The ‘theatre of the absurd’ is a term applied to plays written by a number of European playwrights in the 1950s.Among its features are that ‘logical construction and argument give way to irrational and illogical speech’ – according to Wikipedia.
A similar term – ‘church of the absurd’ – might rightly be applied to the current Church of England. You couldn’t make it up – although apparently the CofE is, at least when it comes to what it believes about contemporary moral issues.
Jesus clearly says a house divided against itself cannot stand. But the fact is there are two completely irreconcilable positions within the denomination – and attempts to describe them merely as disagreements, as the Archbishop of Canterbury feebly told Synod, are facile, patronising, and insulting. The whole situation is a complete farrago of nonsense, tragically confusing for many ordinary church members, and a disgraceful witness to the watching world.
Evangelical bishops are believed to have contended vigorously behind the scenes in favour of orthodoxy. Indeed, one of them privately told en, things would have been a lot worse without their involvement. But the reluctance of many of them to speak out far more clearly and boldly in public, at the time of writing, has been perplexing, painful and deeply disturbing.
At the moment there seem to be two views. One is to fight within the CofE via Synod to procure a long-term settlement. The other is that the denomination is so hopelessly compromised and some bishops so untrustworthy it is beyond hope. But perhaps there is a third option if the first one ultimately fails (for those who choose that): revolution, via bold, unilateral action from within. This might include a mass clergy declaration of UDI from the existing CofE and en masse adoption of alternative episcopal oversight. This would probably however necessitate protracted legal battles.
There are many thriving evangelical congregations in the CofE which are bringing the gospel to hundreds of thousands of people – from city centres to obscure rural places. At the moment Justin Welby seems to be hoping their clergy will either ‘go quiet’ – i.e. acquiesce to a new reality – or ‘go quietly’ by leaving without one final battle to change things. Neither should happen.
