Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Replies re Jensen's boycott

Today's Sydney Morning Herald has letters to the editor. They did not publish mine which focussed on the point made by Jensen that the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson had made it difficult for the African Anglicans living amongst Muslims.
I wrote:
"If Archbishop Jensen is so worried about the opinions of Muslims, perhaps he will demand Anglican women wear the chador in future. Nothing would surprise me. He does not speak for the Anglican church. So far no other Diocesan Bishop in Australia agrees with him let alone the rest of the world. There are many of us forced to live and worship in Sydney who would like to request alternative oversight from the Bishop Newcastle, Dr Farran who represents true Anglican inclusiveness and diversity."
Five letters were published
I can ignore Rev. Scott Blackwell who is Anglican Chaplain to Macquarie University and comes from Christchurch, St Ives, a hotbed of fundamentalism and also Dr Peter Barnes who is a Presbyterian minister in Sydney so probably also indoctrinated at Moore College.
I did give Jensen his full title of Archbishop (although not in my blog, I admit) but Blackwell could not extend the same courtesy to Archbishop Aspinall, Anglican Primate of Australia. His origins are displayed in his snide comments regarding incense.
Archdeacon Ian Palmer is in the Diocese of Canberra-Goulburn but apparently recently moved from Newcastle (Australia). While he criticises Jensen for his 'holier than thou' attitude and lack of courageous leadership, he also criticises the US Episcopal church for flouting the moral authority of Lambeth. I would remind him that 1968 Lambeth did not recommend women being ordained as priests but had changed its mind by 1978 AFTER TEC, Canada and New Zealand had followed Hong Kong(pre '68) in the ordination of women to the priesthood. If we always waited for Lambeth to act, very little would be achieved.
The two letters from apparent lay persons ridicule the obvious inconsistencies in upholding the infallibility of the Bible. I liked George Pugh's reference to "the Anglican evangelical wing's unhealthy excitement about homosexuals in the church."

1 comment:

Alcibiades said...

I think their excitement is great: healthy human sexuality in all it's colours and shapes is something it's good to get excited about. What's unhealthy is the way they can't admit to their own perfectly normal interests, and in repressing it re-express their fascination and desires by attacking others, thereby seeking to draw attention away from their own sexualities.