Williams reports complaints from Egyptian Christians that their churches are being denounced — or, he hints, threatened — by Muslim clergy because of same-sex relationships, even though the local Christians themselves have never accepted their validity.
Dr. Rowan Williams is in a difficult position. It is one that I would not wish upon anyone. On the one hand, he believes that homosexuals have a place in the church that Christ built and that they have a place in its leadership. It is an un-Biblical position, but a postmodern and widespread one. On the other hand, he doesn’t want the church to split; he is committed to keeping it together. His position might be likened to the position that Abraham Lincoln was in at the outset of the Civil War.
I have been very critical of conservatives who want to keep homosexual illegal and punish them politically for their sins. I believe gays should be allowed to serve openly in the military and if they want to get married then no one should stop them. While sinful, they do have the right to pursue happiness as long as their actions do not injure others. That is the argument.
However, homosexuality in the church is a different than homosexuality in society. One cannot expect Godless heathen to act like angels, nor can one expect demons to cast out demons. Nevertheless, there is nothing intrinsically angelic about John Calvin supporting the burning at the stake of Miguel Servetus for his heresies. Many Biblically-based Christians - Biblically-based in terms of doctrinal practice - negate their Biblical minds through the support of such un-Biblical reactions to the heresies that grow up in the midst of the church. This has been a historical error in almost every generation of church polity. It also crosses denominational boundaries.
I imagine that Rowan would be in just as difficult a position if he were a conservative who stuck with the Biblical teachings of the sinfulness of homosexuality as he is in now. The pro-gay laity and leadership of the Episcopal church would still be hounding him and attempting to make immorality a legal part of church teachings. There would still be a threat of schism. The only question would be, How would he deal it? I don’t think he’d be dealing with it any differently. He seems to be a man whose sole intent is to keep the church together, whether it means continuing to allow the ordination of gay bishops or making such ordinations unlawful. Either way, someone could end up leaving the church. And someone probably should.
Moral dilemmas are difficult. They are difficult because there is no explicitly right or wrong path. There is undoubtedly going to be some injury along the way. There is no way around it. The only thing God asks those in such positions to do is to pray and rely on Him to pave the way. If Dr. Williams does that, he’ll succeed in keeping the Anglican Communion together and maintaining a Biblical stand on homosexuality. Any bets that he’ll take to his knees any time soon - and I mean for the right reasons?
