A dumb title from "Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans." Fissures "widen?" The canyon-like chasm has been there for years. Is FCA catching up with the obvious? Sort of stupid.
http://fcasa.wordpress.com/2012/08/10/observations-fissures-widen-in-episcopal-community/
Observations: Fissures widen in Episcopal community
The Episcopal Shield
Posted: Sunday, August 5, 2012 12:00 pm | Updated: 9:02 am, Wed Aug 1, 2012.
By Joseph Bell, Special to the Press
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a 2010 Connecticut Supreme Court decision that ruled the pastor and parishioners of Bishop Seabury Church in Groton could not take ownership of the property after they separated from the Episcopal Church. As a result, on Aug. 5, the congregation will hold its final service in that building. The Connecticut Episcopal Diocese will take possession.
BSC is not alone in its decision to withdraw from the Episcopal fold. For decades there have been increasingly impassioned and heartfelt disagreements within the Episcopal community with respect to Christianity and the proper interpretation of the Bible.
The rip in the fabric of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America began tearing at least as far back as the 1960s when California Bishop James Pike decided the Holy Trinity did not exist and there was no Virgin Birth. Heresy charges were invoked against Bishop Pike but there was no will to move forward. For whatever reason (perhaps Pike’s beliefs were quietly shared) the church failed to reprimand the obstinate bishop.
In 1976, with an eye toward modernizing Scripture, the Episcopal church’s General Convention approved resolutions to study the ordination of homosexuals. That set the stage for the 2003 installation of an openly homosexual bishop, the Rev. Gene Robinson in New Hampshire.
At the most recent General Convention, held in July, the church authorized a rite, called “The Witnessing and Blessing of a Life Long Covenant,” that will be used to sanctify same-sex couples. Supporters insist this is not a marriage ceremony but the assertion is more a thing of semantics than theology. This is undoubtedly another step in the Episcopal Church’s effort to craft a theology that views the Bible not so much as the word of God but as a manuscript that can be edited and updated to harmonize with contemporary social mores. Some members of the Episcopal hierarchy oppose the renovation.
Regarding approval of the same-sex rite, Bishop Edward Little, of Northern Indiana, said, “The Christian world is going to understand us as having changed the nature of the sacrament of holy matrimony. The Christian world will … see vows, and exchange of rings, a pronouncement and a blessing and they will understand that to mean the Episcopal Church has endorsed same sex marriage and changed a basic Christian doctrine.”
Upon hearing the bishop’s counsel many well-meaning individuals will shrug, “So what?”
I understand because there was a time when my reaction would have been the same. I am a Christian (very flawed, but trying) and I confess there remains a part of me that cannot grasp what the ruckus is about. But I am not authorized to write humanity’s moral code. If man created his own morality – if there were no overarching judge of right and wrong – every man would be a god, determining what is allowable. The morality that would triumph would be the one imposed by anyone that had the strength to enforce his or her will. History is saturated with the horrific results of man’s effort to be god.
While the homosexuality issue has received much media attention it is not the only, or the most significant, source of the split.
In a 2006 interview with Time magazine, then Episcopal Bishop Elect Katharine Schori was asked if she believed Jesus was the only way to heaven. One might expect a Christian leader to say, “Yes, that is a key part of our faith.”
Instead she replied, “We who practice Christian tradition understand him as our vehicle to the divine. But for us to assume that God could not act in other ways is, I think, to put God in an awfully small box.”
The reply is worthy of a political candidate. Every religion has a core set of convictions upon which spiritual life centers. If one does not believe what Jesus said in John 14:6, “No one comes to the Father except through me,” why would one want to follow him anyway?
Bishop Schori’s intent was to phrase her answer in a way that didn’t offend anyone else’s religion, which is commendable. Respecting others must be a core principle in a diverse and civil society. However, respecting someone does not require blessing and approving everything they do. In addition, we do not respect another’s beliefs by diluting our own.
Individuals are free to embrace any religion they choose, or no religion, but it is irrational to declare oneself a Christian and then set about ignoring difficult parts of Scripture so that the word of God might bend to your will. That is what the leaders of the Episcopal Church invite the faithful to do. Consider Christianity, they declare, and if there are passages in the Bible that you can’t wrap your mind around, we will address those concerns with a vote at the General Convention. That’s not theology – that’s therapy. It’s not about salvation – it’s about affirming things you want to be true.
