World News and Trends: New Archbishop will begin his reign amid controversy
Recently Queen Elizabeth II, supreme governor of the Church of England, formally approved the nomination of Dr. Rowan Williams, 52, as the new archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Church of England after a meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair.
When he is enthroned (probably early next year) as the 104th archbishop, it will be at a time when secularism threatens the spirituality of Britain as never before. Public interest in mainstream Christianity has fallen to an all-time low.
Although Dr. Williams (currently archbishop of Wales) is said to "read Scripture seriously" and to be orthodox in his basic beliefs, some of his public statements seem to run contrary to Scripture. Fellow Church of England clergyman William Taylor, rector of St. Helens Bishopgate in London, takes public issue with him. He said of the newly appointed archbishop: "Some of his views in the area of gender and sexuality are in conflict with the Bible. He has labelled those who disagree with him as adopting an 'abstract fundamentalist' use of scripture and of applying 'narrow and crude' criteria ... My hope is he will make a clear statement to the effect that his previous statements were ill-advised."
According to the same newspaper article, Mr. Taylor's congregation "represents a strain of evangelical belief that has been openly critical of Dr. Williams's support for the gay clergy."
Christians around the world may find some of Dr. Williams' previous public declarations disturbing. Consider his lecture principally about homosexuality titled "The Body's Grace" (1989):
"The worst thing we can do with the notion of sexual fidelity ... is to 'legalise' it in such a way that it stands quite apart from the ventures and dangers of growth and is simply a public bond, enforceable by religious sanctions ... An absolute declaration that every sexual partnership must conform to the pattern of commitment or else have the nature of sin and nothing else is unreal and silly ... If we are looking for a sexual ethic that can be seriously informed by our Bible, there is a good deal to steer us away from assuming reproductive sex is a norm, however important and theologically significant it may be" (quoted in The Guardian).
The new archbishop faces several challenges within the Church of England itself. Two publicly acknowledged, practicing homosexual clergymen say they want to see a significant increase in the numbers of clergymen with similar beliefs and practices. But those in the conservative Anglo-Catholic wing of the Anglican Church makes statements such as "We may have to walk" when they hear serious talk of the possible proliferation of gay clergy and women priests. Also, the Church of England has almost lost £1 billion on ill-advised stock-market investments and may face a radical financial restructuring when Dr. Williams assumes office.
The words of Times columnist William Rees-Mogg ring in English ears: "Will this be the man to bring us to our knees?" (Sources: The Times, The Sunday Times, The Independent on Sunday, The Guardian [all London].)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: September - October 2002
Course Content
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
Melvin Rhodes
Melvin Rhodes is a member of the United Church of God congregation in Lansing, Michigan.
Tom Robinson
Tom is an elder in the United Church of God who works from his home near St. Louis, Missouri as managing editor and senior writer for Beyond Today magazine, church study guides and the UCG Bible Commentary. He is a visiting instructor at Ambassador Bible College. And he serves as chairman of the church's Prophecy Advisory Committee and a member of the Fundamental Beliefs Amendment Committee.
Tom began attending God's Church at the age of 16 in 1985 and was baptized a year later. He attended Ambassador College in both Texas and California and served for a year as a history teacher at the college's overseas project in Sri Lanka. He graduated from the Texas campus in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts in theology along with minors in English and mass communications. Since 1994, he has been employed as an editor and writer for church publications and has served in local congregations through regular preaching of sermons.
Tom was ordained to the ministry in 2012 and attends the Columbia-Fulton, Missouri congregation with his wife Donna and their two teen children.
