Archbishop supports new book that challenges church line
on gays
Gays and the Future of Anglicanism published this
week
The Archbishop of Wales has welcomed a cogent new book by 22
leading
theologians that argues for gay peoples inclusion within the
Anglican
ministry. Written by some of the finest theological minds,
it
challenges the moratorium on gay consecrations and same-sex
blessings
of the Anglican Communion. This book throws down a
formidable
challenge to the Anglican Communion. It cannot afford to ignore it
he
commented.
The Archbishop, Dr Barry Morgan, who was himself one of the
people
responsible for the Windsor Report, which recommended the
moratorium,
made it clear that the issue is far from settled: The
arguments
advanced for including gay people [in the church] deserve to be
read
and pondered by all who are involved in the debate about human
sexuality.
The book, says the Archbishop, shows up the superficiality
of
previous Anglican discussion of this subject and should give
the
Anglican Church in many places cause for penitence for the way it
has
treated and thought about gay people.
The book Gays and the Future of Anglicanism, edited by Oxford
theologian Andrew Linzey and Richard Kirker, Director of the
Lesbian
and Gay Christian Movement will be published by O books at the end
of
September. Among the 22 contributors are Archbishop Rowan
Williams
successor at Oxford, Dr George Pattison, the Lady Margaret
Professor
of Divinity.
Responding to the Archbishops statement (full text below),
Professor
Linzey said, This is a welcome sign of a rethink. We were always
told
that Windsor was a process not a judgment it is excellent to
have
confirmation of that. Some fear that the Windsor Report will lead
to
the exclusion of all gays from the Church. Preposterous as it
sounds,
some people want to make attitude to gays the criterion of being
an
Anglican, added Professor Linzey. The book is really a
devastating
critique of current church policy.
The book contains 22 chapters by major theologians from the UK and
the
US. Eight of the contributors are theologians from Oxford:
Marilyn
McCord Adams, Philip Kennedy, Christopher Lewis, George
Pattison,
Martyn Percy, Vincent Strudwick, Keith Ward and Andrew Linzey.
Regius
Professor of Divinity at Oxford, Marilyn McCord Adams calls upon
the
Anglican Communion to apologize for its rude reception of
gay
clergy, and Dr Philip Kennedy, Senior Tutor of Mansfield
College,
Oxford, maintains that Neither God nor Jesus can be convicted of
gay
bashing. The same could hardly be said for many of their
devotees.
The book marks the first major engagement by Anglican theologians
with
the gay issue since the publication of Windsor last year.
Statement of the Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, on the
publication of
Gays and the Future of Anglicanism:
There are three things which characterise this book. It is
quite
hostile to the Windsor Report (I write as one of the people
responsible for that report); it argues cogently for gay
peoples
inclusion within the Anglican Communion and its ministry; and
the
essays are by some of the finest theological minds in the
Communion.
The Windsor Report, whatever its shortcomings is at least
remarkable
in that its seventeen members from across the whole Communion,
and
from widely different backgrounds and theological viewpoints, did
at
least manage to achieve unanimity. Its aim was to find a way
of
enabling different theological perspectives within the Communion
to
co-exist with tolerance and patience that is usually characteristic
of
Anglicanism whilst respecting the autonomy of churches on the one
hand
with the need for mutual inter-dependence and accountability on
the
other, but without the setting up of a central curia. But perhaps
I
protest too much.
The arguments advanced for including gay people within the church
and
its ministry deserve to be read and pondered by all who are
involved
in the debate on human sexuality. They deal in depth with the
issue
from the perspective of scripture, tradition and experience,
by
scholars who know what they are talking about. The arguments
advanced
here show up the superficiality and even the shallowness of the
1998
Lambeth plenary on the same topic and should also give the
Anglican
Church in many places cause for penitence for the way it has
treated
and thought about gay people. We desperately need a listening
and
study process on this topic in the Communion as has long been
recommended to no avail and it is good that the ACC at its
meeting
this year has now agreed to gather material from across the
Communion.
It might find, as the WCC found when it gathered material from
all
its member churches and as this book demonstrates that sexual sins
are
not the only sins and are not even the main sins according to
scripture; that theology has to be open to the possibility of
encountering Gods revelation of truth in new and novel ways
thats
what the doctrine of the Spirit means and that what is often lost
in
the so called debate about human sexuality is the fact that we
are
talking about real persons with real feelings. This book throws
down
a formidable challenge to the Anglican Communion. It cannot afford
to
ignore it.
