"Any more than he set opposition to homosexuality as the central value of Christianity"

Well, he has no power to define Christianity, true. But for the specific Christian church for which he is archbishop, he has consistently and continually ruled that affirming homophobia is *the* central Christian value, without which all others are meaningless.

"An organisation whose majority believes that homosexuality is homophobia, btw."

Which statement is even more nonsensical than your claim upthread that homophobia is based on "biblical teaching": it is not.

Will Rowan Williams use this unusual access to a public platform to explain why he thinks gay bishops who are honest about their sexuality should be excluded from Lambeth, while gay bishops who are dishonest and closety are okay to let in?

Let us build a house
where love can dwell
And all can safely live,
except for queers.
A place where
saints and children tell
How hearts learn to forgive.
all but queers.

After all, it's not often that the Archbishop of Canterbury and one of the Lords Spiritual of the United Kingdom gets a public platform like this. New Statesman is to be commended for giving a voice to the voiceless.

And Jesus wept!

Why is the Newstatesman, a hub of critical thought and debate, inviting the head of an organisation that has used wide spread oppression for hundreds of years to limit critical discussion and scientific progress? I find this an embarrassment, and as a strong proponent for LGBT rights an offence to allow such a person of bourgeoisie power a platform to spread his hegemonic, machiavellian ideologies.

Interesting that whilst the NS seems open to debate, these readers do not! I particularly loved the notion that Rowan Williams is a "person of bourgeoisie power [to whom the NS is offering a] platform to spread his hegemonic, machiavellian ideologies." Conspiracy theory and a closed mind in one sealed package.

Fortunately the Archbishop is prepared to share his "platform" with his opponents, whilst those criticising him here are interested only in silencing theirs.

Looking forward to hearing more from Maurice Glasman. I know some people have been uneasy with the populist tone of some of his statements, but I think he could be a positive force on the direction of the Labour Party in the near future.

------------
Keir

Communism is possible only on a global scale, if it is possible. Anything else is capitalist, as was the USSR.

Sharia is right wing, but ....
------------
Why do I not Find it funny?

Good grief, Keir - nothing more sensible to say? From your comments, you *agree* with Williams that homophobia is central to Christianity and you can't have a Church without it, so I presume you're just trying to be foolishly rude, here.

'I find this an embarrassment, and as a strong proponent for LGBT rights an offence to allow such a person of bourgeoisie power'

In the early days of socialism, homosexuality was regarded as being against the interests of working people. There is no reason to believe that anything has changed, or that pro-homosexuality agents in society today are not as right wing as any.

The CoE is not against science. Merely by virtue of its externally appointed, monarchical, regional episcopalianism (nowhere near a New Testament polity, which had elected, local, plural bishops), it is less than democratic. It has a history of use as a tool of the right wing in England. However, that history (apart from CoE schools) is now rather distant, and Dr Williams' views imv should be assessed without prejudice and on their own merits. For a Biblical theologian, he rarely gets everything right, but he gets more right than many of his predecessors.

'For a Biblical theologian'

might better read:

'To a Biblical theologian'.

Rowan Williams is right about a sense of fear in this country at the moment. For some time now Ive been concerned about flood of propaganda preceding cuts. The unemployed are all scroungers- the long term sick are swinging the lead- backroom staff are irrelevant,their work of no worth- immigrants the source of all our problems. All propaganda preceding cuts to any assistance they might receive. We really do seem to be moving to categorising deserving and undeserving poor.
I wonder if its anything to do with having a leader whose a PR expert

The Archbishop deserves better than to be mobbed on very occasion by the 'Gay Bishops' controversialists hit men. Dr Williams has thrown down a very interesting gauntlet - above: " ...to discover what the left's big idea currently is." He is talking about vision - well - ye champions of the left - how about picking up that gauntlet and coming up with something relevant and visionary - without the old-disappearing-up-the-corduroy -trousers' smug socialist claptrap and erudite esoterica? Try communicating your road to Wigan Pier vision with us lesser uni-syllabic mortals. Thank you

I haven't yet read all of the articles in Williams' edition of the magazine. I will read them with an open mind and will try to learn from them how to improve the lives of our fellow beings here on earth.

I don't know whether the CoE's established status has anything to do with the positions on different social issues. I agree with them on some and disagree on others and do not feel that aside from intellectual and moral arguments their positions affect me in any way. Most of us have long passed the point where we felt that scripture was divinely ordained and not subject to varying interpretation by intelligent human beings.

If the conservatives wish to believe that an all-wise and all-loving god has ruled out a place in his kingdom for gays or women or for that matter non-whites or other people that the people making this claim do not like, they have the right to say this and I have the right to say that they are stupid. If the CoE wishes to retain an influence over an intelligent and humane population it will leave itself open to everyone, and I add this includes those on the conservative side who are a bit slow. But it isn't liberals and gays and women who are talking about excluding people (unless you include people like Ms. Widdecombe, but she is God's creature too).

Hallelujah! I'm sick of going to church and hearing the clergy endorse the idea of the C of E being the Tory Party at prayer. The latest at my local is to invite a local MP (representing the kick a cripple party) just to show how the "Big Society" is exampled in the activities of the congregation. More of the same Rowan please.

I reckon 37-year-olds from Peckham might be a better idea. :)

Not flying the flag here, or maybe I am - I'll leave you to judge - but as Rowan has deep genetics from pre-Christ on our little islands, since his dad's dads lived here (or mother's dads, or something), his fair wisdom of recent years shows him as such.

Will go down as one of the most informed Archbishops of Canterbury of recent times, recent times as a couple of centuries or so, maybe more.

Don't underestimate the wise dna held in certain persons since year dot(!). The Druids did have something.

As an aside, what being a true brit in time is all about, in "celtic" memory, in the sporting context, and in being gentle in coping with humanity's foibles, John Charles, just a few days left to watch, says the beeb,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00yf4s8/Welsh_Greats_Series_4_John...

Catholic Italy loved him. And I can see why.

Jesurgislac:

There you go you see - I do hope that you are completely without sin yourself because you aint half lobbing some righteously indignant stones in the direction of the A of C. Not a difficult target - any more than the pope is really - but let's not turn our ears off while we are fervently stone lobbing. Like so many of our shortcomings -it's not Christian is it? "Forgive seventy times seven"

Madvlic is editing the New Statesman from the Hague Hilton next week!