Be encouraged again by Ben John’s appeal to the Church of England General Synod

Amidst the gloom of bishops (and others) who turn away from the clear teaching of God’s Word, take the time to hear the appeal from General Synod member Ben John during Wednesday’s debate.

Do not be ashamed of the gospel – it is God’s power for the salvation for all who trust in Christ. (Romans 1:16, but re-read the full chapter for context.)

See it from 4 hours, 38 minutes and 50 seconds into the Wednesday afternoon video. (We also highlighted that day’s speeches by Vaughan Roberts and Ian Paul on this page.)

What exactly happened at Synod on the Prayers for Love and Faith?

At Psephizo, Dr Ian Paul gives some much-needed clarity on what the Church of England General Synod voted for –

“In reflecting about anything in the Church of England, and especially in relation to General Synod, it is worth bearing in mind this mantra from the Troubles in Northern Ireland:

‘If you are not confused, you don’t really know what is going on.’

The newspapers seemed to be very clear what had happened:

‘The Church of England has approved blessings for gay couples for the first time. In a historic vote, the General Synod, the Church’s legislative body, voted to officially recognise same-sex couples on Thursday.’

You can understand why they would understand the vote in that way—since the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have both used that language. Unfortunately, that is not what happened!

The proposals that the bishops brought to Synod were that the doctrine of marriage, as a lifelong union between one man and one woman, would not change, but within the constraints of that they would propose some ‘Prayers of Love and Faith’ which might be used to bless those people in same-sex relationships of some forms or other (as yet unspecified), but not function as a proclamation of God’s blessing on the relationship itself. (Please refer to my opening mantra!).

What Synod narrowly voted for, after about eight hours of debate on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, was for the bishops to continue to work on this, with some serious qualifications. For ecclesiastical nerds, this is the wording of the final motion as amended …”

Later, he sums up,

“If this is any kind of ‘victory’ for those who wanted to moved forward, it looks very much like a Pyrrhic victory. ‘If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined’ (Plutarch’s account of Pyrrhus of Epirus).

The motion was passed, with a significant addition which explicitly limits the scope for manoeuvre, so the work will continue. But I think the cost has been immense damage to the reputation and standing of Justin Welby, the final nail in the coffin of the Anglican Communion, damage to ecumenical relations, a further loss of confidence in the leadership of bishops within the Church, and the first signs of fracture at local and diocesans levels. And for what gain?”

– Read it all here.

Image: Dr Paul speaks at General Synod on Wednesday.

Living in Love and Faith: Moving Forward — a 3 minute promo video

Video just released by the Church of England. Must have taken some time to put together.

Says the Archbishop of Canterbury:

“Over the last six years, the Church of England has been travelling together through our Living in Love and Faith process as we consider questions around identity, sexuality, relationships, and marriage.”

Says the Archbishop of York:

“We’ve studied the scriptures, paid attention to the Church’s tradition, and listened to the wider Church through your responses.”

Says one commenter under the video,

How to say “we do not believe in the authority of scripture” without saying “we do not believe in the authority of scripture”?

Australian Church Record Statement on the Church of England’s Green Light to Bless Same-Sex Couples

“The Australian Church Record laments the regrettable decision of the Church of England to pass a motion to proceed with further steps towards the blessing of same-sex unions. This decision is contrary to the clear teaching of the Holy Scriptures on human sexuality and dishonours the gracious God who so loved the world that he sent his only-begotten Son for us and for our salvation.

The ACR considers the approval of liturgy to bless same-sex unions as tantamount to a change in the Church of England’s doctrine of marriage. What a church prays demonstrates what a church believes, and the Church of England now believes that it is right to bless behaviour that Scripture deems to be sinful and, if not repented of, will exclude people from the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). …”

– Read it all here.

EFAC Statement on the vote at the Church of England General Synod

From The Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion:

“There has already been a great deal of reaction to the vote at General Synod to allow prayers of blessing for same sex couples. We believe it is a crucial moment in the life of the Church of England and, indeed, in the life of the Anglican Communion. Much will be written and said over the next few weeks and months.

We note that the General Synod motion included an amendment, adding paragraph (g):

“Endorse the decision of the College and House of Bishops not to propose any change to the doctrine of marriage, and their intention that the final version of the Prayers of Love and Faith should not be contrary to or indicative of a departure from the doctrine of the Church of England”.

This means that, when the Bishops come to make a formal proposal, the only prayers which they could legally permit would be those which were faithful to the doctrine. If they comply with this stricture, it is hard to see which of the draft prayers would survive, without a clear public statement at any service that they MAY NOT be used to bless sexually active relationships.

