Bishop Warns Same-Sex Unions Carry Eternal Cost
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
June 05, 2006

(CNSNews.com) - The crisis within the world's 77 million-strong
Anglican (Episcopalian) Church over homosexuality goes beyond an issue
of human sexuality, to the far deeper questions of the authority of
scripture and eternal salvation, a leading conservative bishop has
warned.

As such, it is a make-or-break issue, and more serious than previous
doctrinal disputes within the denomination, he said.

How the church deals with the crisis will show Christians' willingness
to obey biblical teachings "despite the unpopularity which this may
bring in the world and in the church," Anglican Archbishop of Sydney
Peter Jensen told a conference in New Zealand.

"I seriously believe that we have before us a struggle for the soul of
the Anglican Church," he said, acknowledging that those who shared his
point of view were labeled "obsessed, fanatical, homophobic, negative,
fundamentalist and puritan."

Differences in the worldwide Anglican Church (Anglican Communion) over
homosexuality widened into a gulf after the 2.3 million-member
Episcopal Church in the United States (ECUSA) in 2003 ordained an
openly homosexual priest as bishop of New Hampshire.

The fracture deepened with a decision by some Anglican churches in
Canada to bless same-sex "marriages."

Broadly speaking, the split has divided increasingly liberal Western
Anglican churches from its counterparts in the developing world and
their more orthodox views.

Strong evangelical and traditional opposition to the liberal trend is
present in most Western countries, however, and Jensen is a leading
figure in that camp.

Addressing a gathering of evangelical Anglicans, he said the same-sex
relationship issue was a non-negotiable one, in a different category
than others that had triggered debates within Anglicanism, such as
infant baptism or the ordination of women priests.

"There is very considerable group of people who say that this is the
point where we must take a stand. If we are not prepared to stand here,
we will stand nowhere," he argued.

"The biblical teaching [on homosexuality] makes this a matter of
spiritual life and death," Jensen said, adding that this was made clear
in texts in both the Old and New Testaments.

"I say with all solemnity to those who say the blessing of same-sex
unions is okay, and who will ordain clergy living in same-sex unions:
How can you do this when the souls of those involved are in peril?"

Jensen said the Bible made it clear that "those who are in them
[homosexual relationships] are excluded from the kingdom of heaven."

'Not unbiblical'

The blunt warning stands in contrast to the opinion voiced by one of
the most senior leaders in the Church of England, the Anglican
Communion's "mother church."

The outgoing Bishop of Oxford, Richard Harries, said last week that
same-sex unions were not contrary to scripture, but were in fact in
keeping with "the deepest biblical truths, about faithfulness and
stability."

Although Harries retired on his 70th birthday Friday, the views he
expressed are not rare in the Church of England, where groups such as
Inclusive Church network, Inclusive Communion, Changing Attitudes, and
an Anglican caucus in the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement are
challenging what liberals regard as outdated positions and incorrect
interpretations of scripture.

Some dioceses, on the other hand, withheld financial contributions
after the church appointed a homosexual priest as dean of an important
cathedral north of London, following a bid - initiated by Harries - to
ordain the cleric as a bishop ran into opposition from a minority of
bishops.

The divide was further underlined when the British government late last
year legalized marriage-like same-sex civil partnerships. Church of
England bishops issued a statement responding to the introduction of
the law, but stopped short of condemning the unions outright.

The bishops effectively said clergy could enter into same-sex
relationships as long as they were not sexually active, while lay
members of the church could enter such unions without being celibate if
they did not feel bound by the church's teaching.

The statement drew strong reaction from conservatives.

"We believe that it would be better for you to advise all Christians,
whether lay or ordained, not to enter civil partnerships, rather than
entering them under restricted conditions," a conservative evangelical
Anglican group said in a letter to the bishops.

"We look to you as leaders of our church strongly to discourage
Christians from registering civil partnerships, and to exercise
appropriate discipline with regard to the clergy," it said.

Anglican churches in Africa and Asia, where the majority of the world's
Anglicans live, have spearheaded opposition to the liberalizing drift.
Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, the most outspoken of the leaders,
cut ties with ECUSA in 2003 over the New Hampshire episode.

The Anglican Communion has instituted a protracted process aimed at
resolving the crisis. A report issued in 2004 called on churches
responsible for disunity to express regret for their actions, but the
rift was not healed.

The report also recommended the establishment of an Anglican Covenant
committing all member churches to consult the Communion before taking
decisions. A task force is being appointed to work on the proposal.