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| David Virtue |
Mere Anglican Conference Blows up over Women's Ordination * Church of England's Growing Entanglement over Same-Sex Blessings * Two TEC dioceses look to Merge * Nigerian Archbishop Suspends NA American Bishop * ABC called to resign over P.O. selection debacle * Future of Christianity in UK in doubt
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| Bishop of Canterbury Justin Welby |
The Church of the West has descended to the very nadir of flagrant apostasy, twisted-ness, dishonesty and hypocrisy, far worse, it would seem, than its condition at the Reformation. -- Roger Salter
Evangelicalism is not immune to the cultural mood. Quite the opposite. We've been infected by it, and our current coterie of leaders seem incapable of resisting. --- Mere Orthodoxy
To offer a positive vision is to welcome misunderstanding from evangelicalism's leadership class and many of their most committed followers. --- Patrick Miller
THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION began to crack as traditional leaders -- representing about 85% of the global Anglican worshippers -- declared no confidence in Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the church's power structures in England. This followed a Church of England vote to allow blessing rites for same-sex unions. -- Terry Mattingly -- OnReligion
The people who call themselves LGBTQ activists are now recruiting many people, including our children. They don't know what they are doing, but they are destroying people's lives by engaging them in unethical activities. The West wants to make our country Sodom and Gomorrah, and we won't accept it.--- Gilbert Lubega of Uganda
"Christianity is not shrinking; it's shifting (dramatically) from the northern hemisphere to the south. There's a pernicious myth out there that the Church is in decline when it's actually growing. Fast. Since the year 2000, the world population has been growing at 1% per annum, but the church has been growing at 2% - 100% faster than the global population (with Pentecostalism growing at 4%.) -- Rick Warren
God continues to speak through what he has spoken -- John Stott
"When the Christian faith is politicized, churches become repositories not of grace but of grievances, places where tribal identities are reinforced, where fears are nurtured, and where aggression and nastiness are sacralized," --- Peter Wehner
By David W. Virtue DD
www.virtueonline.org
February 2, 2024
IN past years the Mere Anglican conference held in Charleston, SC drew noted Anglican heavy hitters to explore various themes. Last year it was C.S. Lewis; this year it centered more around apologetics.
The conference drew a distinguished group of presenters to theologically discuss, "Speaking the Truth in Love: The Church and the Challenge of the New Morality." The list included: The Rev. Dr. John Dickson, Anglican priest and apologist; the Rev. Sam Allberry, Anglican priest and apologist; Dr. D.A. Carson, Renowned New Testament scholar and author; the Rev. Dr. Carl Trueman, Professor, Grove City College; Dr. Rebecca McLaughlin, Apologist and author; the Rev. Vaughan Roberts, Anglican Rector of St. Ebbe's Church, Oxford; Dr. Amy Orr-Ewing, Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Christian Apologetics; and the Rev. Calvin Robinson, priest, writer, and social commentator. Archbishop Foley Beach (ACNA II) was the Conference's Festival Eucharist celebrant.
Then it all blew up.
One invitee, the Rev. Calvin Robinson threw a monkey wrench into the works when he riffed off text and talked about the highly controversial issue of Women's Ordination. It is the third rail: Women in Holy Orders, as one commentator described it.
"It was my point that the reason Gender Theory, Queer Theory and Critical Race Theory are so prevalent in the Church today is because we have conceded too much ground to Feminism," wrote Robinson on his sub stack.
But then he hurled a hand grenade into the conference and tackled Women's Ordination head on.
"I put it to you that Feminism -- an arm of liberalism -- is the gate by which all the other woke ideas gain ground. They are all part of the same ideology, but Feminism is the brute force which breaks down the wall for all the others," he said.
"The Church has become effeminate and, therefore, vulnerable in a way that it needn't be. Men, being the stronger sex of the species, offer talents different from those of women. That is not to say they are better; goodness no, women are far better than men at a great many things. Men are simple beings. But we do have a practical role to play in the Church, which can only be played by men."
The conference host, one Rev Jeffrey S. Miller promptly banned Robinson from a final round table discussion "because he failed to address the topic assigned to him," with South Carolina Anglican Bishop Chip Edgar weighing in and saying that Robinson was not "cancelled" due to his position on Women in Holy Orders but was removed from the final panel because his talk was deemed to have veered substantively from the topic he was asked to address.
"Instead, he took advantage of the opportunity and opined on what he considers the exceeding evil of women in Holy Orders. Most importantly, he did so in a way which was inexcusably provocative, and completely lacking in charity and pastoral consideration of the people in attendance--especially the many women clergy both of our diocese and others who attended."
Edgar went on to explain that The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) has maintained a "dual integrities" position allowing dioceses to choose what direction to take.
This then prompted the Rt. Rev. Alex Farmer, Bishop of the Diocese of the Gulf Atlantic (ACNA) declaring that Robinson had an "unclean spirit" when he spoke at the Mere Anglican conference in Charleston, SC. Alarm bells went off. The bishop later apologized for his remarks saying he was sorry for the way he questioned the spirit behind his motivations. "That was improper of me, and especially in the context inappropriate. I am deeply sorry for the harm that this has caused to the wider Body of Christ."
