A Summary of
A Church at War: Anglicans and Homosexuality
By Stephen Bates
Summary By John Mann
Short history of the Church of England, how it has grown from his foundation in 1571 by Henry VIII and the writing of the Thirty-Nine Articles of belief to a global denomination of more than 77 million people. He explains how it is divided into thirty eight regional and autonomous provinces, within which are a variety of traditions including high-church and evangelicals. Within this context Stephen Bates explains how the issue of homosexuality has become an issue that may split the church and has been responsible for a number of high profile stories in recent years such as the appointment of Jeffrey John as Bishop of Reading and Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire.
Evangelicalism is now a major force in the Church of England. Bates describes some of the leading evangelical figures in the church and provides a summary of the various evangelical organisations with the Church of England such as Reform, Alpha and Evangelical Alliance. In spite of some differences, these groups are now all united in identifying ones attitude to homosexuality as the litmus test of True Christianity, and pushing to make this issue central in Church of England teaching.
This looks at what the Bible teaches on homosexuality. In fact the Bible has little to say on the subject, the idea of someone being homosexual is not even recognised in the Bible. Instead there are a few scattered texts condemning a man having sex with another man. The meaning of these texts is subject to much debate – was it about the ancient practise of male rape, which was done to prisoners of war and slaves as a means of humiliation? Was it to do with pagan fertility rites? Even if such texts do condemn the act itself, there are many other Bible laws such as not planting two types of seed in the same field or not wearing clothes made of two types of cloth which are not judged relevant for today. Bates also looks at the attitude to Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism to homosexuality.
An introduction to the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement and gays in the Church of England during the 50s and 60s. Essentially the attitude was one of acceptance provided you were discrete and did not make the fact you were gay public.
There are many accounts of homosexuals in history from ancient times – Romans and Greeks, through to the middle ages, Tudor times and up to the present day. The Bible records the love between David and Jonathan as “passing the love of woman” and the disciple John is recorded as being “the disciple Jesus loved”. In the Middle Ages homosexual acts were forbidden, but the punishments were no more severe than for contraception and there are a number of cases of homosexual relationships going unpunished (or going unpunished for many years). A number of Kings were homosexual: in France, Henri III; in England James I, Edward II, Richard II and William Rufus. Ralph, a medieval archbishop of Tours, installed his boyfriend John as Bishop of Orleans with the blessing of the Pope and the King of France. Archbishop John Whitgift, the man who crowned James I, took as his close companion Dr Andrew Perne, the ex-Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge. Basil I, the seventh-century ruler of the Byzantine Empire was twice married to men, one of them a monk named Nicholas who was “ceremonially united with him and kept him as his housemate and companion”.
In the seventeenth century chapel of Christ’s College, Cambridge is a monument marking the joint burial of John Finch and Thomas Baines, bearing the inscription “and as in life they were one at heart in kinship and friendship, so after death they were even then not divided, most faithful pair of friends”. A fourteenth-century brass in Merton College chapel, Oxford links John Bloxham and JohnWhytton, depicting them lying side by side as husband and wife. A tomb of two English knights found in Istanbul depicts them exchanging a ritual kiss. A monument to two eighteenth-century gentlemen in Launceston, Cornwell, describes them as conjunctissimi, a word normally referring to married couples and there are other similar monuments to be found.
This covers how homosexuality was viewed within Anglicanism from the 1960s to the early 1990s. In 1967 Canon Hugh Montefiore said of Jesus not getting married “the homosexual explanation is one we cannot ignore” but was immediately rebuked by the Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1975 the anonymous author of the introduction to Crockford’s Directory wrote “Christians should never be so charitable to deviants as to cease to oppose the flaunting of homosexual behaviour”. In 1976 the Lesbian and Gay Christian movement was founded. During the 1980s the women’s ordination divided the church, but not on liberal/evangelical lines – both groups were divided themselves on the issue. By the late 1980s evangelicals like David Holloway had started to organise around the issue of homosexuality, claiming the church was being run by a gay mafia. Also in the late 80s OutRage! – the gay campaigning organisation – threatened to ‘out’ gay clergymen. A synod motion was passed in 1987 stating that while gay sex acts “fell short of the ideal”, nevertheless “to be homosexual by nature is to be a full human being”, which was passed by 403 votes to 8, with 13 abstentions.
In 1991 the House of Bishops issued Issues in Human Sexuality which was almost entirely about homosexuality. It stated that homosexuals could live together in same-sex partnerships, but had to refrain from sexual activity. However it did admit that for the laity sexuality activity within a long term relationship could be accepted, but not for the clergy. The report was seen as inconsistent, with some groups wanting the church to agree to openly gay, sexually active clergy and others wanting any form of homosexuality to be condemned as inherently sinful.
