Sometimes the Director of Changing Attitude just gets it spot on.
The Church of England knows it has a crisis on its hands. It thinks the crisis might be solved by gently persuading enough conservatives to overcome their convictions and vote yes for women bishops. I am convinced the problem is far deeper than that. I think we hold dramatically different understandings about the nature of God and they are irreconcilable. I believe in a God of love. They believe in a nasty, rule-bound, vindictive God who despite everything they say, hates gays. Until they overcome their prejudice, they will continue to drive the church towards a precipice. Until people, especially in Synod, have the courage and awareness to proclaim that God looks totally different from the conservative’s version of God, the majority of people in this country will treat us with disdain and many church members will continue to abandon the church.
I disagree with his description of the God “they believe in” but the bolded sentence just gets straight to the point.
H/T The Ugley Vicar
Related
I disagree profoundly with both the analysis and description.
Even if this were the case, it would matter not a jot to God!
It’s this sentence isn’t it.
“They believe in a nasty, rule-bound, vindictive God who despite everything they say, hates gays.”
It’s just not very, what is the word I’m looking for…..
Inclusive
The whole calumnious quotation is wrong and your mocking tone is unworthy, making a bad situation even worse.
Any chasms we may dig between us Christ bridges with his crucified body.
I wasn’t intending to mock, just to point out the irony.
I’m glad you agree that what Coward has written is wrong.
Yes, it is wrong.
But I also take issue very strongly over the claim that you and he agree on.
I shall try hard to recognise you in ironic mood, Peter.
:-)
Isn’t it clear that Colin believes in a very different God to many other Christians?
If there are some 41,000 Christian denominations then its more than possible “many other Christians” would be at odds with Colin Coward and you Peter.
Martin Reynolds
There is nothing even close to 41000 different Christian denominations in a functional doctrinal sense. And Christ does not bridge the gap between Christianity and liberalism any more than He bridges the gap between Christianity and Mormonism. A common set of words does not make for a common faith.
carl
Thanks for this Carl, I shall be sure to remind The Lord of this impossibility
I think Coward is right, but that the god he and his ilk believe in is a human construct. His use of “she” kinda sums it up.
As an outsider to these particular Anglican agonies, two questions occur:
1. How, then, would you describe the different understandings of God, given that you are understandably upset or offended by Coward’s ‘nasty God’ caricature?
2. How does Coward cope with evangelicals who disagree with him on issues of sexuality but support women bishops?