Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Archbishop of Sydney's statement on Kevin Rudd's Q & A Gay Marriage comment


In terms of the Australian Election, I am much more concerned about the brutal policies of both major political parties on assylum seekers than anything else. As far as I can see, we have in Mr Rudd and Mr Abbott two political leaders who sincerely profess and practise the Christian faith but who are on a race to the moral low point in order to tap into the layer of fear and racism thought to lie just under the surface among swinging voters. Christian people from right across the traditions are endorsing the heartfelt letter from Bishop Hurley to Mr Abbott. Read it HERE.

Another great disappointment in the campaign is the answer Kevin Rudd gave regarding gay marriage on the ABC’s “QandA “ programme on Monday. Now, I think Kevin is a good bloke, but he seems to have adopted, not just the completely subjective hermeneutic of liberal Anglicanism, but also the smug and sneering arrogance of liberal church leaders towards those who argue for the Christian understanding of marriage (or anything else, for that matter). So, I was pleased to read this statement by the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Glenn Davies, about what Kevin said:

“Kevin Rudd was profoundly wrong in his understanding of the Bible. He misquoted the Bible and attributed to the Bible something that Aristotle said (that slavery is a natural condition). The Bible never says that. The Bible sees slavery as the result of fallen and broken relationships in society and it is crystal clear in its condemnation of the slave trade.

I was disappointed by Mr Rudd’s comments last night in the same way that I was disappointed by the position he announced in May despite, as he said, after much reflection. Unfortunately in my view he has not been reflecting on the teaching of Scripture.  


By the way, readers who have no view on this matter, those who are still making up their mind, and all who want to hear a reasonably conservative but “open” Christian scholar speak about his own wrestling with the gay marriage issue, should watch this video of Bishop Tom Wright. It is valuable because towards the end, he shows how for Christians our understanding of marriage is connected to a raft of other issues that really matter. 






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