Nigerian archbishop Peter Akinola, head of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa, said in the letter that Anglican primates from the developing world would meet in September to give a more detailed statement on the U.S. church. Akinola, one of the church's most outspoken voices against gay rights, said that the African bishops have carefully followed what has been said at a U.S. Anglican convention this week in Ohio.[Adds Miller . . .]
"We have observed the commitment shown by your church to the full participation of people in same-gender sexual relationships in civic life, church life, and leadership," he said on behalf of African bishops in a statement dated Thursday. "Our churches cannot reconcile this with the teaching on marriage set out in the Holy Scripture and repeatedly affirmed throughout the Anglican Communion."
Note that his objection isn't just against full participation by gays in religious groups, but also in *civic* life. This would explain the law he's trying to pass in Nigeria which would increase the penalties for homosexuality AND imprison members of gay affinity or religious groups for five years or more.
This is nothing less than an effort by foreign theocrats to transform religious institutions into political lobbying arms to impose their third-world values on our country. Kudos to the Episcopalians in the US for resisting it, and shame to the "liberals" in this country who refuse to confront and clearly label primitive, hateful values simply because they come from Africa and they're afraid of being labelled as "counter-multicultural." Only libertarians seem to be standing up, consistently, against these efforts to destroy one's basic freedoms in the guise of "bible-believing."
It gets even more absurdly comical when you realize that the hypocritical Akinola was a driving force behind getting the Anglican church to recognize and honor polygamous marriages. The New Testament, the "Christian" part of the Bible, is (unlike on homosexuality) rather clear on where those stand -- they are banned and considered adulterous. If someone waged as nasty a campaign against the polygamous in Akinola's region as he's waging against American and Canadian gays, they'd doubtlessly be assailed as "cultural imperialists."
