton, soon to leave his position as moderator and not an advocate of the move himself, stated some positives in a revealing report of his visit to the Kirk assembly.
“Those who are advocating this latter position included one minister who spoke warmly of the contribution that bisexuals and those who are transgendered can make to Christian ministry, whilst another spoke of how the Bible had been shown up to be wrong in the past and that we now know better.”
