Taiwan Church News 3222 Edition November 25 - December 1, 2013 Church Ministry News Issue On Gay Marriage, PCT Suggests More Rational Dialogue Reported by Lin Yi-ying Regarding the recent contentious bill, proposing to legalize a multi-parties family including gay marriage, many presbyteries strongly ask PCT General Assembly Office to announce their defying stance on this bill. As many local churches, with their believers, increasingly felt once this bill get passed the youth will be lead into the evil abyss and the family will be brought into a ruin, the pressure is now turned to PCT General Assembly asking for a public denouncement of this bill. Rev. Ng Tiat-gan, Director of PCT Research and Development Center, reiterated the conclusion of a PCT report about homosexuality in 2004. As that report deliberated from a comprehensive points of view, from medical, theological and sociological considerations, Ng stressed Taiwan churches need not overtly express approval or against homosexuality. Especially Taiwan church does not fully understand the complexity of homosexuality issue, too many unjustified sayings will only lead our judgement adrift from the track. Rev. Lyim Hong-tiong, PCT General Secretary, remarked that Taiwan churches need more rational dialogue on the homosexuality issue. When we do not fully understand the content of the bill, we should not express our denouncement to the stance or opinions different from us. Therefore, church should encourage more dialogues between different parties. And local church should respect the legal procedures of PCT. It is not appropriate to express for or against on this gay marriage issue hastily at the level of local church, before any resolution reached at the General Assembly. Translated by Peter Wolfe |