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Church Society President Critical of Sentamu's Statement that Sexual Ethics not Core Issue
Telegraph reports Sentamu saying sexual ethics are not core issues
by David Phillips
http://www.evangelicals.org/news.asp?id=698
An article has appeared in today's Daily Telegraph in which they report the Archbishop of York as saying that sexual ethics are not core issues. The Telegraph reports:
"Dr Sentamu, a close ally of Dr Williams, said that as long as Anglican bishops did not deny the basic Christian doctrines they should all be able to remain within the same Church. While liberal north Americans disagreed with conservatives over sexual ethics, these were not core issues, he said."
We have been unable to confirm that this accurately reports John Sentamu but if it does then it is very serious. Previously he appeared to have taken the view that sexual immorality is important and that the actions of the revisionists and sodomites in North America is a problem. If these reports are accurate it indicates that he has changed his stance and adopted the revisionists way of handling Scripture.
The Apostle Paul wrote of idolaters, fornicators, the covetous, sodomites etc: "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God" - 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verses 9 & 10. What is abundantly clear from this is that immorality, including sexual immorality, is a serious issue. It is not a secondary issue. When clergy and churches start promoting such immorality they have stepped outside historic Christianity.
The context of the interview was apparently about those faithful Bishops in Africa and elsewhere who feel they can no longer in conscience attend the Lambeth Conference. They have come to the conclusion that the teaching of Scripture about the need to break fellowship with those who are in gross error is important.
There are many exhortations in the New Testament to break fellowship in this way, for example in 2 Thessalonians 3 verse 6: But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which you received from us.
Indeed Anglicanism has insisted on discipline as being a mark of the Church and its Bishops and Archbishops have sworn to drive out strange and erroneous doctrines. Yet the Archbishop seems to be arguing that anyone who takes that promise seriously is no longer Anglican.
We have attempted to clarify whether the statement shown at the beginning of this article accurately reported the words of the Archbishop. The press officer was unable to confirm this stating that everything in quotes in the article was accurate, but this paragraph does not appear in quotes.
---David Phillips is the president of Church Society which exists to promote a biblical faith which shapes both the Church of England and the society in which we live for the sake of Christ. They can be reached by going here: http://www.churchsociety.org/index.htm
