Lutheran group addresses marriage issue in committee report Thursday, March 20, 2008
NEW YORK (AP) — A task force drafting a statement on sexual orientation for the nation's largest Lutheran group said last week that the church should continue defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
However, the panel did not condemn same-gender relationships. The committee expressed regret that historic Lutheran teachings have been used to hurt gays and lesbians, and acknowledged that some congregations already accept same-sex couples. The report released by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is part of the denomination's years-long effort to bridge internal differences over the Bible and homosexuality. The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, a separate, smaller group, is theologically conservative, and teaches that same-gender relationships violate scripture.
Called a "Draft Social Statement on Human Sexuality," the report is a wide-ranging study of Christian views on sexual morality, premarital sex, domestic abuse and families. But the most anticipated part of the document was whether the task force would recommend equal standing for gay and heterosexual couples in the 4.8 million-member church.
Next year, the panel will decide whether to suggest changes in current clergy standards that bar gays and lesbians from being ordained if they are sexually active. The document released March 13 repeatedly states that sexual intimacy should be reserved for married couples, and condemns sex for personal gratification alone.