Nonetheless the whole subject stirred a hornet's nest of opinion, with commentaries coming down mostly on the side of Robinson with some even suggesting it could blow up the ACNA! That is not going to happen. Since 2009, the ACNA has lived with the "two integrities" and that seems likely in the foreseeable future. In truth there is nowhere else for the Anglo-Catholic to go to. The Continuing Church groups are way too splintered amongst themselves to offer a safe haven for ACNA's traditionalist wing.
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| American Bishop Jefferts-Shori took a wrecking ball to conservative churches. |
The following links will give you a fuller picture on all sides of the issue.
https://virtueonline.org/calvin-robinson-kerfuffle-widens
https://virtueonline.org/calvin-robinson-declared-have-deceiving-unclean-spirit-acna-bishop
https://virtueonline.org/apology-and-public-statement-bishop-alex-farmer
https://virtueonline.org/forward-faith-north-america-response-mere-anglicanism-conference
https://northamanglican.com/the-day-the-gloves-came-off-an-end-to-detente-in-the-acna/
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Last week, the lead bishops for Living in Love and Faith (LLF) reconciliation process, the Rt. Rev. Helen-Ann Hartley and Rt. Rev. Martyn Snow wrote a piece for the Church Times, in which they said,
"We are at a crossroads: either we have reached the point of separation, accepting that different views cannot co-exist within the same Church, or we must shift the debate to the question how we live well with difference. We believe firmly in the latter approach, and, therefore, we are issuing a call for reconciliation and bridge-building."
Their attempt to 'reset' the debate will rest on a number of commitments, which will be brought to General Synod for discussion in February. They have yet to be published -- but for once the devil will not be in the detail - but in their purpose and underlying premise, writes Susie Leafe of Anglican Futures.
"These commitments will honor the votes already taken by the Synod and the general sense of direction, while also inviting the whole of the Synod to make a commitment to the principle of being a broad Church in which different views are not just accepted, but honored as part of what it means to be the living, dynamic, and beautiful body of Christ."
The orthodox should be shocked. There is a danger that this development is being seen as a partial victory.
Why? Because the bishops have used a simple bait and switch. Alongside the 'broad church' principle was the offer of a 'prize' -- a delay to the introduction of standalone services and a promise that Synod will examine "legal safeguards and appropriate structures" for those needing reassurance.
And that is the bait.
But the switch is devastating.
If the bishops are to be believed, Synod will be asked to commit to:
"...the principle of being a broad Church in which different views are not just accepted but honored as part of what it means to be the living, dynamic, and beautiful body of Christ."
If words mean anything, such a commitment has serious implications:
• It means accepting that the presenting issue of same-sex blessings and the underlying debates about the nature of marriage, the authority of Scripture and the means of salvation -- are to be considered adiaphora -- things indifferent.
• It is a commitment to accept those who deny the teaching of Christ, rather than rebuke them, and to honor those who promote a false gospel, rather than avoid them.
• It is to affirm that the presence of sin makes the body of Christ more beautiful.
You can read the full story here: https://virtueonline.org/living-love-faith-and-reconciliation-exercise-bait-and-switch
You can read a Masterclass in Manipulation here:
https://virtueonline.org/masterclass-manipulation
ARCHBISHOP JUSTIN WELBY has faced yet another call for him to resign, this time he 'should quit' over claims he backed the disgraced former Post Office boss Paula Vennells to be Bishop of London.
Gabriella Swerling, Social and Religious Affairs Editor for the Telegraph
says the Archbishop of Canterbury, is accused of endorsing Paula Vennells while some 700 sub-postmasters were falsely accused of money that went missing from their sites.
The late Queen's former chaplain, the Rev Canon Jeremy Haselock, an associate priest at Great St Bartholomew's in the City of London, criticised the alleged endorsement, writing on social media: "Surely this is the point at which Welby must go. Another demonstration of his complete lack of sound judgment."
Paula Vennells, who was the Post Office chief executive from 2012 to 2019, handed back her CBE last week.
You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/justin-welby-should-quit-over-claims-he-backed-paula-vennells-be-bishop-london
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An insightful piece on the future of Christianity in England, titled, IT'S OVER -- PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE by someone called Campbell documents that too many Christians in the UK are living with an illusion. "Let me tell you plainly: it's over. The days of being a Christian country have gone, and they are not coming back any time soon. It is imperative that we grasp this. Instead of pretending we are living in a pale imitation of the past, we have to work out how to live in the present and prepare for the future."
"I pray (literally) that there might be a recovery of both church and nation, that the Holy Spirit will sweep through the land and we will have godly leaders in church and state. In the meantime, until God does this, we Christians have to get our own house in order. Merely doing what we have always done in the hope that this time it will work is to embrace failure."
You can read more here: https://possil.wordpress.com/2024/02/02/its-over-prepare-for-the-future/
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| Anglican Bishop marries partner |
MORE TEC DIOCESES look to merge. The dioceses of Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan will merge later this yea
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| The Bishop Robinson marriage ended in divorce and accelerated the demise of American Episcopalians. |
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According to the Episcopal News Service the two dioceses, after more than four years of administrative sharing and ministry cooperation, are finalizing plans for a potential merger. Final approval would take place at the 81st General Convention in June when it meets in Louisville, Kentucky.
Across TEC as dioceses shrink with aging and dying parishioners, and with no new young people coming along to replace them, church coffers are drying up.
