AUCKLAND, NZ: Anglican Leader Rips Labels that Divide Anglicans
Anglicanism speaks against narrowing of our image of God, says Canon Kearon
By David W. Virtue in Auckland
www.virtueonlie.org
October 29, 2012 (local time)
We bandy about too many labels in the church today - orthodox, biblical, conservative, catholic, evangelical, and every combination of them, and if you haven't labeled yourself, there'll always be someone who is prepared to give you a label, said Secretary General Kenneth Kearon of the Anglican Consultative Council.
Addressing members of the ACC-15 gathered here at Trinity Cathedral in Auckland, that includes archbishops, bishops, clergy and laity of the Anglican Communion, Kearon said labels such as these can be destructive if we use them to define ourselves "'over against others"'.
Kearon blasted fundamentalism. "One of the features of fundamentalism is that you begin to believe that your apprehension of God is the right one and complete one, and consequently, all others are wrong. There are far too many unreflective fundamentalisms around in our communion today - conservative fundamentalism, liberal fundamentalism, catholic fundamentalism - all characterized by a certainly in their rightness, coupled with an intolerance of the faith perspective of others with whom they differ."
Kearon said that Anglicanism, at its best, speaks against such narrowing of our image of God. "At its best it reaches out to those with whom we differ, recognizing that together we will come to a deeper and far richer understanding of God than any of us could do on our own or if we only share the company of like-minded people."
In the coming days, leaders of the ACC-15 will address issues surrounding the Covenant, continuing Indaba, the Anglican Alliance, Interfaith issues, violence towards woman and pressing sexuality issues that divide and separate the Global South from the more liberal West.
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