Paul Vallely, associate editor of the Independent, has a major interview in today’s paper with Tom Wright, Bishop of Durham.
Tom Wright: It’s not a question of left and right, says the combative priest who opposes the war in Iraq and gay bishops is there until it disappears into the paid archive.
There is also a front page (broadsheet edition at least) news story to lead readers to the interview Bishop attacks Blair as ‘white vigilante’ which concentrates on one aspect of the interview only.
There is also an editorial about the bishop and his views, which is unfortunately available only to paid subscribers. This also deals mainly with the UK political aspects, but not entirely. Here are some extracts.
Support for the Church of England came today from an unexpected quarter: the editorial column of The Observer newspaper. In Faith values the leader writer refers to the major feature story by Rachel Cooke on the cover page of the Review section, The sleek shall inherit the Church which reviews the current state of the CofE.
Part of the editorial:
2 CommentsSome three million people will file into the pews of the Church of England at some stage this Christmas – three times as many as on a normal Sunday. It may be only 5 per cent of the population, but in a secular age in which Christian faith appears so out of fashion it is remarkable how well the numbers hold up every year. Christmas remains a time when the story of birth and redemption retains a remarkable hold on our collective imagination.
…People do not have to accept every canon of the Church’s creed to be impressed by its core spirit of radical toleration – a continuing gift to our national culture. Some of the millions in church this weekend will not be attending because they are regular practising Christians. Rather they come because they feel the spiritual dimension of Christmas should be acknowledged and they know this radically tolerant church will welcome them, even if they don’t turn up again until next Christmas.
Such tolerance, though, is under siege. It is even attacked by evangelists within the Church who see it as too accommodating to what they portray as amoral trends in civil society, such as homosexuality. It is regrettable for both believer and non-believer that such trends tend more towards the Old Testament age of retribution, revenge and intolerance that threatens our modern plural and largely secular society.
… If we all could subscribe to greater tolerance, it’s hard to dispute that the world would be a better place. If Christmas can help that message alone, it is more than worth its keep.
Two weeks ago, Paul Vallely the associate editor of the Independent newspaper and regular contributor to the Church Times published this comment piece: A suitable case for treatment? in which he considers the benefits to society of reorientating Christians.
2 CommentsI would not set myself up as a medical specialist on the subject – to borrow a phrase from the Bishop of Chester – but it is clear that some people who feel themselves to be religious can, with psychiatric help, reorientate themselves. Being a Christian is now a curable condition.
There are those deluded folk who assume that Christianity is not a lifestyle choice, but a gift from the Almighty. I want to help them on this. Modern mental-health care has a number of techniques, including aversion therapy, which can significantly reduce religious cravings, or, at least, stop people acting on them in a way that is unnatural.
Several additional articles published last month are now available.
Searing pain of an honest meeting by Barry Morgan
Do we really believe in the Bible? by Philip Giddings
We are not the architects of divison by Michael Ingham
The Quadrilateral is not enough by Michael Nazir-Ali
It will be hard to disentangle by John Rees
The Guardian Rowan plea for unity over gay bishop and What they said about…Bishop Gene Robinson
The Independent Anglicans sever ties amid gay bishop fury
The Telegraph Day the Church split and Lambeth’s fragile peace shattered and African Anglicans fear cost of split
The Times World’s churches cut links over gay bishop and ‘Lost sheep’ start to desert liberal churches
Also The Times has this leader On the brink Anglicans should still strive to avert a schism
The BBC African Church anger over gay bishop links also to video report
Also on the BBC Alex Kirby has this opinion article, Split church hopes to muddle on.
The Independent on Sunday prints Tom Butler: Today’s Bishop is a gay divorcee. We may not like it but is it worth a schism? by the Bishop of Southwark. This paper also has a news story, Gay bishop in disruption scare.
The Observer claims in Williams set to condemn gay bishop that Rowan Williams will issue “a strongly worded statement attacking the consecration of Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire within the next 24 hours.”
1 CommentThe Times has A. C. Grayling writing on Schisms, The reason of things;
The threatened schism within Anglicanism turns on a scriptural teaching which some Anglicans are not minded to defy, namely, the proscription of homosexuality in Leviticus xviii, 22. Here schism seems to be the right answer, for a church which does not accept gay people fully seems well worth schisming from.
The Telegraph has a leader Christian disunity which regrets the forthcoming consecration:
0 CommentsIt will be as historic an event for the Anglican Communion as the hurling of anathemas between Michael Cerularius and Cardinal Humbert was for the universal Church in 1054, when Latins and Greeks broke into open schism.
