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Oh, the insanity...
Episcopal Church consecrates its first openly gay bishop
DURHAM, New Hampshire (AFP) - The US Episcopal Church consecrated its first openly gay bishop, overriding objections from dissenting clergy and laying bare deep divisions among the Anglican faith's 70 million adherents worldwide.
The spiritual leaders of 50 million Anglicans in the developing world immediately rejected the move and declared that it was siding with conservatives in the US church who opposed the consecration.
Around 4,000 people, including 55 US Episcopalian bishops, attended the three-hour ceremony Sunday afternoon amid tight security at a sports arena in the small New Hampshire university town of Durham. Most were supporters of 56-year-old Gene Robinson, a divorced father of two, who becomes the first bishop of a major Christian denomination to openly live with a same-sex partner.
"I have to take a moment to say to you how much this means to me," an emotional Robinson, his voice catching, told the congregation after receiving his vestments from family members and his live-in partner.
"But, it's not about me," he said. "It's about so many other people who find themselves at the margin. Your presence here is a welcome sign for them to come into the center."
For the past few months, Robinson has come under intense pressure to refuse the nomination of his New Hampshire diocese, with Anglican leaders warning that his consecration would "tear the fabric" of the church. So vehement was some of the opposition to the idea of an openly sexually active gay bishop that Robinson had to be given police protection after he received numerous death threats.
In a statement issued in Britain after the ceremony, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the Anglican church worldwide, expressed "deep regret" over divisions within the church caused by Robinson’s consecration. These divisions "will be all too visible in the fact that it will not be possible for Gene Robinson’s ministry as a bishop to be accepted in every province in the communion," Williams warned.
The Right Reverend Peter Akinola, Archbishop of Abuja and leader of Nigeria’s 17 million-strong Anglican community, condemned the appointment on behalf of his counterparts in Africa, Latin America and Asia.
"A state of impaired communion now exists" between the US Episcopal Church and most other provinces within the Anglican Communion, said Akinola, whose Global South group represents some 50 million Anglicans in the developing world.
The Anglican church in Kenya served notice that it will officially sever ties with its US counterpart while the church in Uganda also announced it would break off from the New Hampshire diocese.
During the New Hampshire ceremony, two clerics voiced objections arguing that Robinson's ministry will not be recognized in the world. The primate of the US Episcopal Church, Frank Griswold, who presided over the ceremony, acknowledged the objections but said they would not prevent the consecration from going ahead.
The main voice of support for Robinson came in a keynote speech from the outgoing bishop of New Hampshire, Douglas Theuner.
"Because of who you are, Gene, you will stand as a symbol of unity of the church in a way in which none of the rest of us can," Theuner said to loud applause. "Your very presence in the Episcopate, will bring into our fellowship the presence of an entire group of Christians hitherto unacknowledged."
Outside the arena, some protestors carried placards with the slogan "God Hates Fags", while a number of Episcopal churches in the area held alternative services for those opposed to the consecration. Mounted police were deployed to keep apart Robinson's supporters and detractors, while those entering the arena had to pass through metal detectors and have their bags checked by sniffer dogs."
When I read this, I was just shaking my head. How can this be happening??
Just... just... just how?!
I mean, if you've read my previous posts, you'll know that I have nothing against homosexuals. I evenly acknowledge the fact that there are Christians who are gay. But I also stressed that I do not condone or accept that their actions are "OK" or fine or excusable.
But this is just wrong. I mean, if he was secretly gay and was trying to deny his own sinful desires whilst trying to serve, it'd still be hard to accept him as a bishop. To have a bishop who is gay is a stretch beyond what many could imagine or accept, but an openly gay bishop who is SEXUALLY ACTIVE?
To say that this will bring about a rift in the Anglican church is an understatement. How can 55 (Read: FIFTY-FIVE!) US bishops accept this? How can they participate? And how can anyone, let alone a bishop, say that a gay bishop will "stand as a symbol of unity of the church" when all it's doing is destroying it?
On the other hand, the extremist detractors aren't exactly God's messengers. The Bible never said that God hates homosexuals. But it does say that He hates homosexuality.
There's a big difference.
God loves everyone, but He hates sin. In the same way, He hates homosexuality but not the person afflicted with it. Therefore, those people are essentially saying, "I Hate Fags" and it is more of a personal vendetta against homosexuals, under the guise of religion.
And to anyone who is for gay rights and supports Bishop Robinson: If you're not a Christian, you probably won't understand just how wrong it is. No matter how much you want to believe Douglas Theuner's statement, you must understand that he is deluded. If you are a Christian, read the Bible more and remember that God does not compromise.
I could say that I believe this to be the Devil's work and his influence has even permeated the ranks within the Church. He has infiltrated into our Body, and is spreading disease and disunity. And to make matters worse, thousands of people (bishops included) are compromising their faith and beliefs, thinking that it's OK. It's exactly what the Devil wants them to think.
You can scoff. Laugh if you want.
Satan laughs too.
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