The Bishop of New Hampshire must resign in order to save the Anglican Communion from chaos, the Archbishop of Juba and Primate of the Sudan, said today. “If [Gene Robinson] were a real Christian he would resign,” Archbishop Daniel Deng said on July 22.
In a statement released on the second day of the Lambeth Conference, the Sudanese church called upon the American church to “respect the authority of the Bible,” refrain from ordaining gay priests or bishops, halt gay blessings, and “cease court actions” against traditionalists “with immediate effect.” The American Church’s experiments with gay blessings and bishops had led to the deaths of Sudanese Christians, Dr Daniel Deng said in an impromptu press conference in the Lambeth Conference media room.
Because of the actions of the American church, “we are called infidels in the Islamic world when they hear of the same-sex blessings,” he said. “It will give [Islamist militants] reason to kill” Sudanese Christians he said. Dr Deng’s statement, backed by over 150 bishops from 17 Global South provinces presents a significant blow to Dr. Rowan Williams’ hopes of averting a crisis at the 14th Lambeth Conference. The American church has been on its best behavior at Lambeth, seeking to mollify criticism from the wider Communion and preserve its place in the Church.
However, the Sudanese Archbishop, Dr Daniel Deng said there was “already a breakdown of the Anglican Communion.” To prevent its wholesale collapse, “Gene Robinson should resign.”
I hope more Bishops add their voices to this call!
Would it really matter if that one man resigned? We’d still have plenty of gay clergy on the books, and plenty more in the seminary pipeline. I get the symbolism, but it feels like the horse is waaaay out of the barn already.
The point, as I see it, clayton, is not that this will undue anything. The horse isn’t even in the same pasture any longer. Rather, the Abp’s call places TEC in an untenable position. My hope, and my hope is an eyes-wide-open hope which has been and will again be disappointed – is that this action may be one arm of a Samsonesque push against the pagan temple TEC has become.
“If [Gene Robinson] were a real Christian he would resign,â€
A real Christian would not ask this.
The American Church’s experiments with gay blessings and bishops had led to the deaths of Sudanese Christians
The ignorance and hatred of homophobia has led to their deaths. The same ignorance and hatred being espoused here by ++Deng.
“It will give [Islamist militants] reason to killâ€
like they need one?
Even if Robinson resigned, it would change nothing. The whole communion must come to grips with issue(s), and resolve them in Christ’s favor, in order to cleanse the heresies and return to grace. There is a whole army of Spongs, Pikes, Robinsons, Schoris etc out there to be purged to the flames of Hell.
“If [Gene Robinson] were a real Christian he would resign,â€
A real Christian would not ask this.
BfT19..I interpreted the statement to mean a real Christian would die unto himself. Not an easy prescription for most of us anyway.
++Sudan has spoken: [i]The American Church’s experiments with gay blessings and bishops had led to the deaths of Sudanese Christians, Dr Daniel Deng said in an impromptu press conference in the Lambeth Conference media room[/i]. Their blood is on TEC’s hands.
A self-avowed, practicing, and unrepentant sinner has no business being in Holy Orders, certainly not in a public office. It’s rather like putting a representative of the Mutton Lovers Club in charge of the sheep, teaching them to be cannibals. (Maybe that’s not the best analogy…)
No, he’s not the only soiled shepherd out in the fields. So what? One has to start somewhere.
REPENT, RESIGN, and RETIRE!
A real Christian would indeed ask this. “Go, and sin no more.”
A real Christian would not ask this
Utter NONSENSE! A real Christian leader would ask exactly this. The ministry is a calling, not a right, and Christian leaders are supposed to lay their lives down for their sheep. And the community of Christian leaders should make sure that all other leaders are held accountable to that standard.
