Posted by David Virtue on 2012/9/25 11:00:00 (50 reads)
Upper South Carolina Bishop sets up task force to consider blessing same sex unions
Bishop Waldo is liberal, so are most of his priests, but the people of the state are conservative and voted against same-sex unions
NEWS ANALYSIS
By David W. Virtue www.virtueonline.org
September 25, 2012
The Rt. Rev. W. Andrew Waldo, bishop of Upper South Carolina has a problem. Big problem. Following General Convention's vote in favor of a provisional liturgy for the blessing of same-sex unions, he promised to follow up on his own "no" vote on that resolution (A049) with a process to articulate the boundaries within which he and they can live in unity within this Diocese, even in disagreements on this issue. In late July, through a communication with diocesan clergy - active, licensed and retired - he sought applications for membership in a task force to work with him in doing that work.VOL: Waldo's "no" is a provisional no. It is not the last word. Who does he think he is kidding? It will be no until it is yes. That will be only a matter of time, somewhere between 6 and 18 months. The Law of Non-Contradiction, however, means he cannot have it both ways. It will have to be a clear cut decision. In the end, we know which way this will go.
WALDO: As I chose members of the task force from a healthy number of applications, I sought to balance theological acumen, perspective, congregational representation, passion and availability for the work, and other, in some cases quite specific, gifts for this work. Required of all, and indeed present in all the applications I received, was a devotion to the good news of God in Christ Jesus and to articulating a way forward in the church that holds us together. Such a way forward will, by definition, ask all of us to remember our servant ministry towards one another and ask us to live graciously in a tension we are unlikely to resolve.
VOL: There is not a single orthodox voice in the diocese that would dare stand up and say, "Scripture, tradition and reason utterly and totally oppose such 'blessings'. In fact, Scripture is clear that sodomy itself is a non-starter, and having openly avowed homosexual and lesbian priests and bishops is also a non-starter and all of this violates the very law of God at every level.' No such voice will be raised. There is not a clergyperson in the diocese who would say that. If he/she did, someone would need to call 911 to pick Waldo off the floor and apply mouth to mouth resuscitation waiting for the EMT wagon to check him for a stroke.
WALDO: The way forward must be deeply rooted in the evangelical imperative, and it must engage scripture, tradition and reason-both in the very pastoral and human dimensions that have challenged the church to address same-sex relationships and, more rigorously, in the theological dimensions that have given a moral grounding for the church over many centuries through the received tradition.
VOL: I'm an evangelical. Waldo is not. If he really believed in the "evangelical imperative", he would have done what his next door neighbor did at General Convention, the honorable Mark Lawrence, who marched out of the HOB saying the church's action was a bridge too far and he would have nothing more to do with TEC. The use of the word "pastoral" has become a fudge word in TEC to mean, "you can be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered" but stay with us, sooner or later your sexuality will be recognized by these dumbass Carolinians and all will be well. Don't leave us, we are in transition and we need your money to keep it all going.'
Waldo cited "the theological dimensions that have given a moral grounding for the church over many centuries through the received tradition." If that is true, and it is, then what is there to discuss or talk about? The "received tradition" requires no further explication. It's a done deal. Scripture cannot be twisted to accommodate a handful of pansexualists at the beginning of the 21st Century. Furthermore, what does Waldo not get about a denomination in decline precisely because of these sexual innovations.
WALDO: Our task will be to help me articulate the boundaries within which we might live together that includes same-sex relationships and those who struggle with the church's decisions with clarity and substance.
VOL: There are no (new) boundaries to articulate. They have already been articulated. God has articulated them, Scripture has defined them. Does Waldo think 20 million evangelical Nigerian Anglicans with all their bishops and archbishops wake up each morning and agonize before the cross over same sex unions or gay marriage? They know what Scripture says; they don't need a Task Force to tell them. They also know what Muslim extremists think and DO as they are watching their churches being torched and their people murdered in part because Western liberal bishops in the US and Canada have nosedived into a sexual cesspool that is driving Islamist mullahs mad with hatred at us.
WALDO: This will be hard work. But it will also be work with unexpected blessings for the members of the task force and for our entire diocesan community. I have asked each member to be ready to listen, to pray, to work, to write, to present and, above all, to love one another.
VOL: Waldo has a problem. He is liberal, most if not all his clergy are liberal, but his constituency is not. They are mostly conservative. In 2006, South Carolina voters adopted South Carolina Amendment 1 by 78%, that amended the constitution to ban same-sex marriage and civil unions in the state. An August 2011 Public Policy Polling survey found that 21% of South Carolina voters thought that same-sex marriage should be legal, while 69% thought it should be illegal and 10% were not sure. Waldo knows this so he is walking on cut glass hoping his feet won't bleed too much if his constituency decides to walk out on him if he and his Task Force decide that A049 must be obeyed. The faithful will leave the diocese and their parishes en masse. The ACNA is ready to receive them. He also knows that Katharine Jefferts Schori will be all over his case if he dares violate a resolution passed by General Convention. So it won't happen. Waldo has a ringside chair at the upcoming Diocese of South Carolina boxing match. We all know there is going to be blood on the floor when that is all over. He doesn't fancy that happening to him.
WALDO: We will need each of you to pray for us, not for us to fully resolve our differences, because that would be more than we could deliver. We will need for you to pray that we listen deeply for and to God and to each other, that we might have wisdom and clarity, and that we devote ourselves fully to work that might faithfully, truthfully and authentically unify us in our diversity.
VOL: This is episcobabble. Prayer won't change a thing. Prayer is used as a mantra to do whatever the Task Force and Waldo decides. Does anybody think for a moment that a priest will stand up and say, "God told me in prayer today that we must not violate His Holy Word, and we should not bless such unions, they are offensive to a Holy God and to the blessed Trinity, the church's received teaching and 6,000 years of history." It won't happen. Furthermore, we know what "listening" means. It means you will listen and listen and listen till we wear you down and you agree with us. The whole "listening process" coming out of London over homosexuality is a one-sided affair designed to broker sodomy into the Anglican Communion as a whole. If Waldo and his Task Force do not resolve the issue, and they won't, then this is what will happen. The diocese will deliver the line, "All May, None Must, Some Should". And everybody will go home happy that they have not exactly compromised God's word written but they haven't endorsed it either.
Waldo says he is working with a 6-18-month framework. "We cannot rush, and yet we will be deliberate in moving forward in our work."
VOL: James 1:8 states it so clearly, "He is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." Or as the New Living Translation puts it, "Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do." These are the words that will ring in the Task Force's ears as they leave the cathedral. It's what God really thinks.
END
No comments:
Post a Comment