Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. - 2 Timothy 2:15
I report and link. You decide. - ToK
Or perhaps now, the new Enlightened Ones will look sternly upon England's ancient spires and regard them as patriarchal, phallic symbols fit to be torn down and replaced by solar panels to the glory of man?
From a Virtue Online .org article,
Church of England Follows Episcopal Church [USA] , more follows::
Church of England Follows Episcopal Church [USA] in Revisionist Stand on Women Bishops & Homosexuality [/] Editorial [/] By David W. Virtue [/] 7/8/2008Church of England traditionalists got their single biggest wake-up call, yesterday, when the Synod decided to consecrate women bishops, rejecting compromise proposals for new "super bishops" that would have offered a safety net for those opposed to women's ascent to the episcopacy. [/] It was the same "in your face" act as the marriage of two queer priests in St. Bartholomew's Church, London recently, an act as communion breaking as the ordination of women. No discipline has been metered out because there is no discipline left in the CofE, nor is there anyone to exercise it, any more than there is discipline in the Episcopal Church [USA] except, of course, if you are orthodox in faith and morals.
[...] The Church of England now faces schism over the threat of a mass exodus of some 1300 traditionalist clergy because of the actions of Synod. Furthermore, a year ago a petition was sent to the Archbishop of Canterbury by leading Evangelicals saying they no longer wanted to be under liberal CofE bishops. While the petition went nowhere, it indicated the deep fissures that lie just beneath the surface in the CofE, fissures that will, over time, only widen.
As recently as 2005, studies showed a vast see of unbelief lurking beneath the surface of the tranquil CofE. Peter LeRoy, a layman from the diocese of Bath and Wells, said at that time that the definition of an Anglican was someone "who can believe anything they want, as long as it is not (held) too strongly". He said heresy trials were essential to persuade clergy to endorse "sound teaching". Quoting from a survey carried out in 2002 on what the Church of England believed in, he said just 76 per cent of clergy believed Jesus Christ died to take away the sins of the world, 68 per cent believed Jesus rose physically from the dead and 53 per cent believed faith in Jesus was the only way they could be saved. Among women clergy, the figures came in at about 10 per cent lower in each category. Many of these women will now become bishops.
[...] He needs a reminder about what happened with the irregular ordination of women in The Episcopal Church. It began in 1974, when eleven women were ordained to the priesthood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by three retired Episcopal Church bishops. Four more women were ordained in 1975 in Washington D.C. These ordinations were ruled "irregular" because they had been done without the authorization of ECUSA's General Convention. Two years later, General Convention authorized the ordination of women to the priesthood and, in time, to the episcopate. [/] First, however it was voluntary upon bishops whether they would ordain a woman or not. Enter Barbara Harris, the Suffragan Bishop of Massachusetts. Within a short time it became mandatory on ALL bishops to ordain a woman or face the wrath of the HOB [House of Bishops]. This set off bizarre ordination arrangements between the Dioceses of Ft. Worth and Dallas to find a way around the problem. But the damage was done. And now, years later, the dioceses of San Joaquin, Ft. worth and Quincy, all of whom oppose women's ordination, are either out the door or ready to leave The Episcopal Church before the end of the year.
[...] He doesn't see that in time the pansexualists will eventually win, breaking down one bishop after another with the notion that homogenital behavior is a "justice" issue and the thinly educated clergy will roll over seeing it as civil or human rights issue? Those that oppose them will be crudely labeled homophobic and fundamentalist. Look what happened to Liverpool Bishop James Jones, once a stalwart evangelical, now a supporter of homoeroticism! [/] Does Wright really believe that with women bishops on the way, that England's moribund parishes will miraculously fill up on Sunday morning with torpid English men and women, filled with coffee, emerging out of the fog to fill near empty pews to hear the Rt. Rev. Eleanor Snodgrass, formerly just the Rev. Snodgrass drone on about the environment, and during the passing of the peace, insist that all the old age pensioners grab their canes go outside and hug a tree? [/] Or perhaps now, the new Enlightened Ones will look sternly upon England's ancient spires and regard them as patriarchal, phallic symbols fit to be torn down and replaced by solar panels to the glory of man?
Wright is wrong. GAFCON is the future. If there weren't a GAFCON, it would have to be invented. The liberals have stormed the final bastions of Church of England orthodoxy. All that is left is a mop up operation. It is only a matter of time. New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson famously opined that if you took all the gay priests out of the CofE it would collapse. He may be right. [/] Orthodox Anglicans have seen the future and it is GAFCON. And neither N. T. Wright, John Sentamu nor Rowan Williams can stop the train. It has left the station and, despite the spin, those 300 bishops who met in Jerusalem represented 70%-80% of the Anglican Communion. Rowan Williams and his Instruments of Unity are presiding over a dying body, who many believe is no longer the Body of Christ, but something altogether different. [My ellipses and emphasis]
Jim :) Smiling aka Brother Jonathan aka Toto Of Kansas
Link to my Blogs, Forums & Essays
