Bullied by Canterbury and the Church of England
by Bruce Atkinson PhD, Virtueonline:
In his recent Viewpoints report (June 30, 2017), David Virtue quoted the words of Oxford vicar Sam Allberry, which I will repeat here and then expand on Allberry’s and Virtue’s excellent points.
“The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will get the biggest push back to his call for “radical inclusion” when the Church of England Synod meets next week. An Oxford vicar by the name of Sam Allberry, self-described as same-sex attracted, is on record that despite his attractions to men, he believed that to be a true follower of Christ then one had to be celibate, just as our Lord was. He said that his sexuality was not a matter of identity and that has become news.
“Jesus Christ never married or had a romantic relationship and never had sex. If we say sex is intrinsic to human fulfillment then we say Jesus was sub-human. My church has not become a safe place for me, I was bullied at school and am now being bullied by Synod.” He said the CofE was in the process of pastorally undermining the church’s official teaching. The vicar got a standing ovation.”
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/two-minute-clip-homosexuality-every-christian-should-watch
My initial response was this: Well said, Rev. Allberry. First, no one is guilty for the particular directions of attack (temptations) from the world, the flesh, and the devil. Even Jesus “was tempted in all ways as we are but without sin.” Temptation is not sin. We are only guilty of sin when we feed these temptations by lustful fantasies (internal behavior) and act upon them (external behavior).
Most of those who take on a sense of sexual identity due to their homosexual temptations (coming out as “gay”) have already rationalized their sin away, that is, they have accepted the sinful behavior as reasonable (“not really sin because I was born this way and can’t help it”). Of course, this is merely self-deception. Science has proven again and again that sexual attraction is quite mutable (it changes over time) and that all sexual behavior (indeed all behavior) is a choice.
On the other hand, those who struggle with same-sex temptations but are totally committed to chastity are in a different category altogether. According to my understanding, they are NOT ‘gay’, NOT homosexual. They are essentially no different from a person who might be tempted toward heterosexual lust and/or acting out with someone not their spouse — but who fight off these temptations successfully. We do not call them adulterers or fornicators just because they are tempted, only if they sin. So why call people homosexual or gay simply because they are tempted? Why exclude them from ministry just because they are tempted?
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