22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
THE Church of Scotland made the historic move last night of breaking away from hundreds of years of tradition by voting to consider allowing openly gay people to become ministers.
The vote came at the end of a long and passionate debate at the General Assembly in Edinburgh.
Members also moved to allow ministers and deacons who were in same-sex relationships before 2009 to remain in the church and move parishes if they so wished.
The vote followed six-and-a-half hours of discussion on the Same-Sex Relationships and Ministry report that was delivered by a special commission set up in 2009, in the wake of a debate over whether the openly gay minister Scott Rennie should be allowed to be appointed to Queen's Cross Church in Aberdeen.
In the end, the Assembly voted by 351 to 294 to "consider further the lifting of the moratorium on acceptance for training and ordination of persons in a same-sex relationship".
A theological commission was also instructed to prepare a report on the theological and practical applications of taking such a move and report back to the Assembly in 2013.
The result throws up the prospect of a schism within the Church as traditionalists could abandon the Kirk for moving away from what they believe is "scriptural truth".
The commission's report set out the potential repercussions of a move in the direction of a progressive stance.
The scotsman
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