The Archbishop of Sudan, The Most Revd Dr Daniel Deng Bul, made some hay yesterday by denouncing the Episcopal Church and Bp. Robinson (New Hampshire) at a press conference. Earlier, in a press release posted on Anglican Mainstream, a conservative blog, the Archbishop articulated virtually the same position (excerpted without introduction):
In view of the present tensions and divisions within the Anglican Communion, and out of deep concern for the unity of the Church, we consider it important to express clearly the position of the Episcopal Church of the
This is coming out of the context of and from within the midst of Indaba, the listening process that is the central piece of this decade’s Lambeth Conference. As it has been suggested, instead of bringing suitcases of position papers on the subject of human sexuality, the bishops are to participate in a listening process where all are given the opportunity to speak and be heard. As we have seen from similar opportunities, such as Truth and Reconciliation in
We believe that God created humankind in his own image; male and female he created them for the continuation of humankind on earth. Women and men were created as God’s agents and stewards on earth.
Fair enough, though I'm hearing a but...
We believe that human sexuality is God’s gift to human beings which is rightly ordered only when expressed within the life-long commitment of marriage between one man and one woman.
So what do we do with those that aggressively go beyond these boundaries? Isn’t rape worse than adultery? Where is the moral outrage over the use of rape in
We require all those in the ministry of the Church to live according to this standard and cannot accept church leaders whose practice is contrary to this.
Clearly, homosexuality is worse. I’m sorry. It just took me some convincing. You are completely right.
We reject homosexual practice as contrary to biblical teaching and can accept no place for it within ECS.
Your prerogative. Short-sighted, but yours.
We strongly oppose developments within the Anglican Church in the
I’ll skip over the slight inaccuracy, but suggest that, like the above prerogative, he has every right to take this stance. I strongly oppose his position. There, we’re square!
This has not only caused deep divisions within the Anglican Communion but it has seriously harmed the Church’s witness in Africa and elsewhere, opening the church to ridicule and damaging its credibility in a multi-religious environment.
Ah! There we are! The ‘gay marriage hurts my marriage’ argument writ large! What I find funny is that this brouhaha was back in 2003. TWO THOUSAND THREE! You’ve made it the story for five years. You would not be on the receiving end of ridicule if "the Global South" didn’t spend every waking hour trying to tell us that we’re heretics and that we are responsible for their position. Last I checked, the damage to the Anglican Communion is by the people threatening to break the Communion, not the ones playing nice over here.
The unity of the Anglican Communion is of profound significance to us as an expression of our unity within the Body of Christ. It is not something we can treat lightly or allow to be fractured easily. Our unity expresses the essential truth of the Gospel that in Christ we are united across different tribes, cultures and nationalities. We have come to attend the Lambeth Conference, despite the decision of others to stay away, to appeal to the whole Anglican Communion to uphold our unity and to take the necessary steps to safeguard the precious unity of the Church.
He almost got there. We were on the same page up until the “uphold our unity and to take the necessary steps to safeguard”. Unity is not about ‘steps taken’ to keep jerks from breaking the communal toys, but in gathering together without regard for differences.
Out of love for our brothers and sisters in Christ, we appeal to the Anglican Church in the
- To refrain from ordaining practicing homosexuals as bishops or
priests
- To refrain from approving rites of blessing for same-sex relationships
- To cease court actions with immediate effect;
- To comply with Resolution 1:10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference
- To respect the authority of the Bible
I normally don’t take kindly to demands, especially in light of hostage-taking scenarios such as this, but I will say that aside from #3, all of these have already been promised or are in place. Let me repeat that: four out of the five demands were already agreed upon by the House of Bishops. This extra demand has nothing to do with maintaining “unity” or in “safeguarding” our Communion, but is an attempt to strengthen splinter groups, eroding the influence of the Episcopal Church, and supporting of extracanonical excursions into the
We believe that such steps are essential for bridging the divisions which have opened up within the Communion.
Clearly laying them out as demands.
We affirm our commitment to uphold the four instruments of communion of the Anglican Communion: the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Primates’ Meeting and the Anglican Consultative Council; and call upon all Provinces of the Communion to respect these for the sake of the unity and well-being of the Church.
As do I, though Lambeth and the ACC are the only two actual pieces with any real weight, but I digress. I couldn’t agree more. So you will stop supporting the hijacking of
We appeal to this Lambeth Conference to rescue the Anglican Communion from being divided.
Funny, the onus isn’t on the ones acting in this situation, but on the assembled body of bishops. Now that’s classy!
We pray that God will heal us from the spirit of division. We pray for God’s strength and wisdom so that we might be built up in unity as the Body of Christ.
Amen.
The Most Revd Dr Daniel Deng Bul
Archbishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church of the
Bishop of
I included this because the Archbishop is the only signatory, but is speaking on behalf of all of his bishops. Perhaps the gentle reminder that this is Lambeth, a conference of all bishops, and that digging into party lines goes against the spirit of “unity” that is needed here…
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