Letter Published in the Church of England Newspaper May 2007
I read with concern the article on Wycliffe College on your front page.
The accusation that Wycliffe is becoming a place that is ‘not a safe place for
women or gays’ is bad enough, but the implication of the anonymous statement is
that it is not safe for anyone with a more open theology as well.
At Accepting Evangelicals, we had reports some time ago that one of our members was
refused an appointment at an Anglican Theological College because he was a member of
this pro-gay Evangelical network.
I am sure that this could not have been Wycliffe College, but the allegations which
are now emerging will do nothing to allay the suspicions of many. Yet again it would seem, the Gay issue has
become the litmus test of whether you are a true evangelical or not, or even
worse, whether you are a true Christian or not.
My salvation has always depended on my relationship to one person – Jesus Christ – and his place as Lord and Saviour
of my life. My desire in life is to
share this faith with others so that they too may experience a personal
relationship with Christ. Yet I along
with hundreds of others do not interpret Scripture on this issue in the same
way as our more conservative brothers and sisters. That does not stop us being Evangelical
Christians.
I would hope that colleges such as Wycliffe would welcome such openness and
exploration within the core faith that we share, and the present controversy
presents them with a clear opportunity to demonstrate this. I would invite Dr Turnbull and the college to
state clearly that membership of
Accepting Evangelicals would not prevent
someone from being appointed to the staff, or indeed accepted as a student.
Such a statement would reassure many moderate evangelicals and would be very welcome
in this current climate of polarisation.
Yours in Christ
Rev Benny Hazlehurst,
Founder Member of Accepting Evangelicals
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