What to Do After You Say "I Do": â€˜Husband and spouseâ€™ ditched in Kirkâ€™s marriage proposal

The Church of Scotland (CoS) is decided to debate radical new proposals that undermine the Bible's teaching on marriage.

Later this month, the Kirk's universal assembly will believe casting off references to "husband and wife" from Church legislation on marriage with the intention to accommodate equal-intercourse unions.

In 2018, the Church's annual assembly voted 345-one hundred seventy in favour of a motion instructing the Kirk's legal Questions Committee to put together legislations for the Church to host equal-intercourse marriages.

different assertion

present wording says "the parties covenant together to take each different as husband and wife so long as they both shall are living, and the minister announces the events to be husband and wife".

Now, although, the committee recommends the CoS dispense with the words "husband and wife". The proposed new wording says: "the events covenant together to take each different in marriage so long as they both shall reside, and the minister or deacon publicizes the events to be married".

The committee has cited that if its ideas had been adopted, it will enable Ministers and Deacons "who are looking to achieve this to be nominated to solemnise same intercourse marriage ceremonies".

legal action feared

Following the preliminary determination of the CoS to plot for identical-sex unions, church leaders who supported the biblical definition of marriage feared that they – or their congregants – would face prison threats if they refused to participate in such ceremonies.

offering the new proposals for consideration, the convener of the committee claimed that "no-one who doesn't want to be concerned within the occasion of identical sex marriage will likely be required to accomplish that".

however, in an accompanying prison opinion to the amendments, the Procurator to the usual meeting Laura Dunlop QC highlighted the skills battle "between conscience-primarily based objection and the rights of those that are looking to marry". She observed: "At some aspect, a line is crossed".

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