That seems to be the refrain of the African Anglican primates at the "GAFCON" meeting in Jerusalem this week. Billed as a big confab of "orthodox" Anglicans to chit-chat about how nassssty those Episcopalians and liberal Canadians and English types are, and clearly being set up as an alternative to the Anglican Lambeth Conference coming up in a few weeks, GAFCON is full of archibishops from African provinces where homosexuality is the subject of both clerical condemnation and civil persecution.

But confronted with that fact, the GAFCON primates hemmed, hawed, denied, and generally acted like ... well, certain clerical groups in the New Testament who were condemned for paying more attention to the Law than to God's love and compassion.

A question from Iain Baxter, a media representative from the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, aroused expressions of disbelief and outright denial from the primates. The name of his organisation raised a discomfiting titter. Homosexuality is illegal in Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya and is punishable by a fine, imprisonment or death.

Archbishops from these countries were on the panel. They said they could not influence government policy on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) legislation, nor could they condone homosexual behaviour because their churches would be shut down. They added one could not break the taboos of African society without suffering the consequences.

Right. Churches have to tread softly around the government. They can't do or say anything that might upset lawmakers or leaders, or that might discomfit local traditions and taboos. Certainly Jesus never did anything like that, which is why he (and Paul, and Peter) led a quiet, peaceful life, living to a ripe old age by making nice to the Romans and the local Religious Authorities. Right?

(One has to wonder why, if churches cannot "influence government policy," Abp. Akinola was so vehemently outspoken in favor of Nigerian legislation to outlaw not just homosexuality, but public support or debate over same.)

Presumably, these cultural constraints justify the punishment meted out to Prossy Kakooza, Baxter's example of someone tortured because of her sexual orientation. She was arrested, marched naked for two miles to a police station, raped and beaten.

Well, there you go -- that's what happens when you violate societal taboos. Brought it on herself, she did. Pity the poor policemen who were so incited by her behavior -- I'm sure they are receiving pastoral counseling from their local Anglican bishop.

Akinola did not condemn these acts. Neither did the other African archbishops. Orombi said he had never heard of people being tortured because of their homosexuality, that when he learned about incidents – from the western media – he was at a loss to understand why he had not heard of them. He refused to accept that persecuting and torturing gay people was done openly in Uganda.

See no evil ...

It was clear they failed to grasp how homophobic rhetoric from the pulpit led to violence and intimidation, as described by Colin Coward from Changing Attitudes. Still no condemnation was forthcoming. As a follow-up I asked whether the lack of condemnation meant they condoned torture of homosexuals. It took the Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen, to articulate opposition to all acts of violence towards all people. The Africans didn't even nod in agreement.

Well, now that's settled -- on with the Schism!

Filed under :: Religion - Episcopal Church

It is exactly this kind of attitude, and the loooong history of human churches to succumb to this attitude, that makes me so wary of organized religion.

Not that I'm anti-God. One can't have experienced my life and times without understnading that there is a greater power. But I fail to believe that ANY human mind can conceive the true plan of the Diety, and I'm fairly certain that that same Diety weeps for the misguided and evil deeds done in their name.

We don't need a Devil, we're perfectly capable of evil with the free will we have at hand.

Then I turn around and see a congregation doing great works to help others, exactly as their tenets tell them to do. Thus my internal conflict . . . .*sigh*

I agree fully, Arty.

Sometimes people suck. Sometimes they're cool. Some people both suck and are cool, at different times, doing different things. I don't believe you can prove the presence (or absence) of the Deity based on human behavior (least of all my own). And, like all human institutions, churches reflect the foibles -- and glories -- of individual humans, magnified by numbers.

That said, I find hypocrisy one of the worst sins (and, again, one I'm guilty of, at times, in my own way), but it's also one of the most ... satisfying? ... to point out amongst the particularly self-righteous. So while I can understand (if not agree) with those African Anglicans who find homosexuality morally wrong, the willful closing of eyes to the suffering of those around them, especially that suffering they are implicitly guilty of adding to, is particularly worth pointing out.

Father Jake calls some folks on their selective memory.

A transcript of the press conference.

As the first commenter says, "Now, tell me again: just *who* is shaping the faith to meet the standards of local culture?"

I didn't know that Bigby's Crushing Intolerance would do that.

I was really hoping that spell would be obsoleted by 4e, but, alas ...