Of Media, Evangelicals and Bigotry
Archbishop Rowan Williams called, quite rightly, on the Church of England to reflect and pray over the issues raised by the nomination of Canon Jeffrey John as the future Bishop of Reading.
As evangelicals, we may be relieved that the appointment has not proceeded. Certainly too, we may applaud the conciliatory tone of the Archbishop's statement, trying, as he did, to ensure that evangelicals and others who objected to the appointment would not be caricatured as extremists.
Sadly, some sections of the media were not so careful. Indeed, we might reflect on the way in which the word 'evangelical' seems, in certain circles, to have become synonymous with homophobia. To be evangelical is not, as we would hope, to be heroically biblical, standing firm and true against the spirit of the age, humbly submitting to the Lord's word out of love for God and ultimately love for our neighbour - gay and straight.
No, however careful the response of those who questioned Canon John's appointment, to be evangelical was to be perceived to be anti-gay. To oppose the appointment was to be seen to bar the church doors to gays and lesbians, to deny love its 'rightful' course. Worse, to be evangelical was to use financial leverage to twist the Archbishop's arm - 'Ah,' the world thinks, 'money talks loudest, even in the Church.' As one letter in The Times suggested, 'It must be reassuring for our Sovereign to know that she is the head of the best Established Church that money can buy.'
What can evangelicals learn? And how should we prepare for the debates ahead?
Certainly, we are unlikely to be able to control the way the issues will be handled by the media and we are even less likely to find a new way to interpret the key biblical texts. Perhaps, as we move forward, however, we should ask ourselves - how loving are we towards gay people? Do we reach out to the gays and lesbians who we work and study with? Are evangelical churches safe havens for homosexual people, sanctuaries of friendship, love and acceptance - not of homosexual practice, but of people created in the image of God, seeking to follow Jesus?
Perhaps too, as we move forward, we should give a greater voice to those who are evangelical and homosexual in orientation. Perhaps we should work to make sure that the accusation that evangelicals are homophobic bigots and enemies of love is so obviously contradicted by all the evidence, so totally absurd to the British public, that no one would bother to make it.
That would be reform indeed.
Mark Greene
The best thing you Evangelicals can do is stop pretending that your faith has any bearing at all on the issue of other people's sexuality. The Bible is only an authority over the lives of people who themselves have chosen it to be their authority. It possesses no objective authority in itself, and you might stop being a force for evil in the world when you realise this. Phrases like 'scriptural teaching' and 'Biblical values', which abound in Evangelical parlance, have as much real-world validity as 'my imaginary friend's ideas'. If you can show some 'love' in the meantime, so much the better, but remember a lot of people are ahead of you on that one already.
Date:
2010-01-15 20:16:53
Author:
David Young