Thank the Archbishop for scaring many episcopalians and anglicans out of this decrepit “church.”
Archbishop of Canterbury: Nativity a “legend”
Mon, 24 December 2007
The Archbishop of Canterbury said that the Christmas story of the Three Wise Men was nothing but a ‘legend’.
The Daily Telegraph reported that Dr Rowan Williams has claimed there was little evidence that the Magi even existed and there was certainly nothing to show that there were three of them or that they were kings.
The Archbishop said the only reference to the wise men from the East was in Matthew’s gospel and the details were very vague.
Dr Williams said: “Matthew’s gospel says they are astrologers, wise men, priests from somewhere outside the Roman Empire, that’s all we’re really told. It works quite well as legend.”
He went on to dispel other details of the Christmas story, adding that there were probably no asses or oxen in the stable.
The archbishop argued that Christmas cards which showed the Virgin Mary cradling the baby Jesus, flanked by shepherds and wise men, were misleading. As for the scenes that depicted snow falling in Bethlehem, the Archbishop said the chance of this was “very unlikely”.
In a final blow to the traditional nativity story, Dr Williams concluded that Jesus was probably not born in December at all. He said: “Christmas was when it was because it fitted well with the winter festival.”
This same Archbishop sees nothing wrong with abortion or sodomy.
Archbishop of Canterbury Speaks to Teens about Abortion and Homosexuality
By Hilary White From http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/dec/07121304.html
CANTERBURY, UK, December 13, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Three teenage girls from an award winning teenage magazine, Oi!, met with Rowan Williams, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, who invited the teen reporters to take “tea and toast” with him at his official residence.
Oi!, that stands for “Outspoken Individual”, is a magazine run by and geared for young people, that hails from Kent, the county in the southeast of England in which the ancient town of Canterbury is located. The young reporters were searching for “outspoken” Kentish people and described their meeting with Dr. Williams as an “overwhelming interview” in which they “had all our preconceptions shattered”.
But despite Dr. Williams’ reputation in Britain as being unusually forthright, he failed to set forth any universally applicable moral principles with regard to the killing of the unborn, or immoral sexual practices, even when one of the girls admitted to being pregnant and thinking of an abortion.
17 year-old Georgie Gothhard who told Dr. Williams, “I am currently 12 weeks pregnant,” asked if there was anything he could suggest to make the decision whether to “keep it” easier. Dr. Williams responded “As a Christian I could never advise anyone to have a termination.”
“Personally I believe a child is a gift from God and you wouldn’t give a gift back - would you? I believe abortions are allowed too late as they are still allowed to be performed at 24 weeks of pregnancy.”
Dr. Williams, however, did not say that there was any universal moral principle at work that absolutely prohibits abortion, but implied that such a prohibition would apply only to Christians and that a possible legitimate exception for legal abortion could be in cases of pregnancy due to rape.
He said, “Not everyone in the country is a Christian, so the law has to compromise to reflect different aspects of the discussion, for example if a rape was involved.”
“However, I do think the time limit for abortions is too high, especially as medical science is allowing us to keep foetuses alive that are under even 23 weeks old. This is something that needs to be discussed further.”
18 year-old Mily Veitch described a “gay” friend of 15 who was “in a relationship” with a 22 year-old man with whom he was “happy” and “they are even talking about adopting.”
Dr. Williams did not urge the young teen to receive help in the case, which under British law is one for the police given the child’s age. Instead he said, “I have questions as to whether same sex couples can provide the same stability as ‘normal parents’. I have no answers really, just questions.”
“Many would argue that we need a balance of men and women to bring a child up. However, I have seen one fantastic example of same sex parenting first hand and I suppose stability is another key consideration.”
Just before the girls were leaving Dr. Williams, Georgie related that he “touched my arm and told me to take care of ‘you both’ - referring to me and my baby. This was completely unexpected but very much appreciated.”
Read the interview in Oi! Magazine (Adobe required):
http://www.creativeuksolutions.co.uk/six.pdf
I can’t stand this Archbishop for his other views, but a lot of what he said is accurate. It’s pretty well-acknowledged that Jesus was not born on Dec. 25th. That was the time for Mithra’s birth and even that was probably selected for its proximity to the Winter Solstice.
There is a ‘rich tapestry’ of human history and just because many legends, myths or lies are told, does not mean the truth isn’t more interesting or that we have to sacrifice all belief because a few details may be wrong.