I came across this short interview today with Lord George L. Carey, former archbishop of Canterbury, who is on a speaking tour of the U.S. I found his responses refreshingly clear and straight-forward, whether discussing Islam or the Anglican Communion's on-going deconstruction (at least in the northern hemisphere). Other than failing to bat down the interviewer's predictable cheap shot of equating supposed Christian violence with that of Islam, Carey's thoughts are worth a look. Read it
here.
I thought ++Carey's note about the difference in lifestyle and mission of Jesus and Mohammed was both concise and important.
ReplyDeleteThough I generally wince when ++Carey speaks, I thought his comments in this interview were indeed spot-on and much more in keeping with his legacy as former Archbishop of Canterbury than some of his other remarks over the past year. Though I would dispute his claim that the ordination of +Robinson has "wrecked mission" in the church, I do strongly agree with his ending comment that we need to "get on" with the mission of the church, recognizing that, in that mission, homosexuality is a side item--not the main course.
I appreciate your thoughts, Jared. Frankly, I don't follow Carey, or know either his reputation or how his comments are received, or how he fits within the greater Anglican communion etc., as you obviously would.
ReplyDeleteBut reading the interview, he seems a man now free to say exactly what he intends to say--and what needs to be said--free from all cant and the encumbrances of diplo-speak. I found it refreshing.
On Robinson's ordination, I doubt that it has affected missions in Africa and Asia to any great degree. No offense, but in the northern hemisphere, I suspect that missions were on shaky ground long before Robinson (this view from my long association with a number of Episcopalian friends).
I too like his last statement about the mission of the church. And as I have watched (on the sidelines) as the homosexuality issue has played itself out in the Episcopal Church, it sometimes seems that those on BOTH sides have made it central--each accusing the other of instigating the crisis.
(I really enjoyed your commentary and pics from Isreal, BTW)