Not Over-Lords... Akinola

Towards the end of the year 2007 Most Revd, Peter Akinola, the Primate, in a no-holds-barred interview with Patrick Okon- Ikitenie,spoke on a lot of sundry issues. Here are the excerpts: 

TNA: Your Grace, of recent your comments on a certain very controversial issue that is threatening the unity of the Anglican Communion Worldwide, same-sex or gay marriages, have been quoted and referred to by some publications. Why did you refer to the issue as a satanic attack?

ABP: At the time I made that statement, I must confess it was the first time ever that I realized that the church was giving its consent to the practice of a man going into sexual relationship with another man. Yes I have read about it in Genesis and a few portions of the old and new testaments. However, I thought such practices have been consigned to antiquity. So when it came to me, it was a rude shock to hear that the church was not only giving its consent to the practice but encouraging people engaged in ilto give Episcopal leadership to the church. II was in that context I said this must be a satanic attack on the church of God. I mean why would the church of God give consent to that sort of practice? The church that is supposed to be preaching the wholesome gospel, the entire gospel of salvation, the gospel that has power to save, redeem, to transform and bring about changes in the lives of people. If the Church fails to do that, and all it could do was to confirm and even promote the abominable practice, then you can see why I said No! I cannot endorse that. It must be an attack on God's Church by evil powers. It might have been quoted out of context around the world, but that is okay by me. I still maintain that the duty of the Church is to proclaim the gospel that has power to transform lives and culture. It is not condone whatever practices modern culture puts up. We shou not let culture ensiave the gospel of Christ.

TNA: What critical steps have the Church of Nigeria taken I address this anomalous trend of homosexuality that gradually infiltrating our national psyche?

 ABP: I spoke somewhere recently that the gay lobbyists ha' their methods and ways of doing things. I wouldn't be surpris( that they are the ones sponsoring the exportation of the' practices. We have maintained that these practices a unnatural, un-African and un-scriptural. They go against all forr of morals and decency we stand for and proclaim in this socie Islam condemns it and as in the Old Testament, Islam place~ death penalty on those caught practising it. We cannot go c witchhunting anyone in the society. All we can do is to continue proclaim the word of God undiluted and un-mutilated. V encourage our people to be consistent and firm. If anyone h that orientation, he or she should not shy away but come' counselling. We believe that God has the power to change then also know that the National Assembly has a bill before it that, prescribe some punishments for culprits.
The bill actually seeks to reinforce and modify the related existi laws in the nation's criminal and sharia codes. It somehow allo' an opportunity for repentance instead of the outright deathmarrying female clergy and secret homosexual blessing services all over the place. So that is why that amendment says any Church that goes out of its way to do what is Scripturally unacceptable to us will not be in Communion with us. We do not need to wait for another General synod to redefine our relationship with that Church.
More than that, hitherto, we have been relating based on some historical structures. We have now realised it won't be long before these structures crumble. I know that our friend, Archbishop Rowan is doing everything possible to keep the structures going which is okay as long as it is not at the expense of the Gospel.
Thirdly let me say we are not interested in setting up any rival communion or structure with anybody. Nigeria is a country of over 140Million people. Our church is still struggling to reach just twenty million. We still have a lot to do inside Nigeria so our interest does not lie in what goes on outside there. This is not about power as it is being peddled by the Western media. They are wrong. We are yet to fully utilise the power God gave us to evangelise this whole country and so cannot say' we seek additional powers over others. Our quarrel with the Western Church has to do with the fact that they are deviating from Scriptural norms.
TNA: What would you also say about the words of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams that this whole issue has degenerated to the "politicization of a theological dispute" instead of a reasoned debate?

ASP: He is entitled to his own opinion. That is how he sees it but I don't. What reasoned debate is he talking about? How many times have we as Primates met at his invitation at Lambeth palace, in Ireland, in Tanzania and other places? What were we talking about? When the last Lambeth Conference held in 1998, wasn't the issue debated? He is entitled to his own opinion. One of the points I raised as to the way out was a meeting of the primates to discuss not the issue again, but the response of those walking apart to our call for repentance. He refused to discuss this. I also do not want to discuss whether homosexuality is compatible with the Holy Scriptures or not. That has been settled. To go back on it is engaging in endless myths and idle, unprofitable and foolish disputes which the Apostles advised we should avoid. We all know that the goal of the revisionists is for us to keep debating until we, who they see as uncivilized blink and log on to their new religion. God forbid.
Also, remember the Church in North Africa produced such great theologians like Tertulian and Athanasius who devoted a lot of resources to doctrinal debates. In as much as we remain grateful for their good work, history shows that mission and evangelism suffered during these times so much that the advance of Islam in the seventh century wiped out the church in that region that was already weakened. and divided by endless debates and theological controversies. Thank God the issue of doctrine has already been settled. We have weakened ourselves enough with this controversy. What we should now give ourselves to his evangelism. For me, the i~sue is .not about politics but about adherence to the historic faith. No more. No less.

TNA: Do you see an end - to this crisis in the Anglican Communion worldwide?

ABP: Well, personally that is my prayer. That is why we have spent so much money, time and energy holding meetings all around the world seeking solutions to this problem. It is because I believe there i; a way out. Recently I wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbl,Jry, a letter which our standing committee endorsed and

paste others

marrying female clergy and secret homosexual blessing services all over the place. So that is why that amendment says any Church that goes out of its way to do what is Scripturally unacceptable to us will not be in Communion with us. We do not need to wait for another General synod to redefine our relationship with that Church.

