Bishop Akinola

There has been a lot of coverage of the Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem over the past few days and of the remarks of Bishop Peter Akinola inparticular. Those who applaud the bishop for his ‘conservative’ views ought to be made aware of what these include.

Though this article in The Atlantic is very depressing, I think it is worth reading. It details the attacks of Muslims on Christians and Christians on Muslims. None of it can be condoned. It is not an article for people with partisan views. It is just horrific.

Still, what it does bring out are this particular Bishop’s views on violence. While he was president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, 600 Muslims we killed in the town of Yelwa in revenge for a Muslim attack in which 70 Christians died. He is asked about this in The Atlantic article:

When asked if those wearing name tags that read ‘Christian Association of Nigeria’ had been sent to the Muslim part of Yelwa, the archbishop grinned. ‘No comment,’ he said. ‘No Christian would pray for violence, but it would be utterly naive to sweep this issue of Islam under the carpet.’ He went on, ‘I’m not out to combat anybody. I’m only doing what the Holy Spirit tells me to do. I’m living my faith, practicing and preaching that Jesus Christ is the one and only way to God, and they respect me for it. They know where we stand. I’ve said before: let no Muslim think they have the monopoly on violence.’

There is more here and here. We would rightfully not tolerate a Muslim leader saying this kind of thing. I am not ignoring Muslim violence here, nor am I denying Christians the right to believe that their faith alone is true. I am merely pointing out that the great champion of the ‘conservatives’ in their battle with ‘liberal Anglicanism’ refused to condemn the massacre of 600 Muslims in Yelwa specifically and other violence in general. Whether he condones violence or is just indifferent to it is another matter.

Tis true that some prefer Matthew 10:34 to Luke 6:27 at times of conflict, but they are only a minority. Supporters of Bishop Akinola ought to be made aware of his stance on sectarian violence.