Schism looms in church over gays
Aug 10, 2003
ANGLICAN bishops all over the world, particularly Africa and Asia, have reacted bitterly against the decision of the Episcopal Conference in the United States of America to approve the appointment of a self-confessed homosexual, the Rev Gene N. Robinson, as the bishop of New Hampshire
The Other Side of the Coin
With Paul Waibale Senior
ANGLICAN bishops all over the world, particularly Africa and Asia, have reacted bitterly against the decision of the Episcopal Conference in the United States of America to approve the appointment of a self-confessed homosexual, the Rev Gene N. Robinson, as the bishop of New Hampshire.
There is every justification for this global hullabaloo based on several indisputable grounds of which I can tackle only a few in the time and space available.
First, but not necessarily foremost, the US Episcopal Conference committed a grave sin against God by violating the law of creation as stipulated in the Bible’s Book of Genesis.
According to the biblical story of creation, God created the first man, Adam, and assigned him the garden of Aden as his home. When God deemed it necessary to provide Adam an appropriate partner, he removed a rib from Adam and made a woman, Eve, to be Adam’s spouse.
In my contention, God decided to provide a woman as Adam’s partner because he desired that the two partners should be physically different. God had the authority to create another man to be Adam’s spouse, but he chose not to do so.
In God’s design, therefore, partnership must be between a man and a woman, thereby barring the possibility of same-sex partnership.
Secondly, the US Episcopal Conference violated the laws of nature as prescribed by the Creator. Nature’s principle is that sexual union must be restricted to people, animals and birds of apposite sexes and offers no room for homosexuality.
God ordained that theory when he directed Noah to admit a pair consisting a male and a female of each species into his Ark to escape the floods he commissioned to destroy the world. The purpose was to save a male and female for the propagation of the various species after the floods.
Incidentally, God demonstrated his wrath against the evil of homosexuality when he destroyed both Sodom and Gomorrah on account of having turned that ugly practice into men’s paramount entertainment.
As if members of the US Episcopal Conference were complete novices in the Scriptures, they turned a blind eye to the biblical teaching manifested in St Paul’s Epistle to Timothy categorically directing that “a bishop shall be the husband of one wife.â€
According to that teaching, a bishop can be married to only one wife and cannot have a man for a marriage partner since a man cannot be a wife.
Appointing a homosexual as a bishop also violated universal Anglican Church laws which require all Anglicans, even those who are not priests or bishops, to stick to holy wedlock within the limitations of one woman for one man.
The 1998 Lambeth Conference, at which all Anglican bishops, including those from the US Episcopal Conference were present, condemned the consecration or ordination of homosexuals and rejected the idea of homosexual marriages.
Against that backdrop the partnership of the Rev Robinson and Mark Andrew for 13 years is worse than adultery.
As if that is not bad enough, the overt approval of that illicit act by the US Episcopal Conference is bound to cause an inevitable split in the Anglican Communion.
Given that state of affairs, it is not too far fetched to predict that a split in the Anglican communion, save for a God-sent miracle, is a looming certainty. Already several bishops have vowed not to have any fellowship with the diocese of New Hampshire which nominated gay priest Robinson for elevation to the status of bishop.
Personally, I am not impressed by arguments that accepting gays of into position of leadership in the church is a means of accommodating gays as normal human beings who just happen to be different.
If the Church is to adopt dubious standards where Christians have a chance of openly serving both God and mammon, then they should allow self-confessed thieves and prostitutes to punctuate their criminal activities with regular appearances in pulpits on Sundays.
Quite rightly the Church of Uganda has condemned the appointment of Robnison and added its voice to those which have declared not to nurse any fellowship with the New Hampshire Diocese.
But it seems to me that it is more logical to expel the entire US Episcopalian Church from the Anglican Communion for flouting its resolutions.
With Paul Waibale Senior
ANGLICAN bishops all over the world, particularly Africa and Asia, have reacted bitterly against the decision of the Episcopal Conference in the United States of America to approve the appointment of a self-confessed homosexual, the Rev Gene N. Robinson, as the bishop of New Hampshire.
There is every justification for this global hullabaloo based on several indisputable grounds of which I can tackle only a few in the time and space available.
First, but not necessarily foremost, the US Episcopal Conference committed a grave sin against God by violating the law of creation as stipulated in the Bible’s Book of Genesis.
According to the biblical story of creation, God created the first man, Adam, and assigned him the garden of Aden as his home. When God deemed it necessary to provide Adam an appropriate partner, he removed a rib from Adam and made a woman, Eve, to be Adam’s spouse.
In my contention, God decided to provide a woman as Adam’s partner because he desired that the two partners should be physically different. God had the authority to create another man to be Adam’s spouse, but he chose not to do so.
In God’s design, therefore, partnership must be between a man and a woman, thereby barring the possibility of same-sex partnership.
Secondly, the US Episcopal Conference violated the laws of nature as prescribed by the Creator. Nature’s principle is that sexual union must be restricted to people, animals and birds of apposite sexes and offers no room for homosexuality.
God ordained that theory when he directed Noah to admit a pair consisting a male and a female of each species into his Ark to escape the floods he commissioned to destroy the world. The purpose was to save a male and female for the propagation of the various species after the floods.
Incidentally, God demonstrated his wrath against the evil of homosexuality when he destroyed both Sodom and Gomorrah on account of having turned that ugly practice into men’s paramount entertainment.
As if members of the US Episcopal Conference were complete novices in the Scriptures, they turned a blind eye to the biblical teaching manifested in St Paul’s Epistle to Timothy categorically directing that “a bishop shall be the husband of one wife.â€
According to that teaching, a bishop can be married to only one wife and cannot have a man for a marriage partner since a man cannot be a wife.
Appointing a homosexual as a bishop also violated universal Anglican Church laws which require all Anglicans, even those who are not priests or bishops, to stick to holy wedlock within the limitations of one woman for one man.
The 1998 Lambeth Conference, at which all Anglican bishops, including those from the US Episcopal Conference were present, condemned the consecration or ordination of homosexuals and rejected the idea of homosexual marriages.
Against that backdrop the partnership of the Rev Robinson and Mark Andrew for 13 years is worse than adultery.
As if that is not bad enough, the overt approval of that illicit act by the US Episcopal Conference is bound to cause an inevitable split in the Anglican Communion.
Given that state of affairs, it is not too far fetched to predict that a split in the Anglican communion, save for a God-sent miracle, is a looming certainty. Already several bishops have vowed not to have any fellowship with the diocese of New Hampshire which nominated gay priest Robinson for elevation to the status of bishop.
Personally, I am not impressed by arguments that accepting gays of into position of leadership in the church is a means of accommodating gays as normal human beings who just happen to be different.
If the Church is to adopt dubious standards where Christians have a chance of openly serving both God and mammon, then they should allow self-confessed thieves and prostitutes to punctuate their criminal activities with regular appearances in pulpits on Sundays.
Quite rightly the Church of Uganda has condemned the appointment of Robnison and added its voice to those which have declared not to nurse any fellowship with the New Hampshire Diocese.
But it seems to me that it is more logical to expel the entire US Episcopalian Church from the Anglican Communion for flouting its resolutions.