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Bell backs gay marriage

by
22 March 2013

by Roberta Miller

THE Revd Rob Bell, an author and former pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church ( Features, 5 August 2011), spoke in support of same-sex marriage on Sunday.

At Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, Mr Bell said: "I am for marriage. I am for fidelity. I am for love, whether it's a man and a woman, a woman and a woman, a man and a man. I think the ship has sailed. . . This is the world we are living in, and we need to affirm people wherever they are.

"I think we are witnessing the death of a particular [Evangelical] subculture that doesn't work. . . You sort of die or you adapt; and if you adapt, it means you have to come face to face with some of the ways we've talked about God, which don't actually shape people into more loving, compassionate people."

Mr Bell was speaking on a tour to promote his new book, What We Talk About When We Talk About God (HarperOne). He is scheduled to speak in London on 15 April; in Manchester on 16 April; and in Edinburgh on 17 April.

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