There is an article on the Religious Intelligence site  “Double standards’ over gays”  Tuesday, 8th January 2008. 5:39pm, By: George Conger

Which reports: “The Church of England is not being honest about the issue of homosexuality, US Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has told the BBC Radio 4’s PM programme.

The failure of other Anglican Churches to be honest about the non-celibate homosexual bishops and clergy active in their churches was ‘certainly a difficulty in our context’ in the US, she said. “There’s certainly a double standard.” Bishop Schori urged the Anglican Communion to follow America’s moral high road. “The Episcopal Church lives in a society that values transparency,” she said, and others should follow the its lead and not be ashamed to question Scripture and the Church’s historic teachings.

Bishop Jefferts Schori goes on to say, (we should) ‘bring these issues out into the public sphere where we can do public theologizing about them.

It was unfair to single out the American Church for permitting same-sex blessings, when other churches were turning a blind eye to the practice, Bishop Schori said. “Those services are happening in various places, including in the Church of England, where my understanding is that there are far more of them happening than there are in the Episcopal Church,” she said. ‘

These are interesting claims made by the US Presiding Bishop.  I would think that there has been endless public-theologizing about these issues.  In addition, there are many (& have been many in the past) who unashamedly question Scripture and the Church’s historic teachings - however, some may say that the American Church is perhaps a few centuries behind those who were first active in this area.

One comment which jumps off the screen is that the Bishop ‘urged the Anglican Communion to follow America’s moral high road.’  The issue which the Bishop needs to address is, that outside of the USA and Canada, there would be little in the way of support for this somewhat humorous statement.

In summary, if you believe that the Bible represents unchanging spiritual truths. If you believe that God actually knows the future and what He wrote through His prophets and apostles reflects His perfect knowledge of all things – past, present and future.  Then the US Presiding Bishop must develop a new gospel and new theology to match the moral high ground upon which the American Church is building its future. It is indeed a different standard – but one of countless many, which have gone before and fallen.

Posted on January 9th, 2008 by Shayne
Filed under: Current Events