Gene cares more for himself than he does for the church or his flock. This has been abundantly clear for years. But then the same could be said about all those who willingly, and even joyously divide the church over the altar of their own self-affirmation, and this in a faith that is supposed to be about self-denial.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with “homophobia” if such “phobia” is a part of the fear of the Lord, and is a fear of commending something He calls an abomination. I don’t give a cr*p what the world and its degenerates think. I want to be on the right side of the fire and brimestone. And you should too, Brian, if you knew what’s good for you.
[i]”The American church has been on its best behavior at Lambeth, seeking to mollify criticism from the wider Communion and preserve its place in the Church.”[/i]
What???? VGR is prancing around like a glory hound while Bruno fills the papers with outrageous and inflammatory threats and accusations!!! Etc.
Oh, I’m so slow. I just got it. That really is the American church’s best behavior, as in they really don’t have the character or training to behave with nobility or grace. Got it.
The media are such doops the way they report this stuff.
VGR’s resignation would have a powerful symbolic effect. If he were forced out, it would only make a martyr. But voluntary resignation?
I wonder. If he said, “I see that I must resign for the good of Anglican unity,” would this perhaps make the best possible advertising for the liberals? Such a resignation would be an act of selflessness, and would be played that way? Interesting problem – but probably merely theoretical, given vgr’s past behavior. Will his refusal to resign for the good of the church NOW have some effect?
As to ++Deng, the quotations I have seen strongly suggest that his English is not strong enough to handle the manifold snares of this situation. I would think that Susan Russell is deliberately twisting an innocent incompetence with English for the sake of her agenda. I can’t prove this, but the truth is, I doubt t hat I have to. There’s too much circumstantial evidence to justify it. Larry
Alms for Sudan.
How is one who persists in confessing someone else’s sins rather than their own justified? Who has given us the right to pass judgment? Like a very effective evangelist put it: “There is no evidence whatsoever in the New Testament that Jesus ever forgave the hypocrites!”
Blah..Blah..Blah…Talk ..Talk …Talk…threats…threats..threats…meetings…meetings…meetings…
Robinson resigning means nothing. Let’s get on with the split! We are wasting too much time and energy on these issues and not enough on evangelization. People are hurting out there. High gas and food prices. A banking system teetering on disaster. A possible war with Iran. There are more important issues out there. The Scriptures are VERY CLEAR about excommunicating those who have departed from apostolic teaching. We wouldn’t be in this position if conservatives would have start kicking unbelievers out of the church the minute they started espousing their heretical teachings. The time for compromise is over. It may even be too late. I think that conservatives should pray for a split so we all can go our separate ways and true Christians can get on with God’s work.
-Vincent
Patriarch,
Jesus gave that right to the Apostles, and through Apostolic Succession, it’s passed on down to today to Bishop Deng:
Jesus breathed on them. “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whosoever’s sins you forgive, will be forgiven. Whosoever’s sins you retain, will be retained.”
and in another place
“Each tree bears fruit in due season. A fig tree cannot produce apples,.. therefore you shall know a tree by its fruits”
and again:
“The pharasees judge based on appearances. But you shall judge with a righteous judgement”
And of course we all know what Paul wrote about how we cannot judge those OUTSIDE of the church, but we can judge those INSIDE the church. It’s been quoted often enough on this forum.
Before that the prophets of Israel and Judah did a good job of calling out the sins of the Lord’s people.
Peace
Jim Elliott <><
Stepping back a bit, I think there are a few things worth describing.
First – I’m not sure if this is a reason to succumb to Islamic thinking or not. Seems to me it is a reason to resist Islam.
Second, it seems that the internet is what sets the terms for the debate. Why is Robinson’s marriage important in a country where there is genocide, conflict and such horrible misery?
Third, it may mean that there is some kind of conflict, but is it the conflict between Islam and Christianity? North vs. south? or 21st century thought and 19th century English missionary thought viaAfrica?
I have no doubt that #15 is right. Of course, I have the same feeling about Bishop Robinson. He’s also been calling us out to forgiveness.
What about repentance?