More than that, hitherto, we have been relating based on some historical structures. We have now realised it won't be long before these structures crumble. I know that our friend, Archbishop Rowan is doing everything possible to keep the structures going which is okay as long as it is not at the expense of the Gospel.

Thirdly let me say we are not interested in setting up any rival communion or structure with anybody. Nigeria is a country of over 140 Million people. Our church is still struggling to reach just twenty million. We still have a lot to do inside Nigeria so our interest does not lie in what goes on outside there. This is not about power as it is being peddled by the Western media. They are wrong. We are yet to fully utilise the power God gave us to evangelise this whole country and so cannot say' we seek additional powers over others. Our quarrel with the Western Church has to do with the fact that they are deviating from Scriptural norms.

TNA: What would you also say about the words of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams that this whole issue has degenerated to the "politicization of a theological dispute" instead of a reasoned debate?

ASP: He is entitled to his own opinion. That is how he sees it but I don't. What reasoned debate is he talking about? How many times have we as Primates met at his invitation at Lambeth palace, in Ireland, in Tanzania and other places? What were we talking about? When the last Lambeth Conference held in 1998, wasn't the issue debated? He is entitled to his own opinion. One of the points I raised as to the way out was a meeting of the primates to discuss not the issue again, but the response of those walking apart to our call for repentance. He refused to discuss this. I also do not want to discuss whether homosexuality is compatible with the Holy Scriptures or not. That has been settled. To go back on it is engaging in endless myths and idle, unprofitable and foolish disputes which the Apostles advised we should avoid. We all know that the goal of the revisionists is for us to keep debating until we, who they see as uncivilized blink and log on to their new religion. God forbid.

Also, remember the Church in North Africa produced such great theologians like Tertulian and Athanasius who devoted a lot of resources to doctrinal debates. In as much as we remain grateful for their good work, history shows that mission and evangelism suffered during these times so much that the advance of Islam in the seventh century wiped out the church in that region that was already weakened. and divided by endless debates and theological controversies. Thank God the issue of doctrine has already been settled. We have weakened ourselves enough with this controversy. What we should now give ourselves to his evangelism. For me, the i~sue is .not about politics but about adherence to the historic faith. No more. No less.

TNA: Do you see an end - to this crisis in the Anglican Communion worldwide?

ABP: Well, personally that is my prayer. That is why we have spent so much money, time and energy holding meetings all around the world seeking solutions to this problem. It is because I believe there i; a way out. Recently I wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbl,Jry, a letter which our standing committee endorsed and even CAPA wrote a similar one suggesting a way out which of course he rejected. So on our own part we continue to pray and hope and maintain that the only way forward is a return to the Scriptures.

TNA: Your Grace, if those who are in support of the Episcopal Church in the USA and the Anglican Church in Canada accept to repent, ""hat other demands will you want to press for?

ABP: NONE! We will embrace them and say Welcome back home! We will have a huge celebration of family reunion. There will be no basis for any disagreement again. All we are saying is look, you are departing from the faith, come back to it, and then we can be together. If they repent all will be well, if they don't, then as one of our reports says, they would have chosen to walk apart.

TNA: What are your strategies to cope with the financial implications of this redefinition of the Church of Nigeria?

ABP: Enormous but God is faithful. When we started in 2003, we did not know it was going to take this long. God has provided for all our need far beyond our wildest imagination. We have not taken a kobo from any church in America or England for our work or for our travels. We have been self- supporting and God has been providing for us. We hosted the All African Bishop's conference here in Nigeria in 2004 at our own expense. We did not go a-borrowing for it. Similarly, we held the Third Trumpet Le the Global South Encounter in Egypt free of financial liabilities. The God we serve is faithful. Remember, God's work done in God's way will always enjoy God's favour.

TNA: Coming back home sir, considering the expansion of the Church of Nigeria, What is your assessment of the Year. of the Lord 2007 and what are your expectations for the year 20087

ASP: When you talk of expansion, you have to put that in context. Our expansion is nothing compared to what needs to be done. Yes we have made some giant strides, yes; we have been planting churches here and there. For example between March and November 2007, the Missionary dioceses planted not less than 300 new c;hurches all over the country. We can shout Halleluiah! Thanks be to God. But then what is that in a nation of over 140miIJion people? A lot of work is yetta be done. We have to go to un-reached communities, to plant more churches, strengthen the weak churches and give all it takes to ensure that this Gospel is heard in every part of our country.

Church of Nigeria Towers will be built. It is a twenty story building right in the Central Business District of Abuja. By God's grace, we are hopeful that work will start within the first quarter of the year.

My political expectations are very simple. My hope and prayer is that all those who hold political office will govern with the fear of God. I expect them to be faithful to their own political manifestoes, to their own campaign promises. We talk a lot about poverty alleviation about making Hfe better for Nigerians, let them put action to their words. Enough of mere rhetorics. Enough of blueprints lying idle in files in the ministries. What we need now is action. Give us good roads, let there be adequate and regular power supply, let the factories reopen and give us conducive atmosphere for the industries to function to full capacities. It is a shame that our refineries are not working and we export crude oil and import refined petroleum. We are so blessed in this country that if our leaders govern with the fear of God there is no reason to lack. Mr. President promised to give us servant leadership - Fine. But how far can he go alone? I expect his lieutenants to go along with him. They should get their orientation right. They are servant leaders not overlords. They should think less of themselves and more of the people they have sworn to serve.