Marriage equality

I read from renowned legal scholar Cass Sunstein that:

“When people end up in enclaves of like-minded people, they usually move toward a more extreme point in the direction to which the group's members were originally inclined. Enclave extremism is a special case of the broader phenomenon of group polarization, which ... occurs as groups adopt a more extreme version of whatever view is antecedently favored by their members.”

This is why you will find that my blogroll and my webblog reading pulls from a diverse bunch both spiritually and theologically. Where the iron sharpens iron, the iron must be different from that which it sharpens - there are 14 known isotopes of iron, there is a myriad of theological make-ups.

Due to my recent travels and a desire to keep abreast of occurrences in dioceses where I am making relationships, I seek to read a range of reactions to New York's latest bill which passes Marriage Equality.

There is much in Bishop Singh's facebook comment that I resonate with, particularly that he wants to 'celebrate the ... affirmation of the human rights of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender persons.'' Also his wanting to 'celebrate what our baptismal identity affirms as God given: the human dignity of a community that has been overtly and covertly ostracized and often treated as less than others.' 

I am interested in his statement that the 'Equal Marriage Act gives faith traditions like mine the ability to transparently enrich the definition of marriage.'

I wonder what 'enrichment' might look like now and in the future, how it will provoke reaction around the communion and what we are still to learn from one another both about marriage and how our grappling with what is it will effect societies, families and the ways we read scripture, our relationships with one another and the common good. 

He has an interesting and nuanced turn of phrase here: We will use the lenses of human dignity and loving kindness to live into a new normal where all adult lifelong-loving-commitments are treated as they should be: Holy. 

I spin off from the context here to wonder about the lenses through which we view any issue and how all over the communion, it is that in using various lenses that we cause as much angst as fruit and is testimony to the diversity that has always been held dear by Anglicans. I wonder if his definition about 'all adult lifelong-loving commitments' needs tightening up a bit - is it too wide but then I think we take it as read that we know what he means.

There is to be a recognition of (to use the language of those who can not accept the ordained/ episcopal leadership of women), those who 'cannot with integrity' bless the civil marriages of LGBT in that 'no priest will be forced to bless the civil marriage of the LGBT parishioners.'

I am aware that there is bound to be a range of reaction to his proposal that, 

'Marriage Equality takes us closer to our pursuit of a more wholesome society.'

And for reaction to these issues read:

Episcopal Cafe

Anglican Mainstream (who are not really mainstream, of course)

Father Tobias has interesting stuff to say about the Roman Catholic reaction

 - oops - got to get up Sat am, will update when there are more links to post tonight