It's often said that gay marriage could be the deciding issue for the future of the global Church, and certainly for the Anglican Communion, but the much-invoked African perspective on the issue is rarely heard. President Obama's visit to Kenya later this month has, however, brought this perspective to the fore.
The President is attending the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at the end of the month, but ahead of his visit there have been several calls from Church leaders and politicians for him not to discuss the
subject of gay rights, as he did on his visit to South Africa, Tanzania and Senegal in 2013.
In May, the Evangelical Alliance in Kenya, which represents about 700 pastors, said: "President Barack Obama is welcome to visit Kenya this summer – but please, leave the preaching to us."
At a demonstration this week, senior Kenyan politicians echoed the church leaders' message. Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto said at a church service on Sunday: "Homosexuality is against the plan of God...We have heard that in the US they have allowed gay relations and other dirty things. I want to say as a Christian leader that we will defend our country Kenya, we will stand for our faith and our country."
Chairman of the Evangelical Alliance in Kenya, Bishop Mark Kariuki, told ChristianToday: "Our main concern is that President Obama has his roots here in Kenya and...he is the President of the greatest nation in the world, so he's an opinion maker to many. When he comes here and starts speaking about homosexuality, our young people will be drawn in to things that they do not know."
Kariuki, who is a televangelist and leads a megachurch in Nairobi, added that the President should focus on the main purpose of his trip. "It is good for him to come. But when he comes, let him concentrate on the conference he is coming to address, and on commerce, the economy and trade. I think he will be helping more families by talking about those issues than talking about homosexuality."
Source: ChristianToday
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