Lest You Doubt
Several sources in the Episcopalian blogiverse have published this comment of the Anglican Bishop of Uyo (Nigeria), Rt. Rev. Isaac Orama, who said:
Is there any wonder so many of us are so adamant – when a bishop of the Anglican Communion would say such a thing?
Read it all here.
"Homosexuality and lesbianism are inhuman. Those who practice them are insane, satanic and are not fit to live because they are rebels to God's purpose for man,'' the Bishop said."… Are not fit to live"! Hear that, conservatives? These are the clerics with whom you have allied yourselves. This is a bishop in Akinola's church. He thinks gay men and lesbian are "not fit to live." Do you really want to ally yourselves with people like this?
Is there any wonder so many of us are so adamant – when a bishop of the Anglican Communion would say such a thing?
Read it all here.
posted by Lisa Fox at 9/04/2007 10:24:00 PM
16 Comments:
Only you and Fr. Jake have posted about it, and it's only reported in one source, UPI Africa Monitoring. It sounds bogus as no reputable news source is reporting it.
Get a grip, "Anonymous." Before Father Jake and I commented on it, United Press International reported it. How's that for bogus?
You know what really sends chills down my spine is not that there is an ignorant bishop in the Anglican Communion... I'm used to that. What is unconscionable about it is that I am not hearing him denounced by any other bishops.
Note To Anglican Bishops: Silence is the voice of complicity.
I couldn't agree more strongly, Lindy.
If you haven't already done so, go here, sign the online petition, then send an e-mail directly to Archbishop Akinola who hand-picked Isaac Orama to be a bishop in the church of God.
Thisfrom Stand Firm.
Ann, thanks for that. I am shocked and pleasantly surprised that Greg Griffiths at StandFirm has responded as I, Father Jake, Susan Russell, and so many others have. He calls for Akinola and Minns to repudiate this hate speech which is antithetical to the Spirit. Now I see that even Kendall Harmon has repudiated this statement.
Now we shall see what the Nigerians say -- and what their lackey bishops in the U.S. say. I am aware that Akinola, as primate in Nigeria, has an absolute power that our presiding bishop does not have. But that also means that folks like Minns are under the thumb of their archbishop as our diocesans are not. It will be interesting to see whether Minns or any of the CANA clergy have the chutzpah to add their voices to Griffiths and Harmon.
Once upon a time, some bit ago, Bishop Iker told me that we needed to be understanding of the culture in which Abp Akinola lives within -- the presence of Islamic law - infering that were it not for the law, Abp Akinola might not be so hard on the gays and lesbians in Nigeria.
All I can say is that I am not holding my breath. Plus I don't really think it matters what they say...at this particular point, all that matters is action. Until Akinola withdraws his attack dogs and stops trying to tear apart TEC - until Iker stops supporting those churches that actively condone punishment condemning gays and lesbians - words mean nothing.
Here's a hopeful thought:
If we can be charitable and assume that there is some percentage of parishioners who threw their lot in with the CANA bunch because they had sincere misgivings about the direction of TEC - that they wrestled and prayed and decided that they had to support CANA (or whatever incarnation it might have been) - anyway - is it possible that those people might have their collective eyes opened and just maybe see with what they have truly signed up for? That maybe they didn't plan to align themselves with individuals who believe this bs in their heart of hearts?
Perhaps he is voicing what many conservatives secretly think (which would be why they're not clamoring to denounce him). I've seen enough of this hypocrisy in the conservatives I know . . . they don't dare speak in such hateful terms in public, but they'll do it in private. Of course, I am sure this doesn't apply to all conservative members of the Anglican communion.
I'm with gartenfische. Take a look at the comment thread over at the Harmon+ site on this. Starts out all right, but gets worse & worse as you go down-thread.
I suspect that for many reasserters, the angst over +Orama isn't what he said, it's that one of their own got caught being a bit too blunt in public...
Barbi said: "Once upon a time, some bit ago, Bishop Iker told me that we needed to be understanding of the culture in which Abp Akinola lives within -- the presence of Islamic law - infering that were it not for the law, Abp Akinola might not be so hard on the gays and lesbians in Nigeria."
Thanks for your comment, Barbi. So Iker urges us to be tolerant and patient with Akinola, respecting the culture in which he lives, eh? Do you reckon he has any inkling of the irony of that statement? Is he actually able to say it with a straight face?
And I agree with the rest of your comment. It's not going to matter a whole lot to me if Akinola or Minns draw the line at this particular hate speech, while they continue trying to tear this church apart with other hateful speech.
It would be nice if Hilary's right and most conservatives don't really have this level of hatred in their hearts. Unfortunately, I fear that Gartenfische and David are right: that this attitude is more prevalent than I really want to think about.
UPI pulled it Thursday, issued a statement Friday. The story is bogus. NAN pulled all reference to it, an apology from reporter forthcoming. Both "sources" indicate the story is bogus. I have a hunch you and Jake knew, all along, this story was bogus. It was a progressive "plant" planted close to September 30. Shame on you! It's chilling to see the depths TEC and its minions will stoop to.
I just love how the hit-and-run commenters all come under the name "anonymous". Grow a pair and identify yourself, at least by a consistent nom de blog.
NancyP (who has used only this nom de blog for about 4 years)
Thanks for your comment, Nancy P. Yes, the anonymous posters are pretty funny. I'm learning to ignore them.
The Nigerian government press agency has withdrawn the story, forcing UPI to pull it. And the notoriously untrustworthy "communication officer" of the Anglican Church of Nigeria has said the priest didn't say those remarks. And all that happened just after the Archbishop of Canterbury sent a stern letter to Akinola. Uh-huh.
Some put this as "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" I remember when I was a kid, caught red-handed, and I would say, "Who, me??" Indeed.
It would have been a shock to have read an Episcopalian / Anglican site responding with prayer and prayer requests for this man and this incident.
You don’t really give a crap who I am; I’m no one to respect in your book.
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