Anglican game is worth the candle, says Williams (Archbishop of Canterbury)

[struggle4progress]

... “It feels as though we are caught in a battle very few really want to be fighting; like soldiers in the trenches somewhere around 1916, trying to remember just what were the decisions that got everyone to a point where hardly anyone was owning the conflict ...

The Archbishop expressed his frustration at the intransigence of people on each side: the “virtual fundamentalism which simply declines to reflect at all about principles of interpretation” and the “cultural snobbery, content to say that we have outgrown biblical principles”.

“Whatever happened,” the Archbishop lamented, “to persuasion? To the frustrating business of conducting recognisable arguments in a shared language? It is frustrating because people are so aware of the cost of a long, argumentative process. It is intolerable that injustice and bigotry are tolerated by the Church; it is intolerable that souls are put in peril by doubtful teaching and dishonest practice. Yet one of the distinctive things about the Christian Church as biblically defined is surely the presumption (Acts 15) that the default position when faced with conflict is reasoning in council and the search for a shared discernment.”

The Church had been at fault, he said. “We should have done more on what it means to be a Catholic Church; we should have done more on the use of scripture.” In particular, mindful of the text of Lambeth 1.10, more should have been done to “offer a safe space” for homosexual people. “Again and again, we have used the language of respect for their human dignity; again and again, we have failed to show it effectively ...

http://www3.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=35574

[JerseygirlCT]

1. For a smart man, he's sure managing to be pretty

obtuse.

This isn't an argument between upholding injustice and throwing away scripture. Nice strawman he's adopted there.

This isn't even about how scripture is interpreted, although I'm sure many would be happy to hide behind that argument.

This is about institutionalized injustice, and using a warped interpetation of scripture to support it -- and beyond and above that, this is about power. Southern Cone primates have the numbers (of members) and have decided they'd like to run things. Nevermind that's not how the AC works.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. It seems to me that no one wants to find common ground anymore

Look at here on DU. We are all progressives, supposedly--and look at the arguments that happen on R/T. And I won't talk about open forums where both conservatives and liberals are posting--it is much worse. Seems that people want instant answers and those answers better agree with their ideas or they won't listen.

[JerseygirlCT]

3. The problem with this situation is that finding common ground

requires that both sides be open to listening and considering.

The African primates and their cohort are not in the least interested in any sort of common ground. It's their ground or no ground.

They've taken to outright extortion now to have their way. And, seemingly, the ABC's response is appeasement and pretty language about seeking common ground. He's trying to buy time, but all the time in the world isn't going to change the situation one bit.

The Episcopal church, and progressives throughout the Anglican Communion, have been holding off on fully investing our GLBT members in the church, pending so very many listening processes, hoping to bring these other people along -- at least as far as respecting the traditional autonomy of the various churches. No go. They're not listening, they're only making demands.

[kwassa]

4. Williams is a hypocrite

He says all these things, but does nothing to allow conversation and reasoning to take place, but instead allows ultimatums to placed against different provinces, and deadlines imposed.

The funny part is that no one, including him, has the authority to impose anything on any other province in the communion.