Have you ever questioned your faith or had doubts whether you are right about sexuality? (For what TFT believes, see our Basis).Those of us who hold to biblical teaching on sexuality are increasingly out of step with the culture. We can also find ourselves at odds with some who identify as Christians.

It can feel as though we are caught in the cross fire and that is hard. 

I was sitting in the public gallery of Church House on 15th November last year. As the afternoon session closed, bringing another cycle of LLF(Living in Life and Faith) debates to an end, I caught the eye of the lady sitting to my right. We silently shook our heads at each other in polite and pained disappointment at what had happened. Giving a look around the circular hall, she said, “I can’t feel Jesus here anywhere. I just don’t know where He is.”

One of the recent open day lectures run by Oak Hill Theological College, was on the theme of pornography. This was given by Robin Barfield, a children’s and youth worker. 

I grew up in a Christian home. My Mum is a Spirit-filled, born-again believer of Christ, and brought up my sister and I to attend church and Sunday school. My Dad left my Mum under quite heart-breaking circumstances when I was just 2 and moved about 30 miles away. We usually saw him at the weekend. He and Mum had been elders at a local Church of England, but upon his sudden departure, Mum felt unable to return to church.

Many same-sex attracted Christians feel that respecting God’s design for marriage means that they have to sacrifice their desire for a same-sex partner. I was challenged recently with the question of whether giving up a sinful relationship really can be counted as a sacrifice. Is it not merely an act of obedience?
 

In this conversation, Ruth talks with Ros Clarke about how she uses art and craft to consider matters of sexuality, celibacy and singleness. She explores how art has been a way of bringing a message of biblical truth about sexuality to the church.

The strapline for the Methodist Marriage and Relationship task group was ‘God in Love Unites Us’. Like many other denominations, Methodism has come to question the long accepted and understood definition that marriage is between one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others for life. This revisionist backdrop increasingly sees a traditional stance as outdated, unjust - unfair even for a modern and progressive society.

The title of this article was spoken by a pastor of mine many years ago. She was summing up a dozen or so scriptures on the topic of making our election sure, and what a powerful word-picture this statement brings to mind! As Christians, we’ve been called out—we are God’s ekklesia, his representatives on earth. Even so, how strong is the lure to take on the various hues of the world and literally blend back in—just like a salamander.

Stuart: We're going to be looking at what would happen if someone’s considering leaving their church or denomination because the leadership's departed from orthodox teaching. Do you have any general thoughts on this?

Ed: I'm part of the Church of England that is in the process of walking away from orthodoxy. My local church is my family. I’m the third generation of my family to work in an Anglican church. I’ve given the last 25 years of my life to serving churches.  
Leaving church is a big deal