Some Issues with 'Some Issues in Human Sexuality'

In December 2003 the House of Bishops' Group on Issues in Human Sexuality published their 'discussion document', Some Issues in Human Sexuality : A Guide to the Debate (London: Church House Publishing, 2003). The document 'is a guide to the theological debate on questions that have arisen in response to the 1991 House of Bishops report, Issues in Human Sexuality (see p. ix). This article is a contribution to the discussion. I first question whether the document is a 'guide' and whether the quarrels between Anglicans are best designated a 'debate'. Then within the limits of a single article I illustrate from the first three chapters grave problems of omission, of biblical interpretation, and of ethical development.