The Times Online reported: "A liberal bishop from Sri Lanka suggested to his colleagues at the Lambeth Conference today that they should take the afternoon off to settle their theological differences over a game of cricket."[1]. The comment refers to the inaugural sermon gave by Right Rev Duleep de Chickera, Bishop of Colombo regarding the inclusion of all into the church life. It marks the official liberal direction Anglican Church would take in the coming years. He audaciously brought God into the debate by saying, "Certainly the crisis is complex. It is not a crisis that can be resolved instantly and the journey ahead is a long and arduous one, a journey that will demand our prayers, our faithfulness, our mutual trust in each other and our trust in God who makes reconciliation possible." This shows the lostness in focus on scripture and the inability to understand the will of God among the high-ranks of the Anglican church leadership.
Regarding Cricket he add: "Sri Lanka is a land of five world religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and cricket. Those of us who organized this conference planned an afternoon aside for cricket and a game called baseball for the uninitiated."
He further argue the Lambath Conference not to exclude the Episcopal Church of the US for the reason of consecration of gay New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson on 2003. His whole argument was based on the Anglican tradition of unity in diversity.
He add, "In Christ there's enough to go aroud. It is an inclusive communion where there is space equally for everyone and anyone, regardless of colour, gender, ability, sexual orientation. Unity in diversity is the cherished Anglican tradition which we must reinforce in all humilty for the sake of Christ and Christ's Gospel." It seems Bishop Duleep is suggesting to preserve "unity with in the church" in expense of orthodoxy and purity of doctrine and conduct.
He further added to this call of compromise: "We are united in spite of the fact we are different because in Christ we are all equal." It is amazing to see five hundred years ago the Roman Church was divided because of the mere orthodoxy. Many have lay-down their lives to bring the truth back to the practice of community of God. Are we to forget all these cherished history and rejoined to Roman Catholic Church for the sake of unity?
In April 16, 2008 I heard a radio interview with Gene Robinson, openly gay Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire introducing his book named In the eye of the storm .
He said, "Jesus said this amazing thing, night before died He said to his disciples there are many more things I wanted to share with you but you are not able to bare them right now. And I will send the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth. And I would argue and only time would tell indeed, our full inclusion of gay and lesbian people is just simply another way that the Holy Spirit is leading us a fuller understanding of God's love for all of God's children...We not need to break the communion over this! We are not arguing about divinity of Christ, not arguing about the trinity, or the resurrection, those essential things draw us to gather. We are arguing about inessential, a that is the full inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the life of the Church."
In his book he states the election process led by the so called Holy Spirit: "The atmoshere at St. Paul's Church, Concord, on that summer moring was electric. The Holy Spirit seemed so palpably present that people spoke of the hair standing up on their necks. While the first ballots were being counted, you could have heard a pin drop, as people sat silently or knelt humbly in prayer.
When the final result was read, announcing my election as the ninth Bishop of New Hamshire, a rush of wind swept through the congregation as people rose to their feet to applaud, cheer, laugh, cry and rejoice. People who were there still refer to it as one of the most moving and powerful experiences of God in their lifetimes"[2].
He further referred to the after winds of the storm: "During that consent process, surrilous charges of sexual misconduct and linkage to a pornographic website were brought forward in an effort to derail the church's consent to my election. While those charges were being investigated, as I was sequestered away in my hotel room with my partner and daughter, the priest who would later become my Canon to the Ordinary brought me a pice of calligraphy that read: "Sometimes God calms the storm. And sometimes God let the storm rage and calms his child"[3].
I can't understand the gravity of using pornographic websites over explicit God prohibited sexual relationship. If the church can appointed an open gay person as their bishop by openly defying the written word of God, what is the point of bring allegation on unwritten and unclear misconducts like pornography?
"You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!" (Matthew 23:24).
It is sad to note that all this bishops use the church to do their pity theological experiments of social accommodation, disregarding the bible, orthodoxy and the tradition.
Lastly he said in the interview, "I like to say that the Episcopal church is advance placement religion that is to say it is a religion that values our minds, and encourages us to use them, and values individual values and discernment. And the official stance of the Episcopal church which is I really believe, ask us to hold in tension two truths and make a decision some where between . . . We make a decision in fear and trembling, trusting and loving God and if we get it wrong you know that the great thing been forgiven, we are already forgiven the ways that we fall short!"
This is profanity!
[1] http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article4368209.ece
[2] V. Gene Robinson, In the Eye of the Storm: Swept to the Center by God (New York: Seabury Books, 2008), 1.
[3] ibid., 2.
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