Bishop Gene Robinson Warns of Spiritual Arrogance Towards Homosexuals
Gene Robinson, the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop, conducted an adult faith forum Sunday at the Episcopal Church of the Advent in Louisville, KY.
The Episcopal Church orchestrated an adult faith forum to discuss issues surrounding homosexuality and its role in Christianity on Sunday.
Bishop V. Gene Robinson, ordained in 2004 as an openly homosexual clergyman, spoke to a group of 50 people about the importance of heterosexuals avoiding the adoption of superior attitudes towards gay Christians.
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“I know Jesus to be the son of God, but what a small, limited God we would have if that was the only manifestation.” Robinson said. “I think Christians should stay away from spiritual arrogance and show more love, mercy and zeal for justice.”
Although Robinson married a woman in 1972 and had two daughters with her, he later divorced and openly admitted his homosexuality in the 1980s. In 1988, Robinson met and moved in with his homosexual life partner Mark Andrew.
After being elected to become bishop in the Diocese of New Hampshire in 2003, Robinson received death threats. Although he was later granted the position, Robinson spoke to the Episcopal Church of the Advent in Louisville about the trying times that God helped him overcome.
“I just knew my life in the church was over,” he said. “At that time there was no openly gay person serving at my diocese. But I felt God calling me to out, and God was there every step of the way.”
Bishop Harry Jackson Jr., a board member of the National Association of Evangelicals, spoke to National Public Radio about the impact of creating equal platforms for homosexual and heterosexual lifestyles.
“Should we, in elementary school level, have ‘Heather has two mommies’ being taught? Because once gay marriage is passed in a state, then you've got to say we put these two different kinds of marriages on an equilibrium kind of basis,” Jason said. “I believe for some it will begin to influence how children think, not in terms of discrimination, but in terms of maybe just the whole idea of maybe this is a valid path for them. And our scriptures tell us we should not really be moving in that way.”
Although Jackson said he did not agree with the discrimination of homosexuals, he does believe some type of spiritual accountability should take place.
“Nobody wants anybody to be discriminated against or hurt, in terms of employment or any of those kinds of things. I think in many places, the legal issues are settled,” he said. “The moral issues still remain. I still believe that spiritually we're dealing with whether we're going to inculcate a pro-gay lifestyle culture.”
