Divide and conquer.
Posted on 08/10/2003 6:06:35 PM PDT by mlmr
Kenyan Bishop attacked for opposing US homosexual appointment
By Dennis Lumiti
A Kenyan Anglican Bishop was yesterday morning attacked in a London street by two Church of England colleagues for opposing the appointment of a homosexual bishop by the US Episcopal Church.
The British clerics accused the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) of taking an uncompromising stand over the controversial appointment of Rev Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire.
The two confronted Bishop Simon Oketch in London where he is attending an international seminar dubbed: "New Wine Conference".
The confrontation began with a heated argument over the appointment of Robinson and almost resulted in an exchange of blows before members of the public came to Oketch's rescue.
Oketch, who is in-Charge of ACK Maseno North Diocese, called the East African Standard Kakamega office from London immediately after the incident.
"I did not have any fear being in the United Kingdom because Anglican clergymen in this country have never indicated their support for this kind of behaviour," he said.
Oketch said he was going to the venue of the seminar when he alighted from a vehicle while dressed in his collar. The religious garb attracted the attention of the church leaders who were walking along the street.
He said when the English clergymen saw him, they asked him to stop and after greetings, inquired which country he was from.
"When I said I was from Kenya, they expressed anger and asked me to discuss an issue with them before I could continue with my journey," he said.
"One of them said they were saddened by the stand taken by the Anglican Church in Kenya and other countries over the appointment of the gay bishop.
"I told them we could not budge on the issue and that we will oppose it to the end because it is un-Christian," said Oketch.
He said his reply did not go down well with his colleagues who then grabbed him and threatened to beat him up before members of the public noticed the commotion and came to his rescue.
He said the clergymen hurled abuse at him over ACK's stand as they were being pulled away by members of the public.
Meanwhile, an American evangelist yesterday condemned the appointment of the practising homosexual as Bishop, adds Francis Nzaywa
Rev Edward Henderson of Study, Observe and Teach (SOT) Ministries in North Dallas,Texas, at the same time said homosexuals should be barred from holding offices in churches around the world.
Rev Henderson said homosexuals cannot claim to have been called to minister over the Church of Christ as they lacked the spiritual, theological and moral right to do so.
The clergyman said this when he gave a keynote speech during a three- day SOT Life Changing Seminar at a Kakamega hotel.
END
------------------------------
Same thoughts here.
Pssst, why do you keep asking the same question?
Checkout the Metropolitan Community Church.... Oh, bring a barf bag.
Well, that isn't what they want, though.
They want a big-name, mainstream church to sign on the dotted line: "we didn't really mean it about catamitism, and God was wrong, or we misunderstood or something -- gay is perfectly okay, blameless and without blemish". That's what they are "angling" for from the Anglicans. As a gay poster once put it on Salon's "TableTalk":
DavidS. - 09:45 am PST - Mar 31, 2000 - #2943 of 5458
your friendly neighborhood pagan savage......... And I'll be damn before I let you run me out of my country. Idea, If you don't want to listen why I'm sure we can find another guay country for you? I'll even give you 10$ for a cup of coffee at the airport. .... I think alot of people are missing the point in this debate. The reason this causes so much venom and invective, everything from James' veiled unease to your outright bigotry, is that if it becomes reality it notices on a societal level the sexual and emotional relationship between two people of the same gender. Not only that but it legitimizes it. No more "deviant behaviour", "those people", no more feelin' smug in our little churches. It is a direct and quite visceral challenge to the prejudices that be. In the end it's not about rights, constitutionalism, fair play, or even commitment. It's about recognition. Plain and simple, that's why D.P. [domestic partnerships] are not enough. The gay men and women who are championing this have stopped hiding which was bad enough, they refuse to be ashamed for which they will fry in hell, now they want to marry and if that happens all society will burn for it. Get real [my name] no one is goin' willingly back into the closet, these people are not going to accept lesser status to coddle your prejudice.
"One of them said they were saddened by the stand taken by the Anglican Church in Kenya and other countries over the appointment of the gay bishop.
"I told them we could not budge on the issue and that we will oppose it to the end because it is un-Christian," said Oketch.
He said his reply did not go down well with his colleagues who then grabbed him and threatened to beat him up before members of the public noticed the commotion and came to his rescue.
He said the clergymen hurled abuse at him over ACK's stand as they were being pulled away by members of the public.
The two clergymen seemed to be acting out of demonic hatred. Every once in a while, something happens that demonstrates the spiritual element of some controversial issue. I am glad that Bishop Oketch and other African Christians are standing their ground. I think Christianity has largely become superficial in the West because life is easy here and too many self-indulgent people have become attracted to positions of authority, and too many lazy or timid people will allow the self-indulgent bullies to do whatever they want. If you look to countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe, you will find many people who have been on the threashing floor of persecution, war, or poverty -- this will separate the wheat from the chaff. If God raises up leaders who will revitalize Christianity in the 21st Century, somehow I doubt that these people will come from Europe or even North America. We have been given much, and we have squandered so much.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.