Tuesday, July 22, 2008

A Call for Repentance from the Church of the Sudan to the U.S. Episcopal Church

There's more coming out of the Church of the Sudan's Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul statements to the press today. From Cheryl Wetzel of Anglicans United:

“Gene Robinson should resign for the sake of the Church and the entire Anglican Communion. We are pleading with them (the others at this conference) for the Anglican World, to not throw that away. We do not want to throw any people away, either. But we are here to determine how to remain united. That begins with forgiving one another for errors made. Gene Robinson is an error. The American church has not admitted they are wrong and we cannot forgive them until they do."

“I do not see a way out of these problems with the Indaba groups. The main issues have not been touched."

“300 bishops are not here because of Gene Robinson. Can he not resign to allow them to come? Why has he not done that? "

“He is a human being and we are not throwing him away but the norms of the Anglican Communion have been violated. The question is not if Gene Robinson comes but what are we being challenged to do by GAFCON?”

“Let the Anglican world be united and be a normal, respected Christian body.”

“We have not punished the American church yet. We are asking them to repent. I am talking about the institutional church in America, no specific bishops. I am here to speak within the House. I cannot be silent on this issue; I must speak to the House for the reality I know with my people. I should not hesitate to be here since I have been an Anglican since I was a child. "

Ruth Gledhill of the Times of London asked the archbishop who would pay for this conference, reportedly 2.6 million pounds in debt at this minute, and not able to pay for this by the parishes in the Church of England, if the American church was not invited. He replied very gently, “Issues of faith cannot be mixed with materialism.”

“I am here talking to my brothers and sisters in America. We have experienced offense by their actions. I am not trying to offend them in return but tell them that I love them. We have had a painful experience and they must ask for forgiveness so we can go on together."

“This issue of homosexuality in the Anglican Communion has a very serious effect in my country. We are called ‘infidels’ by the Moslems. That means that they will do whatever they can against us to keep us from damaging the people of our country. They challenge our people to convert to Islam and leave the infidel Anglican Church. When our people refuse, sometimes they are killed. These people are very evil and mutilate and harm our people. I am begging the Communion on this issue so no more of my people will be killed."

“My people have been suffering for 21 years of war. Their only hope is in the Church. It is the center of life of my people. No matter what problem we have, no material goods, no health supplies or medicine; no jobs or income; no availability of food. The inflation rate makes our money almost worthless and we have done this for 21 years. The Church is the center of our life together. "

“The culture does not change the Bible; the Bible changes the culture. Cultures that do not approve of the Bible are left out of the Church’s life; people who do not believe in the Bible are left out of our churches. The American church is saying that God made a mistake. He made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Adam. "

“We will not talk to Gene Robinson or listen to him or his testimony. He has to confess, receive forgiveness and leave. Then we will talk. You cannot bring the listening to gay people to our Communion. People who do not believe in the Bible are left out of our churches, not invited in to tell us why they don’t believe."

“I have just come from a meeting of the African and Global South bishops who are here. There were almost 200 bishops there. They support the statement my Church made yesterday. That’s 17 provinces. "

“The Authority of the Bible is always the same. You cannot pull a line out or add a line to it. That brings you a curse. We are saying no. You are wrong."

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love this man. He is saying all the things my soul has wanted to hear for years regarding this issue. Interesting how coming from his country, Islamic murder of his flock, starvation and destitution can bring such clear biblical wisdom, while we who enjoy all the comforts we desire live in a country that sins against our Church, Christ's church and our Creator, and expect the rest of the globe to celebrate in that sin.

Unknown said...

I am proud of this type of African Anglican leadership. Our Sudanese church is poor and depends on support for the UK and the USA. In spite of this, they have the guts to speak the truth. How many bishops in the UK and the USA keep their views to themselves for fear of being called 'islam-bashers'???

Go for it, Abp Deng!

Jos+ Strengholt, Cairo

Kevin said...

Very interesting, a voice who's not frequently heard and often discounted, but obviously feels his called to speak inside Lambeth. Praise God.

Anonymous said...

Interesting (see another blog, reported in person) how ++Deng was able to hang out, listen to, have conversation with, and take Eucharist with the diverse population of the Diocese of Missouri... and yet now disparages an entire class of people.

Interesting how his explanation of the genocide of the Sudan (based on power, money, and tribal differences) points to gay and lesbian people and their place in the Episcopal Church (oh, please, Archbishop -- find me one Islamist who gives a fig whether or not +VGR is the duly elected Bishop of New Hampshire!) (or who even knows who he is!).

Interesting how you have bought into this tripe.

Padre Wayne

Anonymous said...

Interesting how you have bought into this tripe.

Padre Wayne
_____________________

They hang homosexuals in Islam, not just keep them from becoming bishops. His point is that in a country that does not celebrate homosexual sex, or fool themselves into believing it somehow equates to the relationship of a man and woman, trying to deal with the conversion of Christians to Islam with Islam using the fact that Christianity has gone hypocritically Broke Back, just makes it all the more difficult. Islam is a major threat to Christian's security and freedom. Try shifting your paradigm from basing reality on distorted sexual desires to the reality of what this man's church and country are actually suffering by the so-called religion of peace, Islam. If you are trying to defend Islam and homosexuality in the same breath,that truly is tripe.

Anonymous said...

"If you are trying to defend Islam and homosexuality in the same breath,that truly is tripe."

Good grief, ready my post. I never said that.