Campaigners are staging a demonstration outside Rochester Cathedral today against the Bishop of Rochester’s stance on gay rights.
The protest has been planned to coincide with International Day Against Homophobia (Idaho) and will see members of the county’s gay community gather at the cathedral from noon.
Ray Duff, one of the organisers, said: “Dr Michael Nazir-Ali has regularly opposed gay rights measures; for example, adoption by gay and lesbian partnerships.
“He has himself received threats because of his conversion from Islam to Christianity. Lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) people fully condemn such threats unreservedly.
“Thus, we, the LGBT community in Kent and the UK, will urge the bishop to now extend his support and sympathy to the LGBT community, who have suffered for centuries because of Church homophobia.”
“Church homophobia”? I had no idea the church was homophobic. Are we also hamartiophobic? (Had to coin that one; it’s my stab at “fearful of sin.”) I acknowledge that there are people within the church who, contrary to historic Christian teaching, hate homosexuals; and I acknowledge that churches and church groups have said and done unkind and unholy things to homosexuals. But to imply that the church’s stance can be reduced to simple hatred or fear is disingenuous. It is disingenuous because it pretends that this enormous Christian doctrine of sin can somehow be dismissed or reduced to fear of the other.
Perhaps it would be appropriate to label the protesters as “ecclesiophobes” or “misepiscopes” (bishop-haters)? Or perhaps they are alethiophobes who hope, by pointing to others as the problem, to distract their attention from their own hearts.
Christ Jesus, you know we are all hypocrites and all sinners; have mercy on all of us. Show your love equally to +Michael and to those who hate him, and save us all from our sin.
Hmmm…still nothing on the wires – yep, a non event.