The world’s first openly gay bishop greets me in a small park behind the
sports hall at Kent University – although I tell the Rev Gene Robinson,
Bishop of New Hampshire, that we should probably have met down the road at
Canterbury cathedral – maybe on the spot where Thomas à Becket was martyred.
He roars with laughter: “I don’t feel like a martyr. But by an accident of
history I feel I am somewhat of a symbol.”
Indeed, and to some people a very unwelcome one. The only bishop out of 800
Anglican prelates not to be invited by the Archbishop of Canterbury to the
Lambeth Conference at Kent University, Robinson decided that he would go
anyway. More than 200 African and Asian bishops are boycotting the
conference in protest – not just because they want Robinson to keep away but
also because the American bishops who consecrated him are attending.
Clearly, even breathing the same air as a bishop who may once have shaken
hands with a gay bishop is offensive to some people.
The arrival of Robinson has not so much spoilt the party as driven a noisy
pantechnicon right through it. Everything else on the agenda has been kicked
into second place: whether or not the Anglican church can tolerate gay
clergy is practically the only thing anyone has wanted to talk about since
the holy beanfeast – held only once a decade – began last week. And Robinson
– small, trim and dapper in a purple ecclesiastical shirt – has been the
nonguest that everyone (bar the bishops) has wanted to buttonhole.
“It’s a pity I chose this week to give up smoking,” he says, puffing
gratefully on a Marlboro. I don’t think that even he had forecast what it
would be like to be the target of venom from a global assortment of prelates
(the Archbishop of Nigeria described gays as lower than dogs; the Archbishop
of Kenya said “the devil has clearly entered the church”).
Was the American bishop right to turn up? Surely arriving uninvited and then
holding an open-air service last week for lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transsexual Anglicans outside the cathedral – just as the Archbishop of
Canterbury was inside, saying, “Unity in diversity is the cherished Anglican
tradition” – was a touch provo-cative? Even childish, some might say.
“I took a vow, as did all bishops, to participate in the councils of the
church,” says Robinson. “I am only fulfilling my vow.” What about the vows
of the 230 boycotting bishops? Haven’t you ruined the conference for them?
“I can’t control their choices,” he says. “They were the ones who demanded I
not be included at the table and the Archbishop of Canterbury acceded to
their requests – and lo and behold that’s not enough. Even the bishops who
consecrated me are found to be offensive.
“And my guess is that if the archbishop had not invited the entire American
church, these [protesting] bishops still wouldn’t be here. Bullies never get
enough.”
Is Rowan Williams, leader of the global Anglican community, really being
bullied? “I believe so. I think most of the world perceives that as
bullying.”
What do you think of Williams’s leader-ship? “He is in an almost impossible
job. And I think that in giving in to some of the demands made on him,
matters have got worse. Nothing short of total victory will satisfy them and
I wonder when he is going to learn that.”
Robinson, 61, says he always knew that he was gay: “From the age of 13 I
learnt to censor every word I was going to say – gay people do this all the
time.” Yet he was married to a woman for 13 years, trying what he calls the
“white-knuckle” method of suppressing his true sexuality.
“I grew up at a time when there were no role models: to be gay or lesbian was
to be a failure. Oh, I shared the fact that I was attracted to men within
two weeks of meeting [my ex-wife] Isabella. All of my real romantic
relations previous to her had been with men. I felt ready for a relationship
with her, but I was still unsure about marriage. Isabella assured me we’d
deal with it together. And we did, 13 years later.”
By this time they had two daughters: Jamie, then 8, and Ella, 4. After
Robinson read Jamie a gay children’s book about two men living together, she
said: “I hope you find a boyfriend, daddy.” After the divorce, Isabella
remarried and Robinson met his companion, Mark Andrew. There appear to have
been few problems, if any: his daughters have loved having “three dads”,
according to the bishop, and they happily spent every weekend with him and
Andrew.
It seems, too, that even the most strait-laced of New England matrons in his
New Hampshire diocese have taken him to their generous bosoms. He and Andrew
celebrated their civil union in his own church just six weeks ago before an
approving congregation. With that sort of grassroots assurance, it’s not
difficult to see why Robinson feels that he can walk the Kent campus with
confidence. Young people, particularly, seem to warm to him. “I have rarely
met a person under 30 who can understand what all of this is about,” he
says. “They all have gay and lesbian friends. It’s no big deal – and the
fuss makes the church look hopelessly irrelevant.”
