What is Christian 'Equality'? From hot topic Homosexuality.
The definition of 'equality' is central to much of current church debate. Divisions over women bishops and same-sex marriage are dependent upon our understanding of the concept.
So how do we define 'equality'?
The bishop of London, Richard Chartres, believes Christianity to be a champion of equality. However, on the topic of women bishops, he explains that there is total misunderstanding. He says men and women are not 'interchangeable,' stating that our modern thinking has been influenced by the Enlightenment concept of a person: non-gender specific, with personal rights. Instead, he says we're designed to live in community, supporting each-other in different 'roles.'
Archbishop John Sentamu has expressed similar views in the context of same-sex marriage. He says that a good society needs both the persecutive of a man and of a woman. Rather than 'fancy-free individualism,' he says he's pushing for 'social pluralism,' where male and female are valued as distinct.