Is Anglican Schism Worth It?
The BBC News, in a story " Gay priest row 'threatens Bible' " about a meeting of 35 of the world's 38 Anglican primates in Newry, County Down, reports:
However, Dr Jensen [Archbishop of Sydney] said those who opposed homosexual practices in the Church were prepared to split over the issue.
"The idea that we break from one another is a painful one, and very, very sorrowful," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Thursday.
"But there do come times when the authority of the Bible is at stake – and this is one of those times – where to stay together becomes a great difficulty.
Frankly, I'm all for a schism since I'm a cynical atheist; I think the fireworks would be entertaining, and I generally support any moves that major religious denominations take to weaken their self-perceived moral superiority.
But in a more objective fashion, I would counsel Dr Jensen to think very, very carefully about whether this issue is really worth a schism, or whether it's just been blown way, way out of proportion.
If it's one thing history tells us, it's that once a split occurs, it's ever so much harder to put it back together again. Another thing that history tells us is that virtually no one remembers the reasons for this or that historic religious schism, or if they do, they don't understand it anymore and can't imagine how it ever seemed so important in the first place.
This will end up the same way, and it won't be long before, as some say, it becomes clear that those pressing for schism will be seen to be on the wrong side of history with no way to reunite with their estranged community.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, described as "appealing for unity", needs to find the face-saving compromise that averts the potential schism (which is more likely just a feint, but can he chance it?) but that nevertheless does not compromise the progress that his church is making on equality of treatment for all those made in their "God's image". It's not an easy task, but that, presumably, is why he's Archbishop of Canterbury.
They concluded their report with these perceptive observations from Colin Slee:
The Dean of Southwark, Colin Slee, considered a moderniser, said division was being pushed by American-funded right-wingers.
"The Christian right, particularly funded from North America, is generating very severe divisions in the Baptist and Anglican and indeed the Roman Catholic churches," Mr Slee told Today.
"I think this is a deeper social occurrence that is occurring right across the spectrum of culture and is to do with people seeking after purity and thinking there can be such a thing as a pure church, which there can't be and never has been."