Gay sexuality is being increasingly accepted within society. In 1983 just over half of British adults surveyed felt that sexual relations between same-sex adults were always wrong and only twenty percent said they were not a all wrong or rarely wrong. By 2000 46% thought they were always wrong and 41% rarely or not at all wrong. At the same time Evangelicals were gaining influence in the Church of England and saw the increasing acceptance of homosexuality in society as an indication that the church was not speaking out clearly and loudly to condemn it.
The Lambeth Conference of 1998 attempted to produce a further compromise on homosexuality, with a resolution condemning homophobia while calling for celibacy from those “not called” to married life. However this time the evangelicals were prepared for a fight and hijacked the debate, adding a succession of amendments calling homosexuality a sin and replacing any love and compassion with judgement and condemnation.
Those at the conference spoke of a poisonous atmosphere, one bishop likened it to a Nuremberg Rally. Another bishop said “I hated that conference, it was the worst experience of my life. Quite a few bishops felt physically threatened in the atmosphere that was generated in that debate”.
Archbishop George Carey was on the side of the evangelicals and voted for the amendments. He appears in the story as a grinning clown who at Lambeth pushed a knife into the heart of the church.
After the conference 146 bishops signed a statement of apology to lesbian and gay Christians.
The appointment of the liberal Rowan Williams to replace George Carey as Archbishop of Canterbury gave hope to many that the church would be able to recover from Lambeth and stop the advance of the evangelicals. The evangelicals were certain Williams was unsound on the issue of homosexuality and from the moment of his appointment started a vicious campaign to undermine him. Williams tried to appease those opposed to him, but found that they were in no mood for compromise.
In 2003 the Bishop of Oxford, Richard Harries, chose Dr Jeffrey John as the next Suffragan Bishop of Reading. Dr John was openly gay, living in a long term but celibate relationship with his partner. Although this was in line with the church’s teaching the evangelicals were determined to oppose the appointment. In spite of many protests however the appointment went ahead. The evangelicals were now highly organised and arranged for protests to be made against the appointment from around the world – including many from Africa.
Rowan Williams decided he could not face the criticism and persuaded Dr John to resign. Dr John’s supporters were very disappointed with Rowan Williams, while the evangelicals were still in no mood for compromise. Williams had become the Neville Chamberlain of Anglicanism – confusing compromise with capitulation.
The appointment of gay Canon Gene Robinson as Diocesan Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003 created more controversy within the Anglican church as Robinson had what he described as a “sacramental relationship” with his partner Mark Andrew, but there was outcry from the evangelicals as in contrast to Jeffrey John this included a sexual relationship. The war in the church in the USA could take on a more alarming aspect. During the consecration Robinson wore a bullet-proof vest in case of attack, while outside Primitive Baptist minister Rev. Fred Phelps stood with banners stating “God Hates Fags” and “AIDS is the Cure”. Phelps also runs a website www.godhatesfags.com .
In spite of a hostile campaign from his opponents seeking to find some dark secret in his past, all accusations were shown to be false (such as the claim that he had abandoned his wife and children – they have all gone on record to support him) and unlike Dr John, Gene Robinson he has retained his appointment.
In response to the various evangelical organisations, the liberals decided to fight back with an organisation called the “Inclusive Church”, which aimed to stop the slide into evangelical fundamentalism. One of its criticisms was to point out that many Africa bishops hostile to gays and lesbians were silent on issues they should be speaking out about in their own countries: polygamy, stoning of women for adultery, poverty, child abuse and lack of education about contraception.
In September 2003 the National Evangelical Anglican Congress debated the future of the Church of England. As usual Rowan Williams was criticised and called a “false teacher”, and the hard-line groups such as the Church Society, Reform and Fellowship of Word and Spirit were all represented. However a more moderate evangelical group called Fulcrum also began to make its voice heard. Archbishop David Hope called less noise and more stillness and silence.
At a meeting of Anglican Evangelicals in Dallas – called “A Place to Stand” - shortly after there was much talk of breaking away from the church. However the audience was stunned when church lawyers told them it would be difficult to leave and take their own churches and property with them, as they were not owned by the local congregations.
The book closes with a series of examples of the experiences of gays within the Anglican Church, and how the recent climate has created an atmosphere of hostility and exclusion in many churches.
Last Updated 6th January 2006
© John Mann 2006
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