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Comment > Letters to the editor >

Sex outside marriage in Suffolk

Posted: 02 Nov 2006 @ 00:00

Sir, - The Bishop of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich has got it wrong. He is reported as saying that gay clerics are among the best we have, and that he is daily thankful for them ( News, 30 December). I presume he is referring to the work they do.

The work they do is, however, of no avail if they are leading lives that the Bible teaches are immoral. Two qualities required for the priesthood are purity and holiness of life. Clergy have to set an example to everyone else by word and deed.

It is no good the Bishop urging people to accept gay clergy, because the majority will not; for they know that there is only one place for sexual activity, and that is within marriage. I would remind the Bishop that marriage is the union of one man with one woman to the exclusion of all other until death them do part. The Bible says that sex outside marriage is sin. Homosexual practice is unnatural, and runs counter to God's creation ordinance.

The Bishop also has to remember that it is the duty of the Church to lift people up to Christ's standards and teaching, and not be dragged down by the world.
MARGARET BROWN
Luckhurst, Mayfield TN20 6TY

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