Methodism's Pyrrhic Victory

I can’t say I was reeling from shock. The British Methodist Conference has finally approved of same-sex marriage, something they have been discussing for some time. I wrote about it back in 2019, correctly predicting the outcome and the token nods to evangelical conscience. One minister cooed:

"We reassure those who do not support this move that we want to continue to work and worship with you in the Church we all love."

A former conference president warned "Today is a line in the sand for many people and seen as a significant departure from our doctrine." Sadly, few of the liberals who run the denomination will care about this, busily celebrating their church’s drift from Christian orthodoxy. Indeed, some are now busy planning their own weddings. The resolutions in question not only support same-sex marriage, but endorse cohabitation, what a former generation called ‘living in sin’:

The Church recognises that the love of God is present within the love of

human beings who are drawn to each other, and who enter freely into some

form of life-enhancing committed relationship with each other, whether that

be through informal cohabitation or a more formal commitment entered into

publicly.

Rev. Sonia Hicks is on record calling it a “historic day for our Church”. Indeed. But if same-sex marriage and the sanctity of cohabitation are so obviously correct and righteous, why has it taken Methodists 237 years to realise this? Why were they not cheering the rights of unmarried couples and homosexual relationships when they were unpopular and illegal? Why wait so long before finally seeing the error of their ways? As its membership rolls decline by 4% each year, this week’s announcement is a pyrrhic victory. Within a generation, there will be no Methodist churches open to marry anyone, nor to endorse cohabitors.

Methodism has built its house upon the sand.

Image by Julie Rose from Pixabay