The End of the Church of Scotland?
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Here’s a very sobering analysis of the state of the Church of Scotland. (13 minutes, from Ready to Harvest on YouTube.)
It’s a reminder of what happens when a denomination tries to be just like the culture around it – and ends up with nothing to offer.
Church of Scotland ready to approve same-sex marriage as General Assembly starts
“The Church of Scotland’s General Assembly starts today with a vote on same-sex marriages, a call for a conversion therapy ban and the confirmation of a Declaration of Friendship with the Catholic Church in Scotland as the main points on the agenda. …”
– Report from Premier Christian News, Saturday 21 May 2022.
Earlier stories on the Church of Scotland.
Photo: Church of Scotland.
Departing from orthodoxy: what it was like to split from the Church of Scotland
At The Australian Church Record, Matt Baines speaks with Peter Dickson, Scotland Team Leader of the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, about his 2011 decision to leave the Church of Scotland.
“Leaving the Church of Scotland was a prolonged process. … there were three years of negotiations, discussions, church courts, decisions meetings and correspondence which led to our leaving, finally, in 2011. …
It was a transition of immense upheaval but one in which people’s ultimate allegiances and beliefs came to the fore.”
You can read the full conversation here – and please do remember to pray for the salvation of many in Scotland.
Church of Scotland to moves toward conducting same-sex weddings
“The Church of Scotland has moved a step closer to allowing some Ministers and Deacons to conduct same-sex marriages in the future.
The General Assembly voted 345 by 170 to instruct the Legal Questions Committee to prepare legislation with safeguards in accordance with Section 9 (1A) of the Marriage Scotland Act. …”
– Report and image from The Church of Scotland.
Related:
- Earlier posts.
- Church of Scotland votes in favour of same-sex marriages – The National.
The Secularisation of the Church of Scotland
“Much to no-one’s surprise, the Church of Scotland General Assembly has just voted to accept the Theological Forum’s report which changes the Churches definition of marriage to include same sex marriages and to apologise to gay people for their previous understanding.
I know there are various caveats and nuances but that is the reality of what has just happened – and although some will say ‘its not over’ – in the eyes of the Kirk, it’s a done deal.
One of the devil’s greatest tricks is that he loves to sow confusion and doubt, and thereby cause division. Yesterday was a great example of that. …”
– At The Wee Flea, David Robertson in Dundee looks what the Church of Scotland General Assembly’s decisions really mean.
Church of Scotland Assembly agrees on apology to gay people
“The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has approved an apology to gay people for the history of discrimination they have faced in the Church.
Commissioners also approved a report which could pave the way to allow some ministers to conduct same sex marriages in the future. …
Professor Torrance told commissioners that the Church’s journey on the issue had parallels with the one it has taken on the ordination of women in the 1960s.”
– Report from The Church of Scotland. Photo credit: Church of Scotland.
Church of Scotland votes to allow ministers to be in same-sex marriages
“The Church of Scotland’s highest law-making body has voted to allow its ministers to be in same-sex marriages.
The church’s general assembly, which opened in Edinburgh on Saturday, voted in favour of extending a law passed last May that permits ministers to be in same-sex civil partnerships.
The decision, after years of deliberation, means the church maintains the traditional view marriage as between a man and woman, but allows individual congregations to ‘opt out’ if they wish to appoint a minister or deacon in a same-sex marriage or civil partnership…”
– Story from The Guardian. (Photo credit: Church of Scotland.)
Related (from June 2012): St. George’s Tron, Glasgow, secedes from Church of Scotland.
“We believe the Church of Scotland is choosing to walk away from the biblical gospel, and to walk apart from the faith of the worldwide Christian Church.”
Liberalism and the Church of Scotland
David Robertson, minister of St. Peter’s Free Church in Dundee, has been reflecting on the direction of the Church of Scotland. (Ten Reasons Why the Church of Scotland is in Decline – March 20, 2015.)
As a result, he was recently invited to take part in a public conversation with a prominent Church of Scotland minister.
The full transcript of the only recording (mp3 file) is both disturbing in what it reveals of classic liberalism, and most encouraging in David’s example in speaking the truth.
More congregations leave the Church of Scotland
“Two of the wealthiest Church of Scotland congregations are quitting the Kirk just weeks before the General Assembly over the issue of gay ordination. The move is a new cash blow with the two congregations contributing £315,000 between them to the Church…”
– Report from The Herald Scotland.
Church of Scotland claims ‘common ground’ in sexuality debate
“The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in a groundbreaking decision called for the Church to maintain its historic doctrine in relation to human sexuality but, in line with the Kirk’s historic position of allowing congregations to call their own minister, to permit an individual Kirk Session to call a minister in a civil partnership if it chooses to do so. The Legal Questions Committee and the Theological Forum will bring reports to next year’s General Assembly about how this will be achieved. In the meantime courts and committees of the General Assembly will maintain the status quo. …”
– This report from the Church of Scotland’s General Assembly claims ‘common ground’ in continuing to allow congregations to ignore its own official doctrine.
Related: Church of Scotland votes to allow gay ministers – The Scotsman.
Earlier stories – including:
“We believe the Church of Scotland is choosing to walk away from the biblical gospel, and to walk apart from the faith of the worldwide Christian Church.” – St. George’s Tron, Glasgow, secedes from Church of Scotland (June 2012).
St George’s Tron last Sunday in Church of Scotland
“The congregation of a Glasgow church has held its final service before leaving the Church of Scotland. …”
St. George’s Tron, Glasgow, secedes from Church of Scotland
News from Scotland:
The Rev Dr William Philip, minister of the 500 strong congregation based in Buchanan St, Glasgow, said: “Our decision to separate from the Church of Scotland is the culmination of careful thought, sincere discussion and prayer for over 12 months… We believe the Church of Scotland is choosing to walk away from the biblical gospel, and to walk apart from the faith of the worldwide Christian Church.”
Full statement from St. George’s Tron below: Read more
Church of Scotland General Assembly upholds homosexual minister
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has voted in support of the appointment of a gay priest. Reverend Scott Rennie was appointed to a congregation in Aberdeen despite thousands of church-goers signing a petition opposing the move.
– Story from ABC News. More from Ekklesia.
(Photo: Church of Scotland.) Earlier story here.
The evangelical church in Scotland: An interview with Matt Baines
“Matt Baines is originally from Sydney where he has been working as an assistant minister at Minchinbury Anglican Church until August this year, when he and his family moved to Edinburgh.
Here, Matt shares with us some of his early reflections on the evangelical church in Scotland. …”
– Read his initial reflections at The Australian Church Record.
Building Healthy Churches: 9 Marks in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Last week, Mark Dever, Mike Gilbart-Smith and Colin Adams (who runs Unashamed Workman), spoke at the 9Marks Conference in Ballymena, Northern Ireland.
The audio has been posted online and will be there for 60 days.
Last weekend, Mark Dever spoke at another 9Marks conference – this one in Scotland. That audio is now online on the website of Charlotte Chapel, Edinburgh.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…