Go Gandalf!
News snippets taken from StringerSir Ian McKellen today waded into the row over gay clergy that has engulfed the Anglican communion, accusing the church of homophobia.
The actor, a founding member of the gay rights group Stonewall, claimed that religious leaders shared the same attitude as the armed forces and schools, whose authorities he said had also expressed a problem with homosexuals, fearing they would cause chaos and disintegration of discipline.
He said institutions shared a problem with homophobia and "having [that problem], they root around in the Bible for the passages that seem to be relevant".
The actor described himself as an atheist who was looking at the church from the outside, and who was commenting because attitudes within the church had ramifications. He cited the case this week of a Christian registrar in London who was endorsed by an employment tribunal after refusing to officiate same-sex civil partnerships.
Full story from The Guardian.
And...
Lord of the Rings star Sir Ian McKellen says he has received death threats in the past because of his sexuality.
Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, the actor, who came out in 1988, said the number of threats had "declined considerably" in recent years.
"I think I've become rather boring to the public at large on this particular issue," he said.
Full story here.
The actor, a founding member of the gay rights group Stonewall, claimed that religious leaders shared the same attitude as the armed forces and schools, whose authorities he said had also expressed a problem with homosexuals, fearing they would cause chaos and disintegration of discipline.
He said institutions shared a problem with homophobia and "having [that problem], they root around in the Bible for the passages that seem to be relevant".
The actor described himself as an atheist who was looking at the church from the outside, and who was commenting because attitudes within the church had ramifications. He cited the case this week of a Christian registrar in London who was endorsed by an employment tribunal after refusing to officiate same-sex civil partnerships.
Full story from The Guardian.
And...
Lord of the Rings star Sir Ian McKellen says he has received death threats in the past because of his sexuality.
Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, the actor, who came out in 1988, said the number of threats had "declined considerably" in recent years.
"I think I've become rather boring to the public at large on this particular issue," he said.
Full story here.