It certainly makes the Church of England’s famous reputation for tolerance
seem rather weedy. While New Hampshire Anglicans have apparently celebrated
their bishop’s civil union without turning a hair, the Church of England is
still nervous of appearing to support the ordination of any homosexual.
Robinson has been allowed to meet Williams only once – about three years
ago. By comparison, he has had three one-on-one meetings with Barack Obama,
the US presidential candidate.
“I had long wanted a meeting with the archbishop, but he was very unwilling to
meet me,” says Robinson. In the end the meeting was so cloaked in secrecy
that he was not even told the venue until almost the last minute.
Are we more prejudiced over here? “I would say you are just as far along this
issue as we are, only you won’t admit it,” he says. “You have so many gay
clergy, gay partnered clergy, gay couples who are both clergy. The bishops
know it. Their congregations know it. But can you get anyone to talk about
it? Oh no. I think it’s a hold-over from Victorian times.”
Irrelevant, out of touch with society, blinkered . . . no description could be
more damaging for a church with a falling roll call that is signally failing
to attract new generations. Robinson says Williams knows this. It’s also one
of the reasons why he is happy to be a thorn in the side of Anglicanism: “I
am simply not willing to let these guys meet without being reminded that in
every single one of their churches, no matter what country it is in, they
all have gay and lesbian people.”
Perhaps this is just what the Anglican church needs: a natural self-publicist
who is equally comfortable hobnobbing with the likes of Sir Ian McKellan,
the gay actor, as he is talking about the scriptures. Robinson seems happy
to accept the mantle of missionary: “I think the American compulsion to talk
about everything openly is a great strength – and a weakness. We appear
unnecessarily brash, but I love that about us. I feel called to be as open
as I can be about my life so that young lesbians and gay men will understand
that they can have wonderful relationships, be mothers and fathers and
[achieve] real distinction for themselves in their careers.
“Does anyone think that if I were hit by one of your marvellous double-decker
buses this issue is going to go away? That’s what’s so remarkable about the
Archbishop of Sudan’s statement this week that, if I resigned, the church
would go back to being the way it was.”
He laughs: “There are faithful gay and lesbian people all over this church who
are ready to serve as bishops. And if I dropped off the face of this earth
tomorrow, that isn’t going to stop.”
Conforming somewhat to a certain archetype, Robinson loves cooking, keeps an
immaculate house with Andrew, talks openly about having been tested for HIV
and has masses of female friends who talk to him about their problems. But
he is also a man of the church, who speaks about having his life saved by
the Bible. He clearly has a profound faith: at dawn each day this week he
has gone to a Canterbury monastery to pray with Franciscan monks.
Okay. So, if you believe the Bible is God’s word, what about all that stuff in
the scriptures that forbids same-sex unions? “The scriptures were written in
patriachal times,” he says, “times of slavery, times of polygamy. And when
you go for a literalist reading you run into trouble. Women wear hats in
church, for example, because St Paul said you should keep your head covered.
And your mouth shut, by the way.
“We are arguing about scripture itself and not the God to whom it points. I
have to wonder, as young men are knifing each other all over London and when
more than a billion people try to exist on less than $1 a day, why the
church is tearing itself apart over the issue of sexuality. It is such a
waste of our time and energy.”
Doesn’t he worry that his presence could goad the boycotting bishops into
doing something permanently destructive? There have already been murmurings
about a “wounded” church. Isn’t he simply rubbing salt into the schism? “If
someone chooses to feel wounded, that’s their responsibility,” he says. “I’m
not attempting to storm into the pulpit and rip the microphone from the
Archbishop of Canterbury’s hands.”
No, but neither is he going to go quietly. Robinson has been making the most
of his outsider status in Canterbury, holding “open nights” in which he
hopes to convert waverers. The next “Conversation with Bishop Gene Robinson”
is on Wednesday night. It’s a fringe event and on the fringe is precisely
where he wants to be, subtly indicating that his camp is where true
Christianity lies.
“Jesus spent the majority of his time with people on the margins and might
well have been more interested in those on the fringes, those who have been
excluded,” he says. So he’s even got Jesus backing him.
How have we been made? Some people are born with a physical condition that is'nt natural & it restricts their lifestyle. Others e.g, a homosexual is born with a non physical condition that encourages him to use his physical parts in a way contrary to nature. Is lifestyle restriction unthinkable?
