Letter in Church Times on the present crisis from an incumbent: “unity has already broken down”

A Letter published in Church Times:

“Sir, – For the first time in more than 20 years of ordained ministry, I have declined to give permission for a child of my parish to be baptised in a neighbouring parish where the parents have begun attending. The reason is that I have heard from several sources that the priest of that parish is teaching publicly that same-sex relationships can be blessed in church. This is contrary to scripture and 2000 years of Christian teaching and pastoral practice.

The Bishops of the Church of England have decided this week that they will put revised prayers to the General Synod in November, after a long and heated debate in July. So far, they have declined any appeal by the Church of England Evangelical Council and other bodies for a separate province for either revisionists or conservatives, claiming that they ‘want to maintain unity’.

I have to tell them now: unity has already broken down, when we cannot commend the ministry of a fellow Anglican minister (or indeed bishop). ‘Good separation’ has to be better than years of the breakdown of structures.”

– At Anglican Mainstream.

See also:

Dissenting bishops statement on LLF process.

Church Society Editorial: Good Lord!

“There’s been a lot of talk about the doctrine of the Church of England of late. The doctrine of the Church of England is clearly stated in Canon Law. Canon A5 says:

“The doctrine of the Church of England is grounded in the Holy Scriptures, and in such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said Scriptures.

In particular such doctrine is to be found in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, The Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordinal.”

I have devoted my life and ministry to these things. …”

– In this important editorial, Church Society’s Director, the Rev Dr Lee Gatiss, wonders what we can do when we are exasperated by bishops and the direction of the Church of England.

He goes on to say this about ‘canonical obedience’ to bishops –

“if bishops now require obedience or acquiescence in something neither lawful nor honest, and against the plain and public definition of Anglican doctrine, it is clearly not just a matter of conscience but my duty to the truth to say no. They should expect resistance.”

(Emphasis added.)

CofE conservatives cannot stop same-sex blessings from becoming facts on the ground

“Despite appearances, Church of England conservatives have not won a victory after the bishops announced that new services of blessing for same-sex couples now require two-thirds majorities in General Synod. The services are set to come into use anyway after November’s Synod.

The announcement from Church House Westminster on October 9, after the bishops made their decision on the legal route they are now pursuing, certainly highlighted the bishops’ commitment to get the new services into use. …”

– Julian Mann writes at Christian Today.

Update:

See also Lee Gatiss’ Church Society Editorial.

Who wants the Prayers of Love and Faith anyway?

“On Monday evening, at the end of the first day of the House of Bishops meeting, a press release was issued announcing that the Prayers of Love and Faith were being commended. Bishops are free to commend prayers at any time, without requiring synodical approval. However, such prayers should not constitute liturgy and should be consistent with the doctrine of the church.

The bishops think they have cleverly avoided the first requirement by telling us that there will be liturgy brought to General Synod for scrutiny in 2025…”

– Church Society’s Associate Director, Dr Ros Clarke, observes that “the word of a bishop, it seems, doesn’t count for much these days”.

CofE bishops commend prayers blessing same sex couples

“The Church of England’s House of Bishops has agreed in principle that prayers asking for God’s blessing for same-sex couples – known as Prayers of Love and Faith – should be commended for use when they are presented to the next meeting of the general synod from 13-15 November. …”

– Anglican Mainstream.

Image from the livestream of the Church of England General Synod, 09 February 2023.

Bishops in Communion and Prayers in Love and Faith

“To say that the House of Bishops Occasional Paper Bishops in Communion, published in 2000, is not well known is an understatement. Twenty-three years after its publication very few people in the Church of England even know of its existence. However, despite this fact, Bishops in Communion remains an important document because the understanding of how bishops are meant to conduct their ministry which it puts forward continues to shape the way in which bishops operate in the Church of England today.

