Sir, Archbishop Orombi calls for the Anglican Church to return to the Bible (August 1) and repent its error in forgetting this.

There is a simple message in the Bible, given by our Lord and reported in the Gospels of both Matthew and Mark (12:29-32), 'The first is,"… love the Lord your God with all your heart, … The second is this:

"Love your neighbour as yourself." There is no other commandment greater than these.' (NEB) If those in the Church would give these two commandments the same priority as Christ did, perhaps they would not be arguing so fiercely among themselves over lesser matters.

Dr P J G Butler,
Cambridge

Sir, Last month Bishop Gene Robinson likened his "suffering" to that of Jesus at the cross; now Bishop Henry Orombi seems to liken the American's "betrayal" to Judas Iscariot. Perhaps both men might, for a moment, reflect that at his trial Jesus neither opined about the unfairness of his lot, nor spoke one word of condemnation to those who cried for his death.

Indeed, though these men to the world's eyes ought to act like brothers in Christ, they (and theirs) appear to have taken the role of enemies. Well, though I cannot find a single word in the Scriptures which Jesus spoke about either homosexuality or Lambeth, he was quite clear on this: "Love your enemies" (St Matthew 5.44) he said, and I think he meant it.

Personally I have strong views on the issue at hand, but stronger on the conduct surrounding it. One man was not invited to Lambeth, but decided to go anyway. The other was invited but chose to stay away. "Love your enemies." Is it just possible that when as Christians we get the big things sorted that Jesus asked of us, we will have earned the right to debate the rest? And in the meantime, the vast majority of us, who will never be bishops, but who will always try simply to be faithful, continue to pray for our betters.

Marcus Green
Gelliwastad Grove,
Pontypridd

Sir, the view expressed by the Most Rev Orombi is contrary to both reason and a careful examination of the bible he claims to follow. This could not be more evident than when the Archbishop writes that "nowhere in Scripture is homosexual practice affirmed or presented as a legitimate alternative to heterosexual relationships". As will be noted by anyone familiar with the bible's social-historical context, no-one in First Century Palestine was considered by nature 'homosexual'. Acts of homosexual behaviour were therefore considered to be deviant heterosexual behaviour, rather than actions resulting from a natural human disposition.

Even with this in mind however, it can be observed that numerous passages in the Bible condone an emotional bond between both male and female partners which stretches far beyond the filial love of friendship. For instance, King David in 2 Samuel 1 grieves over the death of his life-long companion Jonathon, saying that "Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women", while Ruth in 1 Samuel 1 utters a vow of everlasting love for her female companion Naomi which clearly mirrors those made today in heterosexual marriage; "wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you stay, I will stay…may the Lord deal with me very severely if anything but death separates you and me".

These passages, combined with the awkward fact that the 'Sin of Sodom' was not considered to an offense of homosexuality prior to the 7th Century AD, present conservative Anglicans with some difficult questions to answer while embarking on their crusade to prevent the supposedly unholy gay shepherds from leading their flock.

Greg Marcar.
Cranleigh, Surrey