Wilf Parmenter, Perth, Western Australia
Isn't it unfortunate that V. Gene Robinson is a caricature of a gay bishop, rather than being a bishop who happens to be gay?
Fr. Van Windsor, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, USA
The church has always failed to live up to the scriptures, so why is this any different. The Bible clearly condems homosexuality as unatural, obscene and not acceptable to mankinds creator. Forgiveness occurs after one repents and STOPS practicing the particular sin.
francis, Hindhead, England
When Jesus spoke with prostitutes, etc., he said repent, not I'm OK, you're OK. "I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance," Mat 9:13b. I read Robinson's book; he said many times he could justify his position from the Bible and history, but never did. It was a "feel good" book.
Jamie L Berry, Sun City West, AZ
"only way to be a Christian was believe the Bible"
Jesus referred to Scripture: "the commandment of God" (Mat. 15:3) and as the "Word of God" (Mat. 15:6). He also indicated that it was indestructible: "Until Heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass..." (Mat.5:18)
Philip, Nr. Haywards Heath, England
Unrepentant? Of course he is. He has absolutely nothing to repent, and I am delighted that he is in the UK trying to stand up to the Lambeth Bullies. The Archbishop of Canterbury should be thoroughly ashamed of himself, but he, like so many others, is clearly in denial.
Richard Cleeve, EASTBOURNE,
Sadly as I read this interview with Mr Robinson one can only conclude that he is an arrogant and self focussed man who is enjoying his five minutes in the sun. He obviously is so self interested that he can't see it! He needs to grow up get beyond himself.
Chris M, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
I think it's interesting that neither Jesus, nor Paul or any of the other authors of the Greek Testament ever said that the only way to be a Christian was believe the Bible.
It's not only the liberals who pick and choose which portions of the Bible in which to believe. Conservatives do it, too.
Daniel Loftin, Spokane, USA
m wilson, no Adam was not circumcised. Gods covenant with His chosen people was through Abraham
Francis, Vancouver, Canada
The Biblical literalists insist that the Bible condemns homosexuality, so the Anglican Church should, too.
No doubt literalists also approve of slavery, kill those who work on the sabbath, kill brides who are not virgins, and kill rebellious sons.
From Biblical literalists, Good Lord, deliver us!
John S. Dearing, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
why not have a separate Gay Anglican Communion church, afterall we have plenty of spare churches these days!~!
!~!~!I wish they would just get on with it~!
!^%$ and in the website ##★BIGBISEXUAL.C O M★ ##!~!
the gay was so common`1`1`
!~!~! and you will understand more about the gay!!
davilliu, NEW YORK, USA
I can thoroughly recommend Bishop Gene Robinson's book 'In the Eye of the Storm'. Bishop Gene is a very sincere, caring, compassionate man of God, he understands, he listens, he goes alongside people and has respect for everyone. He is uniting the church as a disciple of Jesus.
Pam Megson, Dronfield, Derbyshire
Schism is the only way forward. One church for gays and "progressives" and one for Christian traditionalists.
Christianity is under threat from secularism, liberalism, marxism and Islamism.
Only by purging itself of a minority who are trying to pervert the scriptures will Christianity survive.
Geoff M, Birmingham, England
What is this Church that does not preach the Good News, denies the Resurrection and is afraid of death? Why do we need bishops to authorise the distribution of plain bread and wine in a nice setting and give guidance on social issues?
Dave, DC, USA
Have your say
Name Name, Town,
Doesn't anyone see anything weird in the fact that these guys are trying to follow "a Zulu model of talk-based conflict resolution"?
Didn't it ever occur to them to use the principles at, for example, James 1:19, Matt 5:23,24, or Gal 6:1? These bishops all prefer man's advice to God's.
John Smith, Lancashire, UK
To Alex London,
So a group of self interested parties noncontemporaneously wrote that Jesus said to ignore the harsh teachings of the OT God and just listen to what he says. Bit like 'NEW' Labour spin really. Truth is that this debate is irrelevant to the majority (atheists) and laughable at best
AKULA, london, UK
Again I ask "was Adam circumsised?' If so, who did it?
m wilson, bidache, france
Eric Kossian: Why bear false witness against a group of people(The Episcopal Church- or did you intend another group) whom you can't possibly know and have obviously not really listened to?
