Day 3
Motion Calls for Church to Speak Out Against Misappropriation of Scripture
A Private Members Motion which challenged the Church response to Gaza and other humanitarian crises was proposed at General Synod meeting online yesterday evening (Tuesday May 14).
In the name of Canon Elaine Murray and Dr Simon Woodworth (both of Cork, Cloyne and Ross) the motion, which had been amended, stated that:
This Synod, mindful of the current situation in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis that has unfolded since the appalling events of October 7:
– requests the Standing Committee to identify an enhanced mechanism by which we as a church community may publicly speak to such gross humanitarian situations in a timely and Christian manner, especially when sacred Scripture and the Word of God is being used (whether in Israel / Gaza or in Russia / Ukraine) to justify atrocities and acts of war.
– further requests that progress in this matter will be reported to the General Synod of 2025.
The original motion contended that there had been a deafening silence from the Christian churches in relation to Gaza but these words were removed in the amendment.
Proposing the Motion, Canon Murray highlighted instances when Biblical texts were taken out of context to justify violent actions in the present. She observed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had given a number of interviews and addresses which used Scripture in relation to the war and that there were also fundamentalist Christians with their own interpretation of biblical texts.
Turning to the war in Ukraine, she said that when Russian invaded Ukraine, the Russian Orthodox Church threw its support behind the Kremlin’s war. Canon Murray said that Patriarch Kirill had called on the Church to play an active part against the ‘movement of the Antichrist’.
“It is our responsibility, as faithful Christians, to challenge any extremists who misappropriate our Scriptures. I suggest that we need, as a Church, to be able to speak in a timely manner into these abuses of God’s Word – to stop our Scriptures being weaponised or hijacked. Our silence speaks volumes and we cannot be complicit in any ongoing evil. While we are responsible for our actions and how we respond to the horrors facing us, we know that the final result is ultimately in God’s hands. But let us not, by our silence, allow his Word to be misused by war mongers of any faith,” she concluded.
Seconding the Motion Dr Woodworth acknowledged all that had been done on the island of Ireland to support those affected by the crises in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. He said that the work done in the Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough stood out as an example of generosity of many people here. He said this included raising €210,000 for Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza. “It is a true reflection of St Teresa of Avila’s prayer, ‘Christ has no body but ours’,” he said.
But he said we needed to go beyond being Christ’s body and asked if we dared to be Christ’s voice when confronted with both unspeakable suffering and the wilful misuse of the Bible to justify actions that are un–Christ like.
“This is the point: The murder of innocents by Hamas is unacceptable; the bombing by Russia of Ukrainian civilian targets is unacceptable; the indiscriminate bombing by the Israeli Defence Forces of the Gaza Strip is unacceptable… Such profligacy of destruction makes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s weaponization of Holy Scripture deeply offensive… ‘God is on our side’ is not an excuse and it does not get those who would bring violence and destruction upon others, for whatever reason, off the hook. In urging us to be Christ’s voice, I am asking that we not only demonstrate compassion for those who are suffering and that we pray for peace and a cessation of hostilities, but that we also have the courage and conviction to say, as a church, that this is wrong and it is not in God’s name”.
During the debate on the motion Canon Paul Arbuthnot (Dublin and Glendalough) agreed with the sentiment that Christians must speak out wherever there was injustice, war and want – deafening silence was not an option. He said that Dublin and Glendalough had not chosen that option and on October 18 the Archbishop of Dublin asked for prayer for peace and that the dignity of every single person in the Land of the Holy One be respected.
He said this call was followed up with action when in early December the Shine a Light for the Diocese of Jerusalem campaign was launched to help fund the rebuild of Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza. “This campaign has raised over €200,000. €10,000 of this was given by the Bishops’ Appeal. This is not deafening silence. This is chorus of Christian love and compassion. We have spoken out,” he stated. Canon Arbuthnot added that later this month 12 clergy from the Diocese of Jerusalem with their Archbishop will come to Dublin on retreat where they will have the opportunity to gather themselves in the midst of warfare. He added that there was still time to contribute to the Shine a Light Campaign and referred people to the Dublin and Glendalough website where they will find information.
Archdeacon Ross Styles (Dublin and Glendalough) said to say there was a deafening silence in relation to Gaza was simply not fair. Both his diocese and parish had raised funds for Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza. But he added it was not just about finances, it was also about reaching out. “We have a connection and they [the people in the Diocese of Jerusalem] know that we are here for them,” he said. “If this motion misses out on anything it is to reach out to churches around the world in friendship and solidarity. We need to reinforce the connection that we are one church.”
Johanne Martin (Connor) spoke in support of the motion although she said she was a little uncomfortable with the tone of some of the language. She agreed that more could be done to respond to the events that were playing out in a land that is significant to the world’s three major religions. She said that some people were speaking out but perhaps the world had not been listening.
“We as Christian’s need to speak with integrity and wisdom on this issue. I am very aware of this in my work with refugees that many from Arab backgrounds assume all Christian’s are supporting these events because of how our governments are responding cautiously in terms of criticising the protagonists. We do need to find our voice and speak with Gods passion for all those who are suffering as a result of atrocities,” she stated.
George Woodman (Connor) said he understood the hurt and pain of the proposer but couldn’t support a motion which said that all Christians had responded with silence. He suggested the best response was to pray and to serve. He also pointed out that a large number of clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church had not supported Patriarch Kirill.
Dr Lucy Michael (Dublin and Glendalough) said she had been struck this week by how bad things had got in Gaza. She pointed to the situation in Rafah, the malnourished children, the destruction on hospitals and homes and buildings in general, the destruction of registers, and 35,000 lives lost. “I have heard sympathy, solidarity, charity [from the church]… But I have not heard Gaza called out, genocide called out. The deafening silence is not calling out that what is happening here is the destruction of a whole people,” she stated.
Andrew Brannigan (Down and Dromore) said that there had not been a deafening silence and commended the statements of the Archbishops. But he supported what was being specifically asked for. “I’m not sure if there is an enhanced mechanism but it would be good to examine this,” he said. He proposed the amendment to the motion.
Archdeacon Barry Forde thanked the proposers for creating an opportunity to discuss the tragedy in Gaza. But he observed that the motion sought to report back in a year while the best way for the Church of Ireland to speak was through General Synod. “I regret that there isn’t a motion condemning the atrocities in Gaza and calling for an end to it and all that is going on in this war,” he said.
The amended motion was carried by 279 votes to 48.