Michael Nazir-Ali, Church Of England Bishop, Says Gays Should 'Repent'

LONDON — A senior Church of England bishop has angered gay-rights campaigners by saying homosexuals should repent.

Archbishop of Rochester Michael Nazir-Ali told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper that the Bible defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman. He said the church welcomed gay people, "but we want them to repent and be changed."

Nazir-Ali is a leading member of the conservative wing of the global Anglican Communion, which is riven by divisions over homosexuality and the ordination of women.

Gay groups condemned the bishop's remarks. Campaigner Peter Tatchell said Nazir-Ali's view "goes against Christ's gospel of love and compassion."

And Derek Munn of gay-rights group Stonewall accused the bishop of promoting inequality and intolerance.

The 77 million-member Anglican Communion has been splintering since 2003, when the Episcopal Church _ the Anglican body in the U.S. _ consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has tried to hold the fragile communion together by getting churches to observe a voluntary moratorium on consecrating another openly gay bishop and developing prayers for same-sex unions. But many fear a split is inevitable.

Nazir-Ali's remarks appeared a day before the launch in Britain of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, a coalition of conservative parishes from around the world, which Nazir-Ali supports.

He was quoted as saying that people who depart from traditional Biblical teaching "don't share the same faith."

"We want to hold on to the traditional teaching of the church," he told the newspaper. "We don't want to be rolled over by culture and trends in the church."

Comments

[CarolinaDem]

Where does this come from? I know people who were Christians for 50 years before they ever HEARD of homosexuals, much less had any 'faith' about them. This is just resistance to reality, shock masquerading as religious belief.

[BalancedEgg]

He is so right. People should change He should go first.

[zeotrope]

Very well said.

[superstition]

"He said the church welcomed gay people, 'but we want them to repent and be changed.'"

A contradiction.

"And Derek Munn of gay-rights group Stonewall accused the bishop of promoting inequality and intolerance."

Not "accused": "Pointed out that". When someone says gay people should apologize for being gay and hate themselves to the point of believing the lie that they're heterosexual, that is not something that can be construed as being anything but the promotion of inequality and intolerance.

[dashcat]

If god made us all in his likeness then he made gay people too. They have nothing to apologize for. They are in god's image and he loves them as he does everyone else.

[IndolentFlourish]

Homosexuality, like many of the biblical taboos of two thousand years ago, offends some changeless people. However, one can plot an end point of tolerance based on a broad historical trajectory. The velocity is less predictable. Godspeed.

[MacManLB]

Campaigner Peter Tatchell said Nazir-Ali's view "goes against Christ's gospel of love and compassion." This is so twisted.

[EducatedObserver]

Bishop Nazir-Ali is entirely free to express his considered opinion. Furthermore, he expresses an opinion which a large number of Anglicans worldwide support.

If - as is increasingly becoming apparent - the Church of England cannot reconcile the views of its liberal and conservative wings, then perhaps the only solution would be a split.

Now might be a good time for further discussions between the Churches of England and Rome about a reconciliation or, at the very least, a more associative relationship.

[offred]

The Roman Catholic Church is in a downward spiral, so I don't see any advantage for the Church of England to discuss reconciliation. The Catholic church is 10 years from a schism in which progressive/feminist women, gays, and liberals break away and form their own church.

Maybe the resulting break-away church should reconcile with the Church of England.

[ATSJer]

You know that the US is bad when the Brits are more conservative than we are...maybe we should learn something here.

[Ganapati]

Eh, Whatever...

[Agent420]

As my favorite bumper sticker says. "Lord, protect me from your followers!"

[brooklyncitizen]

Sometimes our political views should be kept private- what is interesting is not that Archbishop Ali will take this stance, no surprise there, but that gay groups give it any weight. Who is actually listenning to the Archbishop?He has no political clout. Are the gay groups members of this church? seems pointless.

[docwimz]

Wasn't it once controversial for the Anglican church to give ordination to a black man?

[CarolinaDem]

They burned William Tyndale's body (after they strangled him) at the stake for translating the Bible into English. When he was in Holland. Gottalottanerve showing up at all.

[weatherwaxx]

Repent of loving one another. Funny, that doesn't sound like what Jesus said to do...

[bigironal25]

That's absolutely right! Jesus NEVER said anything about homosexuals!

[larry278]

So, what do you mean? What do you think that Jesus meant by saying nothing of homosexuals or homosexual practices? Could Jesus have considered that neither homosexuals nor homosexual practices were worthy of discussion by his followers & unworthy of his attention? Perhaps Jesus, Son of God, & His Father thought of & still think of homosexuality as simply another way humans express love & sexuality.
Perhaps homosexuality & heterosexual acts aren't of themselves good or bad. It is how these acts are used that makes them good or bad.
A scism or split among members of the Church of England is coming. This happens with people of faith from time to time. These parting of the ways are unavoidable among Christians.
A Christian must take the words & works of Jesus seriously if he/she is a Christian.

[Alex Ayala]

Read the OT verses on the definition of marriage. Just because it's God the Father speaking doesn't mean it's not the Son speaking- it is Both with the Holy Spirit.

[Collielady]

The churches are free to say whatever they want. And I say, so what?

[MarsAmbassador]

There's a difference between saying whatever they want and trying to force everyone to do as they say.

[Collielady]

I wasn't clear. I meant it as a disregard for the churches. "So what" to them, as in they're nothing to me.

[repearwo]

Repent what? For being how God made them.

[Disuberence]

I'll get right on that.