To put it another way, the actions that the bishops of the Church of England have taken, and continue to take, during the Prayers of Love and Faith process directly reflect the thinking about the role of bishops which is found in the pages of Bishops in Communion. …

The model of episcopal ministry set out in [the paper] sees bishops as facilitators. The job of the bishops, it says, is to ensure that dialogue between those of different views continues until a consensus emerges about the mind of Christ for his Church. This understanding of the bishops’ role is what shaped the Living in Love and Faith Process. The whole point of that process was to encourage an open process of discernment across the Church of England between those with different views about human sexuality.

If this is indeed the model that is shaping the way that the bishops are acting, it follows that the existence of the Prayers of Love and Faith proposals following on from Living and Love and Faith must mean that the bishops collectively believe that a new consensus has been reached. …”

– At his Reflections of an Anglican Theologian, Martin Davie looks at the self-understanding apparent in the Church of England’s House of Bishops – and why that is a huge problem.

Related:

Churches backing traditional marriage are cut loose by their bishops –

“Paul’s suffering supported his apostolic authority to appeal to these baptised Christians in virulently pagan Ephesus to stand together for the truth of the biblical gospel centred on Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God the Father almighty. Such unity based on a shared understanding of the essentials of Christian truth is vital if the Church is to be effective in proclaiming the gospel and defending it in a hostile culture.

Sadly, the deep doctrinal divisions in the Church of England undermined a united response to a recent attack on orthodox Oxford churches by the university’s powerful 3,000-member LGBTQ+ Society. …”

– Julian Mann asks how can bishops who support novel doctrines be a support for those churches which stick to the Bible.

US Survey shows mainline denomination church members are much more conservative than their clergy

In today’s The Briefing podcast, Albert Mohler discusses a survey which shows that in US mainline denominations, the clergy are much more liberal than their congregations.

Yes, this is an American context, but it’s a good reminder as to why Biblical theological education is vital.

– The Briefing, Thursday 28 September 2023.

Apple’s Mother Nature Ad: It’s Protestant Paganism

“You can imagine the pitch: Mother Nature visits Apple HQ to conduct a performance review. In the writers’ room at Saturday Night Live it would gain instant traction: It’s Gaia in the boardroom as a take-no-prisoners businesswoman.

The idea definitely has potential. It’s what comedy does so well—combining unlikely ideas and enjoying the clash. It’s ancient meets modern, the spiritual meets the corporate. It should work.

But when Apple tried to pull it off last week at the launch of their new iPhone 15, it went down like a lead balloon. …

Many were struck by the out-and-out paganism of the video.”

– At The Gospel Coalition, Glen Scrivener in the UK gives his take on the Apple ad, He notes that it’s not ancient paganism. The gospel has made ancient paganism impossible.

See also his video on the topic from Speak Life.

The train is leaving the station

In his The Briefing for Wednesday September 20, 2023, Dr Albert Mohler examines the trajectory of a well-known US pastor and his church –

When a Conference is More Than a Conference: The Trajectory of Andy Stanley and the “Unconditional” Conference

and in his remarks, he gives some background to, and reads from, his current article in World Magazine – The train is leaving the station:

Andy Stanley, one of the most influential pastors in the United States, has been moving in this direction for years, often by suggestion and assertion but clouded by confusion and the deliberate avoidance of clarity. Back in 2018, he called for the church to be “unhitched” from the Old Testament, arguing that the Old Testament should not be understood as the “go-to source regarding any behavior in the church.” There goes “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination” (Leviticus 18:22). But, in truth, there goes the entire Old Testament. …

Senate committee rejects call for inquiry into hospital takeover

“A Senate bill to force the ACT Legislative Assembly to conduct an inquiry into the takeover of the former Calvary Public Hospital Bruce should not pass, a committee has concluded. Source: Canberra Times.

The Labor-led legal and constitutional affairs legislation committee has said the bill “would undermine the independence” of the territory’s legislature.

But opposition members have dissented from the committee’s recommendations and have recommended the bill should pass. …

The opposition members accused the committee of not adequately engaging with concerns raised in 65 submissions and 7000 letters received by the committee in regard to the bill.”

– Report from CathNews with links to other news stories.

Photo: Calvary Hospital, Bruce, in Canberra’s north via Calvary Hospital website.

