What I love about believing in a living God is that I believe God is constantly revealing God's self to us over time, and with each succeeding generation, we come a little closer to understanding the mind of God.
— Gene Robinson
Historically speaking, institutions are slow to change and usually resistant to any sudden moves - churches especially so.
But by virtue of our baptism, Peter Akinola and I are brothers in Christ and one day we are going to be in heaven together, so we might as well learn to get along here because we will have to get along there. God won't have it any other way.
Discerning the will of God is a very tricky thing, partly because, you know, the little voice in my head can either be God's voice or it can be my own ego doing a magnificent impression of God's voice.
I will always speak out when someone says that a principle or a rule or a tradition trumps people.
The truly longstanding tradition in the church is that some are called to celibacy. Some feel called to it. But the church has never supported that celibacy be mandated for someone not called to it. It's never imposed on someone.
One of the joys of being a Christian or being a person of faith is that you believe deep down that death isn't the worst thing, you know. Not living your life: that's the worst thing. And death is not, it's not all it's cracked up to be. It's not, it's not the end of the world.
The bees learn where they live by landmarks. If they're moved within their home range, they get confused.
There are enormously gifted Episcopal priests around this church who are gay and lesbian, some of whom are partnered, who would make wonderful bishops and they're going to be nominated and they're going to be elected.
Faith is a dynamic and ever-changing process, not some fixed body of truth that exists outside our world and our understanding. God's truth may be fixed and unchanging, but our comprehension of that truth will always be partial and flawed at best.
It seems to me that if God calls us to anything it's to a life of integrity.
God calls all of his children to the table. We can disagree and even say a lot of hateful things, but what we can't do in good conscience is leave the table. Or demand that someone else not be at the table.
And God is always calling me to open myself to all kinds of people that I've never thought about before and also calling me on this inward spiritual journey.
When you claim to have the truth, as opposed to the truth as you perceive it, then you move us toward a theocratic view of government.
Stability is why society has an interest in marriage.
You know, we live in a time when if somebody wants to kill you, they're going to kill you, and you can either go in a hole and, you know, pull the roof in over you, or you just continue putting one foot in front of the other and hope that you're doing some good in the world.
It's not about me. It's about not having to be ashamed.
Sometimes there are things worth risking your life for. It was Jesus who said if you want to save your life, you have to lose it.
Left to our own devices and passions, we human beings have a hard time seeing beyond what is immediately in front of us.
I think there's a terrible price to be paid when your exterior life is not an honest reflection of your interior life.
Only God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. The Church has always been changing.
You know, I think Jesus was famous and also in a lot of trouble because he always chose people over sort of established procedures.
The state's interest in marriage is stability. Generally speaking, polygamy does not work for stability. Inherent in the whole polygamous movement is a deep and abiding misogyny and denigration of women. So polygamy is objectionable on lots of grounds.
I think people often come to the synagogue, mosque, the church looking for God, and what we give them is religion.
I've long been really intrigued with what is the... proper role of faith and religion in public life.
I think my election is one of several indications that gay and lesbian folk are being brought more into the center of things. I'd like to think that my election signals my bringing of gay and lesbian folk into the center of the church.
If indeed this is the work of God... then it's a crisis that calls for the church to be its very best self, and not worry about risking itself for the right thing.
