Defending classic marriage — Synod speeches

Posted on October 15, 2015 
Filed under Resources, Sydney Diocese

Canon Sandy GrantCanon Sandy Grant moved, and Mrs Tara Sing seconded, the motion “Affirmation of marriage as between a man and a woman” at Sydney Synod on Wednesday 14th October 2015.

The text of Sandy’s speech is now available as a 115kb PDF file, with links to useful resources, and the final form of the resolution, as it was passed, at the end.

Mrs Tara Sing’s speech seconding the motion is below –

“As we approach this discussion, I want to recognise that this is a deeply personal issue. Our world has intertwined sexuality and identity, so as we discuss LGBTI issues, we need to keep in mind that at the heart of these issues are two core questions, who am I, and am I worthy of love?

As Christians, in light of the gospel, we can answer these questions. We are all people lovingly created by God to live in the world he has designed. And because of who we are, the second question then changes from ‘am I worthy of love’ to ‘how do I live, and how do I love, knowing who I am?’ It is to Jesus we must always turn, because at the cross we find fully the answers to these questions. Through his glorious death and resurrection, we see all things in their rightful place, including sexuality. We see sexuality in its true context, as an expression of our relationship to Christ and our dependency on him.

But we have not always communicated this well and so we need to resolve to address this discussion with sensitivity and grace, grounded in the gospel. The solution is not to shy away from speaking up, or to stray from the integrity of the gospel. As pressure mounts to turn from God’s word, we must cling to the cross as we engage with the world.

We must never condone violence against or mistreatment of those who identify as gay or lesbian, but must always act in love towards them.

We must always share God’s word with them, therefore we need to call on all Australian Christians to engage respectfully in the debate over marriage and to pray for the members of the Federal Parliament in their consideration of this matter. If we do not, what will our silence say?

In a world where definitions are fluid, we need to affirm the biblical definition of marriage. that marriage is, as a gift from God who made us male and female, is the Union of a man and woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.

And we need to affirm this in both our churches and our communities. One way we can do this is to urge the Federal Parliament to uphold the classical understanding of marriage as being between a man and a woman, in accordance with current provisions of the Marriage Act of 1961.

The world is at odds with God. the preaching and teaching of Gods word may and has caused offence in the past. So we must always aim to conduct ourselves in a way that shows grace and compassion to all. But if and when people are offended, may it be only because of the message we preach and not the manner in which we speak it. Because when we don’t speak out of fear of causing offence, what are we really saying to the world about God and the integrity of his word?

Brothers and sisters, let’s graciously join this discussion. If we pass this motion tonight, this is one way together as a synod we speak up. So I urge you to vote in favour of this motion.”

________