Marriage, Same-sex Marriage and the Anglican Church of Australia

In September 2017 members of General Synod meeting in Maroochydore, Queensland passed a motion asking Standing Committee to ‘facilitate a respectful conversation in our church by means of a collection of essays on marriage and same-sex relationships that explore scriptural and theological issues relating to

A.

The doctrine of marriage expressed in the formularies of the Anglican Church of Australia

B.

Our current Australian context exploring the relationship between the state’s definition of marriage and the church’s doctrine of marriage

C.

Key Old Testament and New Testament texts on sex, marriage and friendship

D.

Scripture and hermeneutics

E.

A theology of blessing

F.

A theology of desire

G.

Godly disagreement on this issue

H.

The cases for and against same-sex marriage and/or the blessing of same-sex unions.’

This book is part of an ongoing conversation. Doctrine Commission members have found this as much a listening process as the articulation of ideas. We hope that the many people who are looking for careful ethical consideration about same sex marriage will find this book helpful.