Perhaps the Episcopalian hierarchy is not working to improve upon man’s flawed comprehension of God’s will so much as they are working to improve upon the will of what they perceive to be a flawed God. That encapsulates the rupture within the Episcopal community. It will not mend.
BSC is not alone in its decision to withdraw from the Episcopal fold. For decades there have been increasingly impassioned and heartfelt disagreements within the Episcopal community with respect to Christianity and the proper interpretation of the Bible.
The rip in the fabric of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America began tearing at least as far back as the 1960s when California Bishop James Pike decided the Holy Trinity did not exist and there was no Virgin Birth. Heresy charges were invoked against Bishop Pike but there was no will to move forward. For whatever reason (perhaps Pike’s beliefs were quietly shared) the church failed to reprimand the obstinate bishop.
In 1976, with an eye toward modernizing Scripture, the Episcopal church’s General Convention approved resolutions to study the ordination of homosexuals. That set the stage for the 2003 installation of an openly homosexual bishop, the Rev. Gene Robinson in New Hampshire.
At the most recent General Convention, held in July, the church authorized a rite, called “The Witnessing and Blessing of a Life Long Covenant,” that will be used to sanctify same-sex couples. Supporters insist this is not a marriage ceremony but the assertion is more a thing of semantics than theology. This is undoubtedly another step in the Episcopal Church’s effort to craft a theology that views the Bible not so much as the word of God but as a manuscript that can be edited and updated to harmonize with contemporary social mores. Some members of the Episcopal hierarchy oppose the renovation.
Regarding approval of the same-sex rite, Bishop Edward Little, of Northern Indiana, said, “The Christian world is going to understand us as having changed the nature of the sacrament of holy matrimony. The Christian world will … see vows, and exchange of rings, a pronouncement and a blessing and they will understand that to mean the Episcopal Church has endorsed same sex marriage and changed a basic Christian doctrine.”
Upon hearing the bishop’s counsel many well-meaning individuals will shrug, “So what?”
I understand because there was a time when my reaction would have been the same. I am a Christian (very flawed, but trying) and I confess there remains a part of me that cannot grasp what the ruckus is about. But I am not authorized to write humanity’s moral code. If man created his own morality – if there were no overarching judge of right and wrong – every man would be a god, determining what is allowable. The morality that would triumph would be the one imposed by anyone that had the strength to enforce his or her will. History is saturated with the horrific results of man’s effort to be god.
While the homosexuality issue has received much media attention it is not the only, or the most significant, source of the split.
In a 2006 interview with Time magazine, then Episcopal Bishop Elect Katharine Schori was asked if she believed Jesus was the only way to heaven. One might expect a Christian leader to say, “Yes, that is a key part of our faith.”
Instead she replied, “We who practice Christian tradition understand him as our vehicle to the divine. But for us to assume that God could not act in other ways is, I think, to put God in an awfully small box.”
The reply is worthy of a political candidate. Every religion has a core set of convictions upon which spiritual life centers. If one does not believe what Jesus said in John 14:6, “No one comes to the Father except through me,” why would one want to follow him anyway?
Bishop Schori’s intent was to phrase her answer in a way that didn’t offend anyone else’s religion, which is commendable. Respecting others must be a core principle in a diverse and civil society. However, respecting someone does not require blessing and approving everything they do. In addition, we do not respect another’s beliefs by diluting our own.
Individuals are free to embrace any religion they choose, or no religion, but it is irrational to declare oneself a Christian and then set about ignoring difficult parts of Scripture so that the word of God might bend to your will. That is what the leaders of the Episcopal Church invite the faithful to do. Consider Christianity, they declare, and if there are passages in the Bible that you can’t wrap your mind around, we will address those concerns with a vote at the General Convention. That’s not theology – that’s therapy. It’s not about salvation – it’s about affirming things you want to be true.
Perhaps the Episcopalian hierarchy is not working to improve upon man’s flawed comprehension of God’s will so much as they are working to improve upon the will of what they perceive to be a flawed God. That encapsulates the rupture within the Episcopal community. It will not mend.
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