Back on 10 October, I reported on the feature that the Church Times carried before the special primates meeting. The following additional articles from that issue are now available online:
The scriptural view, and interpretations an extract from the Doctrine Commission’s recent book Being Human
Africa, too, has sexual truths to confront by Kevin Ward
‘The unity of a community of friends’ by Bishop Peter J Lee of Virginia
Carry on in conversation by David L Edwards
The price of living a lie by Sarah Hill
The Church Times:
Primates teeter on brink of split
Dr Williams encourages ‘extended oversight’
The six conservatives who met RW “… were encouraged to consider the question of oversight as part of developing their relationship with ECUSA. The Archbishop was keen that they should work as closely as possible with the Presiding Bishop in developing the issue along these lines,” [Jonathan Jennings] said, … “encouragement” for the “Network of Confessing Dioceses and Parishes” should not be interpreted as the Archbishop’s seeking a relationship outside ECUSA.”
Comment: Is the American Anglican Council seriously listening to RW? See this new item on their website, American Anglican Council Begins Preparations for Realignment of Anglicanism in America.
Commission will comb Anglican canon law
Wandering into schism Leader
An extract:
0 CommentsMost disturbingly, the Primates wander into the minefield of schism and then content themselves with describing the scenery. It is common knowledge that the issue of homosexuality causes “profound pain and uncertainty”. If the perspective of “small and struggling Churches in the developing world”, as Dr Williams put it, is widely known, how did that come about?
Through engagement, not separation. How can the Primates best fulfil the promise made at the Lambeth Conference about listening to the experiences of homosexual people? By continued communion with those provinces in which homosexual people have the freedom to speak without fear of victimisation.
I have collected a number of reports from around the world, relating to the primates meeting and the events which precipitated it. These show a variety of views.
On Wednesday Australian radio station ABC National broadcast part of the RW/Humphrys BBC Today interview in their programme The Religion Report and followed it by their own interview with David Jenkins. Here is a transcript.
Peter Jensen said this to his diocesan synod on Monday, about the Primates’ statement.
I’ve been looking at the websites of conservative lobbying organizations, and I am confused as to how many separate bodies there really are.
The Anglican Communion Institute which despite its name has no official status but appears to be based in Colorado, USA has published this statement and this brief analysis. This is the body which lists George Carey as a director. Then there is also the Anglican Institute also based in Colorado, and seems to overlap the above. And then there is Communion Parishes which clearly has close links with the first of these at least.
The American Anglican Council, which organised the recent Texas meeting has published this interview [sorry, broken link] with Emmanuel Kolini, Archbishop of Rwanda. And then there is this letter from David Anderson and David Roseberry.
Anglican Mainstream seems to have mostly repeats of AAC statements about the primates meeting, apart from this one.
Maybe someone closer to these groups can explain to us.
1 CommentThis morning’s Press Association report is Only God Can Make Me Quit, Says Gay Bishop-Elect.
On Monday, the Telegraph carried a signed opinion column by the new editor Martin Newland, The Church’s unity is more important than sexuality along with a news story, God urging me on, says gay bishop. The next day, they published this letter from Lib Dem MP Simon Hughes.
The Times on Monday had It may be messy, says gay canon, but I’m following God’s calling.
The Guardian had Gay canon feels ‘God approved’ promotion.
On Sunday night, the BBC had Gay bishop reaffirms role which includes a link to a video clip including part of an interview with Gene Robinson. On Monday morning, the BBC had Gay US bishop-elect replies to critics. There is a radio interview here (Real Audio required).
Turning to reports from elsewhere, in addition to those already reported here…
Somehow I find the news from the primates of the Anglican Communion a bit more heartening. Listening to the comments of what happened yesterday, to the two bishops on Newsnight and Rowan’s words at the press conference, (the brief ones in the BBC news report), the sense I got was of a church that is beginning to be a great deal more honest with itself. It may have been there, but there was little sign tonight of the pretence that all agreed about what was right or what was Biblical, or who was more hurt. Instead there was an acknowledgement of profound difference between honest believing Christians, Archbishops even. There is even to be a commission reporting in twelve months which is really rather sensible.
0 CommentsUpdate (added by Simon Kershaw)
BBC Radio 4’s Today programme broadcast this interview (Real Audio required) with the Archbishop of Cape Town, Giles Fraser, and Andrew Carey.