For the moment we would commend to you as members of the EFAC Global family this declaration:

We declare that the Church of England, in making this change, has departed from the faith which is revealed in the holy scriptures and set forth in the catholic creeds to which the historic formularies of the Church of England bear witness.

Our desire is to remain faithful to the inheritance of faith as members of the Church of England and in communion with those Provinces of the Anglican Communion who also maintain the biblical and historic teaching of the Church. We will therefore resist all attempts to marginalise us or to declare our understanding of these matters as but one option among many.

Bishop Henry Scriven (EFAC General Secretary)

Bishop Stephen Hale (EFAC Council Chairman).

– Source: EFAC Global.

The Church of England chooses de facto relationship rather than marriage to the lamb

“This is a historical moment. This is the undoing of centuries of agreed and believed doctrine for the sake of fitting in with a culture that is proud of its sex without borders ethics. The self is King and no one is to object or disagree with the sexual preferences of anyone. And as numerous MPs have said over the past week, the Church of England must embrace same sex marriage or be cast aside.

There are many parishes scattered around England that have declared their faithfulness to the Lord of the Church over and above an errant English Church. How they proceed now will require much wisdom and strength and courage. May the Lord honour their faithfulness to Jesus. …”

– Murray Campbell speaks bluntly about what the Church of England is doing.

A Catastrophic Failure of Leadership

Principal of Moore Theological College, Dr. Mark Thompson, responds to the Church of England’s General Synod vote late last night:

Tragically, overnight, the Church of England continued its headlong plunge into irrelevance. A catastrophic failure of leadership, in particular from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, led to the General Synod agreeing to allow the blessing of same-sex civil unions. The bishops of the Church of England pledged at their consecration to guard and uphold the faith, yet, with their behaviour during this General Synod, despite public displays of empty piety, this is precisely what they did not do. They have shown themselves to be theologically bankrupt, pastorally inept and without both courage and wisdom.

Many faithful members of the General Synod of the Church of England grieve with us today at this outcome. As was said in debate, it is a perverse folly to call on God to bless what he has declared in his word to be sin. This vote will not change that and so it becomes one more sign that the leadership structures of the Church of England are under judgment.

We need to pray for the churches in England. We in this country owe so much to gospel-hearted men and women who came from England to share the news of salvation and life in Jesus with those who had lived here for millennia and those who travelled to these shores in more recent times. There is a wonderful heritage in the Church of England that, for many years, has been squandered by its leaders.

Where things will go from here is difficult to say. We must pray that those leaders still holding fast to the teaching of God’s word will be given extraordinary wisdom as they respond to this heart-breaking turn of events. Britain is crying out to be re-evangelised. The gospel we have to share is such good news, for same-sex attracted people as much as for any others. Our sin, together with the shame and guilt it brings, can be forgiven. A new life of hope and purpose and joy can be ours, if we will come to Jesus. He is the Saviour who reaches out to men and women where they are, in our various forms of brokenness and lostness, but loves us too much to leave us where we are.

Heavenly Father, please guard and guide your people in the United Kingdom. Give them courage and hope at this moment and please do such a work amongst them that we may look back and see the good that came even in the midst of this moment of terrible unfaithfulness. For the glory of Jesus and the extension of his kingdom, Amen.

Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches responds to C of E General Synod vote

“The role of the Archbishop of Canterbury in leading the House of Bishops to make the recommendations that undergird the Motion, together with his statements, alongside the Archbishop of York, and the Bishop of London leading up to the General Synod, cause the GSFA to question his fitness to lead what is still a largely orthodox world-wide Communion.”

Here is the full statement released shortly after the Church of England General Synod vote:

RESPONSE FROM THE GLOBAL SOUTH FELLOWSHIP OF ANGLICAN CHURCHES TO THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND ‘BLESSING’ OF GAY UNIONS

The Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA) deeply regrets the decision of the Church of England’s General Synod today, supporting the House of Bishops’ proposals to ‘bless’ Same Sex Unions – which goes against the overwhelming mind of the Anglican Communion.

Whatever the legal advice that the CofE’s Doctrine of Marriage has not changed, we hold the well-established view that Anglican liturgy expresses its doctrine. Furthermore, with the adoption of the Motion, the ‘public perception’ and reality at parish level shall be that the Church no longer sees the Union of one man to one woman for life as the only way intended and blessed by God, for the flourishing of marriage, family, communities, and national life.

The Church cannot ‘bless’ in God’s name the union of same sex partnered individuals, much less sexual relationships between same-sex persons which in God’s Word He declares to be sinful.

The role of the Archbishop of Canterbury in leading the House of Bishops to make the recommendations that undergird the Motion, together with his statements, alongside the Archbishop of York, and the Bishop of London leading up to the General Synod, cause the GSFA to question his fitness to lead what is still a largely orthodox world-wide Communion.

