We Have "Nothing To Fear" From Love

You may remember that Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Player George Carey recently claimed that Christians are being persecuted in Europe today, specifically citing gay civil rights as an alleged affront to his religion.

Looks like not all of his colleagues agree.

The Church of England has "nothing to fear" from the introduction of gay marriage, according to a group of senior bishops and clergymen.

The influential Anglicans said the prospect of same-sex marriage should be a "cause for rejoicing" and argued the perception that the majority of the Christian Church opposed legalising it was wrong.... Arguing that "God's grace" is at work in same-sex partnerships, the letter adds: "The Church calls marriage holy or sacramental because the covenant relationship of committed, faithful love between the couple reflects the covenanted love and commitment between God and his church.

"Growing in this kind of love means we are growing in the image of God. That there are same-sex couples who want to embrace marriage should be a cause for rejoicing in the Christian Church

That there are different opinions within the Anglican communion about gay marriage (and women priests and gay priests and a variety of other social justice issues) is not news. Still, it is important that those pro-justice voices speak out.

Despite Lord Carey's claims of Christianity being driven underground in Britain(!) the Church of England retains enormous structural privilege within the country. And religious belief is still enormously privileged over non-belief in much of the world, with Christianity in all its variants being specifically privileged in many places. And about the only legitimate use for unearned privilege that I can think of is to use it to critique and tear down privilege and oppression.

I don't know for certain what practical good this response to Carey's bigoted remarks will achieve. But the more voices we hear affirming same-sex love as simply that -- love, in all its wonder and grace -- then the more hope I have that the world is beginning to believe it.