That (they) "do not believe the Bible is the Word of God " is
nonsense. You just want your own idol raised
W. Joseph Trickey, Stuart Florida, USA
Gay sex is really important: the single issue now insisted on by our western episcopate. All else is secondary 'adiaphora'.
Tom, Witney, UK
I watched the BBC documentry about the rebels-the Churches are bursting at the seams,faith is strong& growing with people ready to lay down their lives for their faith
The Church in England is dying on her feet whilst the nation just ignores it and like Nero just fiddles.
John, Durham, UK
The Bishops and Priests of the Anglican Comminion who
think that the Roman Catholic Church Curia has the answer to their concerns would be wise to read "Disputed Truth"
---Memoirs of Hans Kung. It has just been released in English by Novalis Publishing Inc. Toronto, Canada, 2008.
H.F. Southcott, Ottawa Ontario, Canada
"been seduced away from the truth of the Bible"
Where did this all too human notion that "The Bible" is the source of all truth come from? Not from the Bible (please don't quote 2 Tim 3:16!! yes scripture is useful!), certainly not from Jesus, so where? From those who crave certainty perhaps?
Daniel Heslop, Bournemouth, UK
The CoE is not a Church, the CoE is a religious institution created by Henry VIII to attend his political needs. No more then that.
Fabio C, London, UK
So many are quick to condemn the Archbishop of Canterbury on this issue of homosexuality. This is diverting him from far more important issues that require the Anglican Church's attention. When will the schismists realise that satan is playing the fiddle and that they are dancing to his tune?
Jon, Purley,
The Anglican leadership has been seduced away from the truth of the Bible by human reasoning and God is in the process of separating the chaff from the wheat. He wants a pure church not one given over to it's own lusts. Jesus loved but effected change in everyone around him.. go and sin no more...
Dave Anderson, Seattle,
What is really important is eradicating superstition. Ecrasez l'infame!
Paul Freeman, London, England
The problem lies in the very roots of the church. The only possible resolution might come from a true Christian leader unafraid to say he believes the Bible.
Pacha Nagnaka, Gsganka, Mali
The Anglican Church is like a marriage. Unity for life, for better for worse, in sickness and in health, till death us do part.
Communication through conversation is the only way to work through our differences and the words that Jesus gave to us all 'Love one another as I haved loved you'.
Pam Megson, Dronfield, Derbsyhire, UK
the best new the current archbishop of canterbury could give anglicans, is that he has decided to resign.
this man has done more damage to his religion than all the previous encumbents before him.he has divided the church, and will preside over its break up with his liberal ideas.
r.down, london, uk
An "indaba" after Buddhist chants & grass-skirted Melanesian dancers in the Canterbury Cathedral? The investiture of the Archbishop of York amidst Ugandan Bwola dancers & African singing? No wonder the Anglican Church, bereft of its cultural compass, sees its British membership dwindle rapidly.
Bob Evans, Anaheim, California
Scripture, Tradition & Reason are valuable means for imparting religious knowledge but they are 'means' to an end, that of - life in God's presence - not ends in themselves. We must not make 'idols' out of either Scripture or Tradition or Reason. Worldly doctrines such as "Biblical infallibility"
Daniel Heslop, Bournemouth, UK
"The Word was made flesh - a dwelt among us". No longer do we worship the written word - but the Logos, who is the Word.
The Bible is like the Parables of Jesus. Believers need to 'read, mark, learn and inwardly digest it ' - but not worship it!,
Father Ron Smith, Christchurch, New Zealand
archbishop of canterbury says "now we must work out what really is important". i would have thought that was the easy part, you accept the bible and (try) and life by it, that is, if you are a christian. the c o e has tried to be something for everyone and become nothing for anyone.
stephen baron, leith, tasmania
Wade, you're missing the point a little with those comments. The Old Testament law is not considered fully relevant since Christ in the way it was - Jesus said in the New Testament he had come to fulfil the law. Homosexuality, on the other hand, is clearly opposed in the New Testament too
Alex, London,
Christianity has its own morality norms clearly marked on the tin. Female ordination is arguable, homosexuality is not. That tin is marked forbidden fruit. OK, so why not have a separate Gay Anglican Communion church, afterall we have plenty of spare churches these days and trial it for 20 yrs?
Dennis, Sydney, Australia
It is obvious that there is no room to agree to disagree and the ultimate end must be a split. I wish they would just get on with it. The whining of religionist conservatives is so tedious.
Mike Homfray, Liverpool,
The bible claims to be the word of God!
