Theological discourse and the sexuality debate
by Ian Paul, Psephizo:
A week is a long time in politics, and it is just as long in church politics and the media coverage of it. Just three weeks after perhaps the most important gathering of the Primates of the Anglican Communion for a decade, almost everyone in the media has moved on, as if there is nothing to see here.
Last week, Angus Ritchie helpfully highlighted the significance of the remarkable agreement—not least the fact that all but one of the Primates actually remained in the room together for the whole week, something which not one single commentator had anticipated. Although the final Statement was leaked prior to the release of the full communiqué of which it was a part (which therefore put undue emphasis on sexuality at the expense of other key issues that were discussed), the Primates did address the question of discrimination against LGBTI people in the way they were asked to. And they went much further, engaging with a wide range of issues facing humanity and the global church.
Predictably, most news media outlets focused on sexuality (clearly the most exciting thing that is ever discussed by Christians) and on the possibility of conflict. After all, ‘Nice Christians actually agree on a lot, and even when they disagree, they continue to respect one another’ is hardly a headline grabber. (Of all the coverage, perhaps Channel 4’s wasthe most ill-informed and skewed.) So far, so predictable. But what is of more consequence, and less often explored, is the impact of the debate about sexuality on the nature of Anglican theological discourse.
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