Salvation Army Internal Document Reveals Ongoing Anti-Gay Policies

[KamaAina]

http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2014/12/18/3605207/salvation-army-anti-gay-memo/

Over the past several years, the Salvation Army has tried to change its image, trumpeting that it doesn’t discriminate against LGBT people through its charity work (though it still does) and claiming that its history of supporting discrimination is a myth (despite being well documented). A new document obtained by Queerty demonstrates that the church’s teachings are still anti-gay.

The document is a memo circulated earlier this year by midwest Commissioner Paul Seiler that details the church’s teaching on homosexuality both internally and externally. The document does jibe with some of the Salvation Army’s public statements, such as that having a “homosexual orientation in and of itself is not a sin” and that sexual orientation is not a factor in hiring or serving.

However, the document proceeds to contradict that very point by outlining ways the church will discriminate in both its hiring and its service. The Salvation Army’s belief on marriage is that it’s still limited to a man and a woman, and anybody who isn’t in a marriage should be celibate. Anyone wishing to serve in a leadership role within the organization must abide by this tenet:

For anyone in a Salvation Army ministry position, the theological belief regarding sexuality is that God has ordained marriage to be between one man and one woman and sexual activity is restricted to one’s spouse. Non-married individuals would therefore be celibate in the expression of their sexuality. This is the long-standing expectation of all individuals in ministry roles in The Salvation Army, including lay people.

Here's a little something to drop in your nearby kettle:

[msongs]

1. the SA sure spends lots of $$ on tv ads. is that where all the kettle $$ goes? nt