From the Church of Nigeria website:
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd and Rt. Hon. Dr. Rowan Williams took over the leadership of the Anglican Communion in 2002 when it was a happy family. Unfortunately, he is leaving behind a Communion in tatters: highly polarized, bitterly factionalized, with issues of revisionist interpretation of the Holy Scriptures and human sexuality as stumbling blocks to oneness, evangelism and mission all around the Anglican world.It might not have been entirely his own making, but certainly “crucified under Pontius Pilate”. The lowest ebb of this degeneration came in 2008, when there were, so to say, two “Lambeth” Conferences one in the UK, and an alternative one, GAFCON in Jerusalem. The trend continued recently when many Global South Primates decided not to attend the last Primates’ meeting in Dublin, Ireland.Since Dr. Rowan Williams did not resign in 2008, over the split Lambeth Conference, one would have expected him to stay on in office, and work assiduously to ‘mend the net’ or repair the breach, before bowing out of office. The only attempt, the covenant proposal, was doomed to fail from the start, as “two cannot walk together unless they have agreed”.For us, the announcement does not present any opportunity for excitement. It is not good news here, until whoever comes as the next leader pulls back the Communion from the edge of total destruction. To this end, we commit our Church, the Church of Nigeria, (Anglican Communion) to serious fasting and prayers that God will do “a new thing”, in the Communion.Nevertheless, we join others to continue in prayer for Dr. Rowan Williams and his family for a more fruitful endeavour in their post – Canterbury life.
+Nicholas D. OkohArchbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria
Don't hold back, Abp. Okoh. Tell us what you really think.
The Nigerian bishops use the phrase, "two cannot walk together unless they have agreed," time and again to justify their decision to "walk apart" from the churches in the Anglican Communion with whom they do not agree. Is the quote from the prophet Amos in the KJV? Not really. The words that come closest to Abp. Okoh's quote are in the form of a question.
Amos 3:3-8
KJV
Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
I first heard of the phrase from Abp Peter Akinola, who said, "The Bible says that two cannot walk together unless they are agreed." The Bible says no such thing that I can find, therefore it appears that Abp Okoh quotes his predecessor, rather than the Bible, when he uses the words. The two other translations below wouldn't really make the case for walking apart at all. Of course, people cannot walk together unless they agree to walk together, but they do not have to agree about everything in order to walk together. I find the apparent misattribution of the words to the Scriptures annoying in the extreme. Besides, even the GAFCONites do not agree on everything,
NRSV
Do two walk together
unless they have made an appointment?
NIV
Do two walk together
unless they have agreed to do so?
Abp Okoh's claim that the Anglican Communion was "a happy family" back in 2002 when Rowan Williams became Archbishop of Canterbury is absurd. The beginning of the end of the "happy family" began at least as early as Lambeth 1998.
I think you have to look a few centuries before. The Anglican church has rarely been a happy family in its own homeland.
ReplyDeleteArchbishop Okoh is a impolite and dangerous man...Peter Akinola before him harmed others too. I think both of these men are very spiritually/emotionally tainted and actually perpetuate fear and hatred at home and internationally and LGBT people, Muslims and others...I suggest, strongly, they keep their eye on the ball and CLEAN UP the dispicable, on-the-ground, vileness, discrimination, child witchburning, sex slavery and vertical corruption that ROCKS/DISMEMBERS everyday life in Nigeria...Okoh is a very bad joke of a religious man and Akinola a man that many think has, Massacre at Yelwa, blood on his hands. It´s probably much safer for everyone, including CANA folks and others in the Anglican Communion to distance themselves from these self-righteous superstious ¨holylike¨ men who abuse others with word and deed.
ReplyDeleteErp, whenever the Anglican Communion began, and Ive heard it dated back to the 16th century, the road has not been smooth, but I did not want to write a history in my blog post.
ReplyDeleteLen, what you say is true, and I seriously doubt we'll have to concern ourselves about friendly approaches from Nicholas Okoh. The Nigerian bishops have done worse things than misappropriate Scripture, but that habit of theirs really grates on my nerves.
His letter just underscores how wrong-headed this whole Anglican Covenant business has been from the start. All the apologizing to, and coddling of, creeps such as Okoh, Ankinola, and Orombi at the expense of LGBT people, women, and others still interested in the Anglican Communion has got to stop! As Leonardo notes, there is such vile anti-Christian behavior being sanctioned and supported by these church *men* in their own countries that I don't really want to attempt any kind of "bond of affection" with them.
ReplyDeleteI hope ++Rowan feels the love that Okoh is expressing in his "good riddance" letter. I pray that he does, and thinks about those who have suffered because of the likes of Okoh.
All things considered, the holier-than-thou attitude is infuriating.
ReplyDeleteWhat we in the West must face is that growth in numbers of those who call themselves Christians is trending away from the Western countries, which I assume is one reason Rowan deferred to the likes of Akinola, Orombi, and Okoh.
