Monthly Archives: May 2015

Minister Asked to Perform a Same-Sex Marriage

We have been ordaining ministers, rabbis and other clergy (both gay and straight) for decades as part of our church and seminary’s mission to provide compassionate, skilled, spiritually nurturing alternative clergy to every community.

ordained same-sex marriage perform officiate gay wedding LGBT minister clergyAlternative clergy is one thing, but what about alternative lifestyles? One of our recent ordained ministers asked what the Esoteric Interfaith Church’s policy is regarding gay marriage, aka same-sex marriage. He has been asked to officiate a same-sex wedding next month.

The church has always believed that ordination does not mean we control your every move, in fact we encourage autonomy and the founding of your own church. If you are asked to officiate a same-sex wedding in a state where it is legal, that is fine. As long as you are not breaking the laws of the land, you are in good standing with the church / seminary. But what about the laws of the Bible?, some have asked.

Doesn’t the Judeo-Christian Bible say homosexuality is an abomination? How can a church or synagogue allow gay marriages to be officiated and claim to follow the Bible?

Below are some links proving that the Bible does NOT condemn homosexuality, does not call it an abomination. As you read the proof, keep in mind these facts from the scientific and medical fields:

Some animal species have homosexual members (swans, wolves, penguins), proving it occurs naturally in God’s Creation.  Only 5 to 7% of humans are homosexual and this rareness leads to humanity’s complete misunderstanding of it.

Homosexuality sometimes runs in families, as LGBT people will tell you.  Science has proven it has genetic elements. Just google “gay gene”.

Teenagers and pre-teens who have never been sexually active realizing they’re gay when they constantly have crushes on members of their same gender proves humans are born with their sexual orientation. It is not a “learned” behavior.

Here are the links:

The Bible Does NOT Condemn Homosexuality
http://notalllikethat.org/taking-god-at-his-word-the-bible-and-homosexuality/

Six Reasons Why Christians Should Embrace Same-Sex Relationships
 
The Bible & Homosexuality on Wikipedia

 

PhD in Celtic & Anglo-Saxon Religious Studies, PhD in Spiritual Counseling

PhD in Spiritual Counseling degreeCustom PhD degree title for your degree diploma

One of our recently ordained ministers also needed a religious PhD degree via distance learning with credit for his life work, and he needed it for a specific spiritual niche in which he works. We do allow PhD candidates to “design” their degree title to match what they are doing in the field of spirituality. Sometimes it is very interesting the religious degrees they need, such as PhD in Vedic Studies, or Jewish Theology, or the unique degree diploma we conferred this week — PhD in Celtic & Anglo-Saxon Religious Studies.

Traditional PhD in Religious Studies or Religion

Many people just need the traditional PhD in Religious Studies or PhD in Religion, while some are doing spiritual or pastoral counseling and need a counseling degree.

PhD in Pastoral Counseling is similar to PhD in Spiritual Counseling

Many ordained clergy are doing a lot of spiritual and religious counseling, traditionally called “Pastoral Counseling”.  So the seminary often gets requests for a PhD in Pastoral Counseling in some countries called the DPC or Doctor of Pastoral Counseling. We also get requests for its more modern version, the PhD in Spiritual Counseling and sometimes a PhD in Christian Counseling. All of these seminary doctorate degrees entitle the recipient to be called a doctor and put Dr. in front of their name, just as the D.Div (Doctor of Divinity) and Th.D. (Doctor of Theology) allow.

Become a Rev. Dr.

And since we always ordain our degree graduates (unless they are already ordained as a minister, rabbi, or other clergy) the religious doctorate degree graduate may also be called a Rev. Dr., such as Rev. Dr. Jean Goddard.  Read all about that in our Seminary Doctorate Degree center.