It is amazing to me that the C of E does not see the hypocritical double standard implicit in the idea of encouraging congregations to receive their LGBTQ members “unreservedly and joyfully” while refusing to sanctify their relationships as being equally valid and blessed by God as those of any heterosexual couple. It strikes me as a tired resurrection of the idea of “separate but equal” as the standard for race relations 60 years ago or a disingenuous endorsement of the attitude of many evangelicals to “love the sinner, but hate the sin.” Last I looked, unreservedly still means “completely, without doubts or reservations.” And joyfully is to be brimming with happiness. For those affected by the double standard, they rightfully feel rejected and excluded, the exact opposite of the superficially encouraging position adopted by the C of E.

After 6 years, the best the Anglican Communion can do is come up with a logically inconsistent policy that implicitly continues to legitimize their bigotry while appearing to be accepting and righteous? I wonder what Jesus would have thought about all of this. Oh, that’s right, he saved his strongest criticism for the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Time for all the clerics to take a refresher course on the message of unconditional love which is the foundation of the Gospels.