Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Anglicans: Email the Archbishop of Canterbury and ask him to condemn Akinola

Hs press secretary's email: jonathan.jennings@lambethpalace.org.uk

My email:
You may be aware that Nigeria's Senate is voting this Thursday on the
passage of laws that would make it illegal to advocate on behalf of
lesbians and gays in Nigeria. These laws have been under debate for
some time. They would impose a penalty of five years in prison for any
sort of public advocacy on behalf of gays and lesbians, or even
performing a same-sex wedding in a church. All Christians should
consider such laws to be a massive violation of human rights, and
against the will of God.

Unfortunately, the Archbishop of Nigeria, Peter Akinola, has been a
vocal supporter of these laws. And as far as I am aware, no one in the
Anglican Communion has publicly opposed him. You have not confronted
him over his support of these laws, and I am astounded at your
silence.

The murdered Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Salvador, Oscar Romero,
asked this of then-US President Jimmy Carter: "You say that you are
Christian. If you are really Christian, please stop sending military
aid to the military here, because they use it only to kill my people."

If we Anglicans really are Christians, we should immediately ask that
Archbishop Akinola withdraw his support for these laws.
Posted by at

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

How do you know what the will of God is concerning same sex "marriages". You have already ignored His directives in His written word. So where else will you get "His will"?

8:57 PM
W said...

Hmm ... same sex marriages is not actually the point of my letter. The point is that most people recognize that the Nigerian legislation, with its penalties, is a violation of human rights.

The Bible doesn't speak literally of human rights as we understand them. But, God in the OT tells the Israelites, thou shalt not kill. Treat the alien well, for you were aliens in Egypt. (These two seem like a good idea for everyone, not just the Israelites). Jesus tells us, treat your neighbor as you would yourself. Instead of an eye for an eye, turn the other cheek.

From these, it's reasonable to infer that God would oppose the legislation. If you're a literalist, then of course you would find it justifiable. But Biblical literalism isn't something that Anglicans traditionally do, and it is something that no Christian should do.

As for the theology surrounding same-sex relationships and marriage, I would normally recommend you visit and peruse Michael Westmoreland-White's blog. He's actually Baptist. His site is anabaptist418.blogspot.com ... but right now, someone seems to have hacked it, and it displays links to porn sites. Fortunately for you, it's heterosexual porn.

Leviticus 20:13 says: (Revised Standard Version) "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their blood is upon them."

You say, "You have already ignored His directives in His written word." But, unless you are campaigning for gays to be put to death, you are ignoring God's word also.

9:46 AM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)