(OPINION) FaithWire – The Church of England caused a bit of a stir this week, reaffirming the mainstream Christian teaching that sex is for married, heterosexual couples. In a pastoral guidance issued in response to the recent introduction of mixed-sex civil partnerships in the U.K., the House of Bishops declared, “For Christians, marriage — that is, the lifelong union between a man and a woman, contracted with the making of vows — remains the proper context for sexual activity.”
“In its approach to civil partnerships, the Church seeks to uphold that standard, to affirm the value of committed, sexually-abstinent friendships and to minister sensitively and pastorally to those Christians who conscientiously decide to order their lives differently,” the guidance continued. The statement also acknowledged what is common Christian teaching on sexuality, reaffirming the belief that sexual activity outside heterosexual marriage should be “regarded as falling short of God’s purposes for human beings.”READ MORE