Further update
Later in the morning, the BBC published this news report, and this survey Q&A: Anglican gay summit. And, this head to head with Philip Giddings versus Gareth Williams of St Michael’s College, Llandaff.
The British press this morning is remarkably united in its views on this.
Stephen Bates reports in the Guardian, Church in need of a saviour.
The Guardian also has a leader, A church divided.
Ruth Gledhill in The Times has Anglicans should love gays as Jesus would, African primate says about what Njongonkulu Ndungane says.
The Times also has an opinion column by Mary Ann Sieghart, Certainty is so unnerving and another one by Magnus Linklater, Thank God for Henry VIII: Anglican doubt is better than Catholic hypocrisy.
The Independent has an analysis by Paul Vallely, Talk of schism is rife as bishops debate homosexuality which states the five point plan as follows:
1 CommentUpdate
This press release from ACNS, Anglicans call for inclusive church and a new call to mission, reports that the primates meeting has prompted many lobbying groups and organisations to draft statements in support of an inclusive church.
Some later reports from UK and elsewhere can be found here.
Today, the following British press items:
In The Times Ruth Gledhill reports, in Bishops’ five-point plan to heal Church gay rift, that Philip Giddings has proposed this 5-point plan for the primates to save the communion:
The Church Times has a splendid 12 page pull-out section of articles relevant to the forthcoming Primates Meeting next week. Most of these are not on the web, so it is well worth buying or borrowing a copy. Not online are articles by David Edwards, Bishop Peter Lee of Virginia, and a major piece on Homosexuality in Africa by Kevin Ward, plus four other items.
Update for several more of these items online see newer entry here
Major items online are:
A primer for the Primates: Reflections on the choices that will face Anglican leaders editorial overview
1 CommentIn this At your service column in today’s Times Ruth comments on her visit to NEAC, which she says, ’ finally provoked me into “coming out” in my true liberal Catholic colours’. Her piece concludes with these words:
‘The Anglican Church is currently one Church. It is the Church I grew up in. In a few days the 38 primates meet at Lambeth Palace at an extraordinary meeting called by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, in an attempt to resolve the crisis over gays. If these people, through their unbending fundamentalism, force some new schism, I for one will never forgive them. Because forgiveness, as the Bible makes clear, is not in my gift. But I will pray to God that He might, one day.’
Amen to that!
0 CommentsThe Today programme this morning carried an interview with Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch (see here for review of his latest book).
The interview was not however about his book, but about the current debate on sexuality. In this interview DM noted that a paranoic hatred of homosexuals started in the 11th or 12th centuries and has continued to the present day, uniting the Pope and Ian Paisley. He compared the current dispute to the Reformation itself.
You can hear the whole interview, using Real Audio here.
1 CommentThe anatomy of schism: A battle of biblical tyranny discusses the current ECUSA difficulties from an American historical (and liberal) perspective.
Dr L William Countryman, professor of New Testament at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, Calif. has written an essay entitled Dealing with Conflict as Anglicans which is available in pdf format and can be downloaded from here.
The views expressed in both of these are, I would judge, in conflict with much of what is being said at NEAC. What we in the CofE call Conservative Evangelicalism (see Graham Kings’ discussion) has until quite recently been unknown inside ECUSA.
There is one point made in the first article on which all can agree:
“The Internet has made all the difference,” says the Rev. John Kater, professor of ministry development at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific. “Thirty years ago it would have taken African Christians weeks or months to even hear what happened at General Convention, and another six months to have a response. Now it’s done instantly. It’s much easier to organize because we have websites, chat rooms, and instant emails.”
The Church of England Newspaper reports, in an article Primates in no mood for US compromise that ‘about half of the Anglican primates are prepared to reject compromise solutions’ at the meeting of the primates at Lambeth in October. The primates, it is reported, will call for the Episcopal Church to overturn the election of Gene Robinson, and if it does not do so, to suspend its membership of the Communion, reduce it to observer status, and finally ‘expel’ it, setting up a new Anglican jurisdiction in its place.
It seems hard to determine who precisely can rule which Church is in communion with the See of Canterbury — but I imagine that in England it might require the agreement of the General Synod, whose agreement is certainly needed to bring a Church into communion with the See.
It seems that the running is still being made by the ultra-conservatives. Those desiring a more open, informed discussion — and an open, informed Church — need to ensure that this Gadarene rush is slowed.
1 Comment