Anglican Covenant

The Covenant and the Bible

The Covenant pages - previous • next

Many of the Covenant's original supporters argued that their opposition to same-sex partnerships was motivated by loyalty to the Bible's teaching. According to the GAFCON Jerusalem Statement, 'the Bible is to be translated, read, preached, taught and obeyed in its plain and canonical sense... We reject the authority of those churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed. We pray for them and call on them to repent and return to the Lord.' Chris Sugden of Anglican Mainstream argues that 'The doctrinal and theological matters in current dispute are matters of right and wrong, truth and error, not of personal conviction... The Bible... [calls] the Church to witness faithfully to fundamental and non-negotiable truths. The identity and the mission of the Church depend on this.'

For at least some contributors to the recent controversies, therefore, the issue of same-sex partnerships illustrates a deeper issue, loyalty to the Bible. However this raises questions about the proper authority of the Bible for Christians, and how to interpret it. Other pages on this website explore:

• Different ways Anglicans understand the Bible's authority
• The distinctive theory of the Bible developed by Puritans and still popular in some circles today
• Whether church members should be expected to believe the same things, or whether it is acceptable to agree to differ.

The Covenant pages - previous • next