Bishop Robinson delivered the following testimony
in a public hearing before the Special Committee on Response to the
Windsor Report and the Anglican Communion in Columbus on Wednesday
evening:
TESTIMONY DELIVERED BY
(Note: Text checked against delivery)
The debate before us is about one
thing: Do we as a Church recognize the
light of Christ and the mark of the Creator in the faces and lives of the gay
and lesbian members of this Church – much as we have come to see, over the
years, that light in the faces of people of color, women and the
differently-abled? Are we not in this
debate now because we HAVE seen the fruits of the Spirit evidenced in the lives
of our brothers and sisters in Christ who happen to be gay?
This debate is about one
thing: Do we see Christ, and are we
courageous enough to acknowledge Christ, in the lives and relationships of our
gay and lesbian members?
If we do, what then?
This debate is not, principally,
about saving the Anglican Communion. We
cannot make decisions about what the rest of the Communion will or will not do,
nor should we be unduly swayed by fear over what they might decide. Those are THEIR decisions to make, at another
time. OUR job is to discern the will of
God, as humbly and as best we can, and then to stand up and proclaim Christ
where we see Him. If we see Christ in the
faithful lives of our gay and lesbian members, then let us find the courage to
say so.
The fact is, we know such faithful
gay and lesbian Christian people.
OUR HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA IS JESUS
CHRIST: I say with my whole heart, I am
loved by God beyond my wildest imagining, and by the living Christ who has
acted in my life, I am convinced that I am NOT an abomination in the eyes of
God, but rather a repentant sinner who has been redeemed by the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ, and made worthy, by His grace and sacrifice, to
stand before Him.
Dr. Martin Luther King once said, “Pontius
Pilate’s great sin WASN’T that he didn’t KNOW what was right, but that he
lacked the moral courage to STAND UP for right.”
Please, I beg you, let’s say our
prayers and stand up for right.
Thank you.