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16)
If the Church of England rejects the word of God, another people will take their place. God help England if that happens.
Mark, Maidstone, England
What new issues? "There's nothing new under the sun"
It's through mercy, not sacrifice we visit the sick or those in prison. But if what if the sickness or crime is an unnecessary invention of this world?
"many have sinned for a small thing; those seeking abundence will turn their eyes away"
Mrs.Josephine Hyde-Hartley, Bacup, UK
If Rowan Williams had abided by the Windsor REport and excluded America for consecrating a practising homosexual bishop, then the communion would be in stronger shape.
Instead, he has fudged and fudged and fudged, and the communion will be weaker and break into different pieces.
Thank God for GAFCON
James, Heathfield, East Sussex
What would Jesus do?, What did Jesus say? What do we think he would say to all the Bishops in attendence and those who chose to boycott. You can't have a relationship with someone who refuses to come to the table to talk. That's what we see here in the U.S.
Susan Marengo, Lexington, MI USA
Susan Marengo, Lexington, MI, USA
The Church of England is out of touch.The C of E by trying to cater for every Tom, Dick and Harry has made the Catholic Church more appealing to traditionalists. Like our public services, the C of E is trying to social engineer us all into conformity, and pity indeed the dissenter !!
slade wallis, Retford, Great Britain
Of course the whole debate is very silly, but why to right wing Christians bang on about: you can't go against what's written in the Bible when gthey are quite happy with going against a whole bunch of precepts such as stoning rape and pillage etc which are also in the Bible and much more stated
Wade, Croydon, UK
The AnglicanChurch is the Laodicean church of Revelation 3:14 Hot nor cold Rich bit wretched and pitiable. They even have a famous picture of a man they call Jesus knoocking at the door. Very apt. This is the dieing age of all these churches because thet refuse to obey Yahweh and his word.
Jas, Alders , UK
The Bible is not raw material which could be interpreted by who-ever and hence end up with various "view points". No, the Bible IS an interpretation! The Bible interprets itself with apostolic authority and thát interpretation is the true Christian Faith to which all Christians should bow the knee.
Chris, Cape Town, SA
Eric Kossian, God's word comes to us in many ways and it's our task to interpret it in each succeeding generation. You may believe you have The Truth, the unique interpretation of the Bible and of God's word; others use their God-given gifts of intellect to reach different conclusions.
Jane, Brighton,
Hard to see what sort of conflict resolution there can be with GAFCON not there. The truth is that schism has already happened and Lambeth is just putting the best gloss on it that it can. Better that way. Luke 9:5.
Terry Hamblin, Bournemouth,
Buddhist chants?, resolutions that have been passed since 1867 you’ll find many of them on really important subjects have never been acted on?, no votes?, the crisis is complex?
Mmmm – maybe GAFCON is the answer
Creator/Evolution -mmm sounds a bit like which came first the chicken or the egg?
Clem, Perth, Australia
This Archbishop wants inclusivity above all things. But the bible says the following:
Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword...see Matthew 10:34-39.
Jesus wasnt advocating violence but he was drawing a line in the sand...not inclusivity
JohnW, Oldham,
I can not agree more. The Anglican Church has lost it way and is hurting all churches. Does the Anglican Church believe the Bible is the Inspired Word of God? Is the Anglican Church a Christian Church? If homosexual sex and unions is ok, what is next? Multiple partner?
Samuel K. Farmer, Hazlehurst, USA
Such a simplistic approach to the literal truth of everything in the Bible would mean the world would still have to condone slavery, adulterers would be stoned to death and people could be put to death for wearing the wrong sort of clothes.
Mark Dolahenty, Sydney, Australia
Most people deny modern Physics but it has a strong element of proved truth which is Last page of Bible.
The Great Creator of all the Universe and Space starts at Absolute zero of temperature in Infinite time which means there is no boundary however long time or great distance.
Evolution-Earth.
Dr MI Barton MA. MBA.PhD, Oxon., uk
Perdon Eric,
But the so-called Christians have been editing the Bible, as we know it since it came into being. It has always been man´s word of god, not the other way around.
RD, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Why call yourself a Christian Church if you don't believe the Bible as the Word of God? Once you start picking what parts of the Bible you want to obey, then you've removed God from the throne & placed yourself on it. Jesus will say, "Away from me, I never knew you!" Without Him you can do nothing.
Eric Kossian, Leavenworth, USA/WA