I'm beginning to feel guilty about focusing on my pet peeve, rather than the larger and much uglier picture in Nigeria. What can I say? I had to get that business off my chest. Look at it this way: Now the rest of you have a place to vent.
ReplyDeleteOh my dear Grandmere Mimi-- my place has been venting for years --as a matter of fact, even you have suggested the my volcano erupteth a little mucheth...lol I love your points of view on all subjects and I´ve never felt the need to hold back here and yes, the ¨pet peeves¨ (that would include the snide attitude directed toward TEC by the ABC) almost mean nothing when one considers in the on-the-ground all around vileness of ¨Christianity¨ in Nigeria...Lord have mercy on the victims of that superstitious bravado (they have no female priests in Nigeria, which of course would add to the lack of cautious wisdom and love for all of the beloved). Okoh, Orombi/Uganda and Akinola the ¨Lower than Pigs¨ author are the bottom of the barrel both at home and abroad (no matter how many innocent/feardriven accomplices follow their blood quest/s against others).
ReplyDeleteOther pet peeves:
ReplyDelete"tear in the fabric of the Communion"
"the faith handed down"
"mend the net"
"repair the breach"
Is it all right if I continue with the peeves till I'm done?
And tell me what good did it do Rowan to lock Bp Gene out of Lambeth? What thanks did he get?
The passage says to me, how can you walk together unless you are agreed, and thus it means to actually walk together signifies at least some agreement. So if you disagree with someone, but say let's walk, then the result is already starting to agree. So it is a good thing for people disagreeing to walk together.
ReplyDeleteOff topic but funny as Hell (a frequently mentioned destination by Okho):
ReplyDeletehttp://newsthump.com/2012/03/16/church-of-england-begins-search-for-next-raging-homophobe/
I can't even bring myself to care.
ReplyDeleteNow, about Nigerian LGBTs, that's another story...
Pluralist, exactly. Well said.
ReplyDeleteLen, the article at News Trump is funny, indeed.
JCF, the bishop of Nigeria will do what he will do about walking apart, but I pray he may have a change of heart and mind and begin to care for the LGTB people in his country. I guess if we saw that, we'd be seeing a miracle.
When my bishop reported back from Lambeth 1998 it was obviously a very unhappy family, a raging and ugly family, in fact. Vilification among bishops was rampant. I have not thought the "communion" worth salvaging since then. The relationships among provinces, yes; the links between dioceses around the world, yes; the formal AC, no. Bury it, for God's sake (and that's not a mild oath at the end).
ReplyDeletePaul, I'm tending more and more to your way of thinking. We are not any longer a communion of churches, and I don't see how we can be at the present moment. Perhaps the better way forward would have been to loosen the reins rather than to attempt to pull back. People to people, parish to parish, diocese to diocese, province to province relationships will continue where the bonds of affection are present, but a greater assertion of authority from the center in an attempt to "make forceful the bonds of affection" is not the direction in which we should be heading.
ReplyDeleteAbbeymouse, posting earlier today on Thinking Anglicans, observed "Those in the C of E still to vote on the Covenant, please note. These are the people whom this fiasco is supposed to keep on side." A telling point that I hope that those opposing the "Covenant" will drive home in the course of this week.
ReplyDeleteLapin, Abbeymouse is spot on. One reason I posted the entire response was to call attention to Okoh's nasty rhetoric. Okoh and his ilk are the people Rowan and his supporters wish to bring back to the fold with the covenant.
ReplyDeleteYou dare to challenge a Bishop on scripture! How very dare you!...and you tell me to know my place.
ReplyDeletetheme, I hesitated, but I decided to go ahead. How dare me! I promise I won't tell you again to know your place. How can I, without being a hypocrite?
ReplyDeleteHello Grandmere Mimi--Promise not to go on a rant here. I'll just say that I agree with all the comments.
ReplyDeleteI'll just add this. I hope to walk far, far apart from the Bishop Okoh's of this earth. Maybe, hopefully, they will all just march themselves over a cliff somewhere. Sorry but they just make me soooo angry.
Oh, and just this one thing. Repairer of the Breach is the phrase that we (the Episcopal Church) are using in Racial Reconciliation workshops and presentations so I don't have a problem with that one. Maybe Okoh could learn a few lessons in that.
Oh Bonnie, I will make allowances for 'Repairer of the breach'.
ReplyDeleteIf Abp Okoh wanted to walk with us, we might be able to influence him for the good, but I doubt that will happen.
Hello Grandmere Mimi--Agreed. There is no reasoning with people who have already consigned us to hell. I'll just keep praying that God will transform their hearts enough that they will lead with his heart and not with their hatred. Also apologies for wanting to see them march themselves over a cliff.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I left you a little note on the Blooming Garden post.
Bonnie, no apology necessary. This thread is a place to vent.
ReplyDelete