A Review of Rosaria Butterfield’s Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age

“Here is one way to summarize Butterfield’s thesis: Don’t believe our culture’s lies about God’s design for men and women.

She presents five lies and explains, ‘What all these lies have in common is they don’t think that God had a plan and purpose when he created men and women’ (p. 290). At the root of the lies is what she calls ‘our nation’s reigning idol, a formidable monolith represented by the letters LGBTQ and the symbol +’…”

– At American Reformer, Andy Naselli reviews Rosaria Butterfield’s latest book. It will be available in Australia later this year. (Reformers bookshop, for example, has it on pre-order.)

Does NSW really need to ban gay conversion therapy?

“The Australian state of New South Wales is about to launch into a debate over ‘conversion therapy’. …

Loose talk about ‘conversion practices’ conjures up electric shocks, nausea-inducing drugs, exorcisms, ice baths, aversion therapy and so on. There is no evidence of such practices having occurred in Australia for decades. A bill banning them is like a bill banning cruelty to unicorns. …”

– Michael Cook, Editor of Mercator, writes this opinion piece. (Link thanks to Anglican Mainstream.)

Importantly, see also:

Contact your MP – an initiative of Freedom for Faith:

“NSW government just released proposals to ban so-called conversion practices …

Leading up to the election, the Labor Party promised that they only intend to ban damaging practices, without banning prayer, preaching, and spiritual guidance rooted in deeply-held beliefs about gender and sexuality.

“We’re not just going to transpose the Victorian legislation and implement it into New South Wales…. Taking offence at the teachings of a religious leader will not be banned. Expressing a religious belief through sermon will not be banned. And an individual, at their own consent, seeking guidance through prayer will not be banned either.”

– Chris Minns (NSW Premier)

But the proposal, which was developed by the Department of Communities and Justice, is effectively borrowed from Victoria which bans –
• Prayer
• Preaching
ª Counselling
… and any activity that is vaguely deemed as changing or suppressing someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Parents, pastors, teachers, counsellors, chaplains, youth leaders could face criminal charges under the proposed law.

The government plans to introduce the legislation by this November. If we do not take action now, we risk allowing our fundamental rights to slip through our fingers.

Imagine a world where parents are afraid to have open conversations with their children, where pastors and teachers fear criminal charges for expressing their deeply-held beliefs, and where our religious communities are silenced by vague and overreaching laws.

The time to speak up is NOW.”

Freedom to preach, pray & counsel under attack in NSW

The Australian Christian Lobby’s Wendy Francis warns of the NSW government’s reported intention to introduce ‘conversion therapy laws’.

– Watch here.

See also:

Report from The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 August 2023.

In another move, this one by the federal government:

Why bureaucrats can’t be left to censor free speech under Labor’s ACMA bill proposal – David Coleman, Opposition communications spokesman. The Australian. (Subscription.)

– New ACMA powers to combat misinformation and disinformation – Australian government. Submissions on the proposal close on 20 August 2023.

‘Intolerable corruption’: Anglicans warn euthanasia may force exit from aged care

“The Anglican Church has advised its aged care homes to discourage residents from using voluntary assisted dying when NSW’s laws take effect this year, and has warned the practice could become so morally corrupting for church-run facilities that it may have to exit the industry. …

‘The Board of Anglicare Sydney decided … VAD will not be available at its residential aged care homes, and the organisation and staff will not actively participate in the provision of any VAD services,’ said the report to the Synod, an Anglican parliament…”

– Story by Jordan Baker in WA Today.

Image from a video by St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.

Victoria’s Anti-Conversion Legislation promotional is a soothing Bed-Time Story

“The Victorian Government has just published its media information pack on conversion therapy. And I’ve gotta say, the YouTube video its has produced takes the biscuit. And it’s taken a leaf out of casting central, by employing Mr Bed Time Story Guy to provide the voice over. As I was watching it I wanted to curl up in my jimmy–jams with a hot cocoa.…”

– Stephen McAlpine gives his take on the Victorian Government’s PR campaign.

Image: YouTube.

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