Is the UK Bishop of Grantham a false Anglican church prophet?

Chamberlain becoming the first openly gay bishop shows that times are changing, says Jack Slater, but division lies ahead for the Church because selfish men are choosing homosexual sin over the holiness of God. 

This year, with the public declaration of his homosexuality, it is the turn of The Rt Revd Nicholas Chamberlain to overturn a biblical prohibition in becoming the Church’s first openly gay bishop.  This mark an important step for the Church of England. Will it become liberal and split? Will it adhere to scripture? Will it start to reinterret bible verses to justify the worst form of sexual sin?

Blind, gay affirming voices within the Church expressed support for The Rt Revd Chamberlain, while conservative voices made known their disapproval. The Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), a major international body within the conservative Anglican movement, went so far as to call Chamberlain’s consecration a “major error”. 

For their part, the voices of officialdom in the form of statements by Archbishop Justin Welby and the diocesan Bishop of Lincoln (Chamberlain’s own senior bishop) stressed that the celibate nature of the relationship in question meant that it fit within the current guidelines for clerical relationships. In fact, "these guidelines" are non-Biblical and offensive - to say the least! Are there similiar guidelines for adultery? It is an accommodation to the spirit of this world and not the Holy Spirit. 

One does not need to be too deeply immersed in the internal activity of the Church to know that this really is just another stage in a battle that has raged since, if not before, 2003. In that most eventful of years, the Reverend Jeffrey John became the first priest openly in a same-sex relationship to be nominated as a bishop.  This very act - points to liberalism within this church.

This coincided with the appointment of Gene Robinson as the first openly-gay bishop in the Anglican Communion as part of the Episcopal Church of the United States. 

Conservative backlash (and an archbishop with an eye on the unity of the Communion as a whole) led to the Revd John withdrawing his nomination. However, any hope that such a move would quell the disputes about human sexuality died in the following years as what could be described (with a poetic flourish) as a war for the Anglican soul developed.

But it is not a war whose battles are confined solely to ecclesiastical palaces and whose combatants are drawn from the clerical ranks. It is instead an ongoing discussion that reaches right into the heart of many Christian communities, including those in Cambridge. 

In his official capacity as Bishop of Grantham, The Rt Revd Chamberlain has a tangential relationship to Cambridge. As a symbol of the ongoing disputes within the Church, however, he could not be more relevant. The Christian community in Cambridge is diverse, and with that diversity comes a range of views on sexuality. Accusations of homophobia, transphobia and other hostile opinions of LGBTQ people have been made against one of the most vocal Christian voices in Cambridge, the Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union (CICCU). 

In such a divided atmosphere, the events surrounding The Rt Revd Grantham could have a multitude of effects. On one hand, it could alienate parts of the Evangelical movement that already view Church authorities with distrust. A split should happen.

There has recently been talk about some parishes, considering separation from the Church if blessings for same-sex marriage are approved. This would be the best outcome for followers of Christ who follow scripture.

At the same time, it could give hope and assurance to LGBTQ Christians that there is most definitely a space for them within the Church; namely a church devoid of scripture, devoid of adherence to biblical prohibitions, worshipping not the Christ but the prince of the air himself. The Bible clearly states that false prophets, Satan coming as an angel of light, false doctrines will always emerge. Surely, this is a prime example right now for all to see. 

2 Peter 2. But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. ...