Church of Scotland minister defects to Free Church over gay ordination

By CRAIG BROWN
Published on 05/10/2012 00:00

A FORMER Church of Scotland minister has accused the Kirk of an “erroneous liberal agenda” and of the “systematic dismantling of the true gospel” over the ordination of gay ministers.

The Rev Paul Gibson has become the latest minister to leave the Kirk for the Free Church of Scotland over the issue.

Mr Gibson, 39, was admitted to the denomination at its Commission of Assembly last night in Edinburgh.

Speaking to The Scotsman, he said that the decision had not been easy for him: “I was baptised in the Church of Scotland, I grew up in the Kirk and continue to have many dear friends who remain in the church, so I think I speak for those who have left in recent years that it is with great pain and upset that we’ve felt the need to withdraw and move on.

“It’s not with any sense of bravado or anything like that. But it’s sadly the case that after many years of liberalism and political-style manoeuvring, the Church of Scotland has reached a point where the only thing that’s not tolerated is Biblical orthodoxy.”

His departure from the Kirk follows the ruling by its General Assembly in 2011 that practising homosexuals already in posts could be inducted into other charges, while a special commission was established to consider the future appointment of openly gay ministers..

Mr Gibson said there were many ministers in the Kirk who felt the same way as him and were “desperate to leave” but issues such as ownership of the church building and divided congregations meant they were facing “the most difficult period of their ministry”. He said the Assembly’s decisions placed many ministers and elders “in an impossible position”.