Church of Nigeria’s Position on the Recent Gay Developments in ACNA
from the Office of the Metropolitan of the Church of Nigeria, via Anglican Ink:
The College of Bishops of the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA), at their recent meeting, issued a Pastoral Statement of toleration of same-sex persons within their fold. The Bishops noted “that the struggle with human identity is real and painful for Christians who experience same-sex attraction” and reject the use of language that identify such people for who they are- Gays; preferring that they be addressed as “Christians who
experience same-sex attraction”. The College of Bishops also upheld a commitment to subsidiarity which defers to diocesan bishops, discernment on how to handle homosexuals in their church communities. It called on priests of their churches to teach about human sexuality based on the Bishops’ desire that parishes in ACNA province become “places where those who experience same-sex attraction, especially youths know where they can go to share about this reality”.
These decisions by ACNA bishops tantamount to a subtle capitulation to recognize and promote same -sex relations among its members, exactly the same route of argument adopted by The Episcopal Church (TEC). Its appeal to subsidiarity is another trick not to submit to the clear authority of Scripture on homosexuality, rather, they defer to individual Bishops discretion of discernment on how to relate to homosexuals, and offer them room. As Phil Ashey rightly observed, “Among Anglicans, subsidiarity does not give the Diocesan Bishops or Dioceses the authority to decide matters unilaterally that touch on the Faith and Order of the Church. Appeals to subsidiarity resulted in the unilateral decisions of Diocesan Bishops of New Westminster (Canada) to recognize same sex blessings of marriage and New Hampshire (TEC) to elect same-sex partnered Gene Robinson as Bishop.
These actions which fueled the crisis that has broken the fabrics of the Anglican Communion should not be repeated by ACNA. Manipulating languages to cover up sin and sinners are incompatible with the example of Scripture which condemned sin. A Gay is a Gay, they cannot be rightly described otherwise. In the same vein, we cannot describe people as ‘Christian Murderer’, ‘Christian Adulterer’ and ‘Christian terrorist’; neither should we even have ‘Gay Christian’ or ‘Gay Anglican’. “Without Holiness, no man shall see God” (Hebrews 12 :14).
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