It ain't going well, says the Times' Ruth Gledhill. Excerpt from one of her blog entries (read them all at the link):
The conference is falling apart and it is only day two of official business. The Sudanese bishops, who were, astonishingly, stationed as Salisbury with the US Presiding Bishop and her team before the conference, have almost derailed the whole thing by virtually calling for Gene Robinson's resignation.
Here's Gledhill's video of the press conference in which Dr. Daniel Deng, the Anglican Archbishop of Sudan, called on the openly gay US Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson to resign:
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Let's look at the Mathew 19:12
For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.
It's obvious that Jesus is talking about celibacy. Some men are celibate because of some birth defect. Others because men have made them that way. And finally some are celibate to concentrate on serving God.
He may have used the term "eunuch" to refer to what we now consider a gay man, who has romantic and sexual interest in other men but not sexual interest in women.
In the context of the entire text, this doesn't make sense. So Christ is saying that hey, if you aren't married and distracted by heterosexual sex, you can concentrate more on serving God. Of course those homosexuals not married but having homosexual sex are the same as those heterosexuals renouncing marriage. Otherwise, this verse, if we accept eunuch as a homosexual in the "born that way" manner, means that gays are to (a) remain celibate and (b) are scripturally denied the ability to marry.
Lancelot: "Roland, old boy, you need to start your own blog. That's the best and briefest (best because its the briefest) skewering of Anglican history and identity I've ever seen. "
Except, I don't think that Roland is actually Catholic. I get the impression that his Catholicism is as tongue-in-cheek as his Frenchness. He's far and away the best writer among this blog's commenters, though.
BTW, what is the Pelican?
And if you are merely proof-texting--as Christine is--you don't understand the full meaning of Scriptures.
Gee, Daniel, I'm sure glad I have the Catechism of the Catholic Church available to "correct" me. To wit:
1605 Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: "It is not good that the man should be alone."92 The woman, "flesh of his flesh," his equal, his nearest in all things, is given to him by God as a "helpmate"; she thus represents God from whom comes our help.93 "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. (emphasis mine)"94 The Lord himself shows that this signifies an unbreakable union of their two lives by recalling what the plan of the Creator had been "in the beginning": "So they are no longer two, but one flesh."95
And your credentials in Biblical scholarship are . . . ??
And if you are merely proof-texting--as Christine is--you don't understand the full meaning of Scriptures.
Gee, Daniel, I'm sure glad I have the Catechism of the Catholic Church to correct me. To wit:
1605 Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: "It is not good that the man should be alone."92 The woman, "flesh of his flesh," his equal, his nearest in all things, is given to him by God as a "helpmate"; she thus represents God from whom comes our help.93 "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh."94 (emphasis mine) The Lord himself shows that this signifies an unbreakable union of their two lives by recalling what the plan of the Creator had been "in the beginning": "So they are no longer two, but one flesh."95
And your credentials, Daniel, in Biblical scholarship are . . . ??
Thanks to both Lancelot and anonymous at 6:58 AM for the kind words.
I don't think I have the industry or stamina to do a blog; I am astounded that Rod covers as wide a variety of topics as he does and monitors the comments -- all while holding down his day job. I'd be comatose in a week.
And I am indeed French (well, of French extraction) and Catholic. I am actually more Catholic than the Pope since I don't do the Novus Ordo and am holding out for the old time religion. I'm not holding my breath.
The Pelican is a metaphor used of Christ derived from the bird's feeding her young with her own blood. It is a Eucharistic symbol of great antiquity.
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