While performing his speech to the Australian Anglican Church’s synod, Archbishop Glenn Davies said that people who support same-sex marriage should leave the church and that comment was met with a standing ovation, according to The Guardian.
He made the comment because he feels strongly that many people in the Anglican Church have abandoned the teaching of the scripture and those who did so should leave the church and start their own. He has also lamented about how he feels that there is excessive liberalism in the Anglican Church and that other bishops accept same-sex marriage.
Some Anglican churches in Australia wish to have full marriage rite like the one that Episcopalians in the United States have, while others have voted to have same-sex marriages blessed under civil law. However, some self-professed guardians of the Anglican orthodoxy have said that that is no different than accepting same-sex marriage. This is an argument that I’ve never understood, perhaps because I’m gay and an atheist, but the religious figures aren’t entering same-sex marriages themselves, so what’s the big deal with letting others enter into the union? But I suppose that’s the argument that Davies is trying to make, although I’ve always heard that the Bible isn’t meant to be taken literally.
There was a bit of uncertainty about what Davies meant exactly; was his comment directed towards the bishops or the parishioners of the Anglican Church? Davies did clarify four days after questions surfaced, saying that his nebulous words were in fact directed towards the bishops, but people still felt hurt, but enough people agreed with his message to stand up and applaud after his speech concluded.
Given Davies’ thoughts on liberalism invading the Anglican Church and his apparent dislike of same-sex marriage, I’m going to say that his comments were directed towards both bishops and parishioners, because it’s clear that he doesn’t want LGBT people or anyone who supports marriage equality to be part of the church. While same-sex marriage has been legal in Australia since 2017, it is generally not an acceptable practice within the church. Do you think that the Anglican Church will follow the US Episcopal church and support marriage equality, or do you think that the majority of Anglicans are against it? After all, Davies did get a standing ovation for telling people who support same-sex marriage to leave and form their own church.
Source: The Guardian