I've usually considered my self at least semi-religious, although people tell me I fall into the Agnostic group. I believe in God, full heatedly but I don't agree with many things the Church has done though out my lifetime. Gay marriage is the biggest one, I'm strongly pro gay marriage despite the Christian Church's typical stance to the situation. For this, and other reasons, I've stopped going to church at all. Anyhow, I'm a senior in high school and two of the girls here are dating each other, the thing that hit me is that they seemed more devoted to each other than any of the other straight couples. Also, it was the intent of God's word to inspire love, peace, and happiness in people, these two obviously truly loved each other, and they were happy and so was everyone around them, so I don't see a reason why they shouldn't be married. I know all about the scripture that says that a man that lays with another man as he would a women is a sinner, but over the years taking Bible History classes, I've seen how time and time again the Bible has gotten warped for political reasons, this was one such example, I don't feel like typing a research page right now to prove my point. If you can ask "why" about a scripture and not be able to come up with any modern, relevant answer or reason, that scripture no longer has any modern bearing on our lives and isn't a necessity to follow. Anyhow, I've watched debates go back and forth, and the fact that some continue to use the term "redefine marriage" or "protect the sanctity of marriage" sickens me. God's word has not been passed down this many years to take a chance at happiness away from people. Anyhow, I've seen that things will never settle so long as the church is forced to preform marriages for gay couples or not, thus last night a solution hit my like a ten ton weight. Why couldn't a church be formed that would preform marriages for gay couples, a church that takes a moderate, modern view to the Bible? I don't see a reason why it wouldn't work
it's not for want of religious organizations which would be down with it (there are a few now, even), but because of religious discrimination interfering with the state, by which any gay marrying church would not receive the marriage licenses to issue to gay couples.
do you care if your newfound church would be labeled as heretical or not?
Isn't gay marriage legal in Massachusetts?
That and I think the Presbytyrians are more tolerant of gays.
Presbyterians are actually the more conservative denominations, if anything the only denomination i know of that announced support for gay marriage were the anglicans, and even then it was only the episcopal diocese of new hampshire or something like that
Well if memory serves some church had ordained a gay bishop, so surely they would allow gay marriage?
Only within that group and within that church that allows gay marriage. It would probably be better if the OP were to join a pre-existing church group that does not frown on gay marriage.
Well, from what I understand the states of Connecticut and Massachusetts allow same sex marriages and soon the states of Iowa and Vermont will to.
Your new church won't make a difference. Egyptian pharohs married their sisters to keep their holy blood pure, but you don't see anyone in the US allowing that just because some religion demanded it. Mormons married as many women as they could find (and still do...), but you don't see anyone in the US allowing that just because some religion said so.
I suspect that as soon as you try to claim that you should be allowed to marry because your church said so, the bible thumpers in power will backpedal on their theocracy and insist on "seperation of church and state"... just like they always do, whenever it makes the theocrats look bad.