|
MONTGOMERY,
Ala.
(AP)
—
State
Rep.
Alvin
Holmes
has
found
plenty
of
people
who
want
to
challenge
his
claim
that
the
Bible
does
not
define
marriage
as
being
between
a
man
and
a
woman.
During
debate
on
the
House
floor
over
a
proposed
constitutional
amendment
to
ban
same-sex
marriages,
Holmes
(D-Montgomery)
pulled
a
wad
of
money
out
of
his
pocket
and
offered
$700
to
anyone
who
could
find
a
Bible
verse
defining
marriage
as
being
between
a
man
and
a
woman.
The
House
has
since
received
dozens
of
calls
from
people
wanting
to
point
out
Bible
verses
to
Holmes,
and
one
person
left
a
Bible
for
him.
But
Holmes,
who
has
upped
the
offer
to
$5,000,
said
no
one
has
shown
him
a
verse
that
specifically
says
marriage
is
between
a
man
and
a
woman
and
his
money
is
still
in
his
pocket.
He
said
he
has
received
quotations
of
various
verses
from
Genesis,
Deuteronomy
and
other
Bible
books
referring
to
a
man
and
his
wife
or
a
husband
and
his
wife,
but
none
that
specifically
refer
to
a
man
and
a
woman.
NEW
BRUNSWICK,
N.J.
(AP)
—
The
New
Brunswick
Theological
Seminary
has
ousted
its
president
and
reprimanded
him
for
officiating
at
his
gay
daughter’s
wedding.
Rev.
Norman
Kansfield,
64,
performed
the
ceremony
in
Massachusetts,
which
last
year
became
the
first
state
to
sanction
same-sex
marriage.
He
could
face
a
church
trial
later
this
year.
In
a
letter
sent
shortly
before
the
June
19
wedding,
Kansfield
informed
the
board
of
his
decision
to
officiate,
and
said
he
wasn’t
seeking
its
permission.
His
daughter,
Anne,
married
her
partner,
Jennifer
Aull.
The
board
voted
Jan.
28
not
to
renew
Kansfield’s
contract.
“We
decided
that
the
president
had
put
the
seminary
in
an
awkward
position
by
performing
that
ceremony
without
giving
us
the
benefit
of
offering
sufficient
counsel,”
Rev.
Larry
Williams
Sr.,
a
board
member,
told
the
Star-Ledger
of
Newark
in
a
story
published
Feb.
11.
HAMILTON,
Mass.
(AP)
—
Recognizing
that
many
Americans
worry
about
their
influence
following
President
Bush’s
re-election,
evangelicals
are
saying
that
they
have
been
misunderstood
and
—
in
some
ways
—
remain
underdogs
in
a
nation
they
consider
hostile
to
public
talk
about
faith.
The
image
of
evangelicals
is
a
key
element
in
an
ongoing
series
of
conferences
in
Washington
and
other
cities
explaining
the
movement;
the
first
meeting
was
held
last
week
at
Gordon-Conwell
Theological
Seminary
outside
Boston.
While
people
outside
the
evangelical
movement
often
view
it
as
monolithic,
major
divisions
exist,
including
disagreement
over
which
moral
and
public
policy
issues
should
be
paramount.
Some
speakers
said
evangelicals
too
closely
align
themselves
with
Republicans
and
focus
too
much
on
abortion
and
gay
marriage,
instead
of
broad
social
concerns.
TORONTO
—
The
Muslim
Canadian
Congress
of
Toronto
this
month
endorsed
Canada’s
same-sex
marriage
legislation,
according
to
Xtra,
a
Toronto
lesbian
and
gay
biweekly.
Group
President
Rizwana
Jafri
said
Muslims
count
on
the
Canadian
Charter
Of
Rights
And
Freedoms
to
protect
their
rights
and
those
rights
should
be
extended
to
sexual
minorities,
Xtra
reported.
“It
is
incumbent
upon
us,
as
a
minority,
to
stand
in
solidarity
with
Canada’s
gays
and
lesbians
despite
the
fact
that
many
in
our
community
believe
our
religion
does
not
condone
homosexuality,”
Jafri
told
reporters
at
an
Ottawa
news
conference.
“This
legislation
is
...
is
about
fundamental
and
universal
human
rights
that
are
a
guarantee
that
all
Canadians,
irrespective
of
their
religious
or
ethnic
background,
feel
part
of
the
same
family.
While
within
this
family
we
may
agree
to
disagree
we
must
respect
each
other
and
treat
others
with
dignity
that
is
a
hallmark
of
a
civil
society.”
AUSTIN
(AP)
—
A
new
report
says
giving
by
local
dioceses
to
the
national
Episcopal
Church
dropped
roughly
$4
million
last
year
—
about
a
12
percent
decline
in
the
first
full
year
after
the
denomination
confirmed
its
only
openly
gay
bishop.
When
final
tallies
are
complete,
church
officials
expect
$27.5
million
in
donations
from
local
dioceses
for
2004,
down
from
$31.2
million
in
2003,
according
to
a
report
given
to
a
key
church
governing
body
Feb.
11.
Through
Nov.
30,
the
denomination
had
received
$22.6
million
from
dioceses,
the
report
said.
Final
figures
were
not
available
because
December
contributions
have
not
been
fully
tabulated.
 |
 |
| The
following comments were posted by our readers and were
not edited by floridablade.com. We ask that you
treat others with respect; any post deemed offensive will
be removed. |
|
|