In view of these developments, the GSFA will be taking decisive steps towards re-setting the Anglican Communion (as outlined in our ‘Communique’ following the 2022 Lambeth Conference). Orthodox Provinces in GSFA are not leaving the Anglican Communion, but with great sadness must recognise that the Church of England has now joined those Provinces with which communion is impaired. The historical Church which spawned the global Communion, and which for centuries was accorded ‘first among equals’ status, has now triggered a widespread loss of confidence in her leadership of the Communion.

Next Monday the Global South Primates shall meet to consider more fully the decision by the General Synod and shall release a more detailed response in due course. Whilst the GSFA is giving its full attention to developments in CofE, it is also in much prayer and practical concern for the earthquake tragedy in Turkey & Syria. We invite the General Synod to join us in prayer and practical action.

ENDS

Editor’s Note:
The GSFA is a worldwide fellowship of orthodox Anglican Provinces and Dioceses. Presently, 25 Provinces belong to, or are associated with the Fellowship. See www.thegsfa.org

This copy via Anglican Mainstream.

Church of England General Synod votes to move forward with the House of Bishops’ proposals

Just before adjourning for lunch on Thursday, the Church of England’s General Synod voted to move forward with the House of Bishops’ proposals for the blessing of same-sex relationships.

The vote was –

Screenshot: The livestream as the vote result was announced. (We note that the rainbow flag graphic which appeared briefly at 3:17:47 has been blurred out in the archived version on YouTube.

Update: Archbishop of Canterbury apologises for LGBT flag livestream appearance at Synod. )

Hard to believe the Anglican Communion would survive — Vaughan Roberts

In his words to the Church of England General Synod on Wednesday afternoon UK time, Vaughan Roberts warned the chamber of the massive implications of following the lead of the House of Bishops in blessing same-sex marriages (among other relationships).

Watch his address from 25 minutes, 53 seconds into the video.

(Please note that the links will take you to the correct spot in the video if viewed on a desktop / laptop computer, but on the mobile browsers we tested, they default to the start of the video. In that case, just scrub to the correct time.)

Other notable speeches in favour of amendments includes those by Dr Ian Paul – from 4 hours, 18 minutes, 20 seconds – he asks the bishops to show the theological and Scriptural basis for their recommendations –

And many of our readers will be heartened by the impassioned plea from Ben John. He was appealing to the Synod to decline to welcome the House of Bishops’ proposals for the blessing of same-sex relationships.

See it from 4 hours, 38 minutes and 50 seconds –

This was after his concerns had been been dismissed earlier by the Bishop of York.

His father, evangelist J. John, reflects on that incident at Christian Today. –

“Ben was speaking at General Synod, doing no more than justifying the historic position of the Church of England and, indeed, of the majority of churches within the Anglican Communion and asking the question, ‘What measures are in place if bishops fail to believe, teach or uphold doctrine?’ Now, I should say that I’m not concerned about defending Ben; he is perfectly capable of standing up for himself, and that is a good and pertinent question.

The question was met with a response from no less than the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, who, I remind you, is the second most senior cleric in the Church of England. Normally, the speech of senior Anglican clerics overflows with bland politeness, seeks to reassure questioners that their views are being heard and offers some measure of a reasoned answer. Today, all this was forgotten and what we got instead, with remarkable frankness, were the archbishop’s own views. There was no answer to the question posed, although the superior and frankly condescending tone adopted clearly implied that the rank of archbishop put you above accountability on doctrinal matters.”

Here’s what was being debated:

The debates on the House of Bishops’ proposals will continue on Thursday (night, Australian time).

Do pray for all the members of General Synod who seek to hold the Church of England to the revealed truth of the Bible.

This is the Make-or-Break time for Christian schooling

Steve McAlpine is alarmed at the recently-published recommendations from The Australian Law Reform Commission:

“If anyone was under any illusions that there would be a ‘live and let live’ attitude from the purveyors of the Sexular Age, then the recommendations of The Australian Law Reform Commission, in terms of how Christian schools should be able to staff themselves, will dispel such illusions. It’s quite a depressing first-up read.

Make no mistake, the ALRC has faith-based schools in its sights. And it’s only a matter of time before schools have to decide whether they will simply allow their identity to die the death of a thousand cuts.

And I’m not sure most staff in Christian schools get it. The ALRC, and state governments around this country are implacably determined to push the gospel of sexual diversity not only as something that schools must teach, but that must supplant the biblical framework. And not just in what they teach, but in who they employ to teach it.

This is a gospel issue. A rival gospel issue. There is a good news story wrapped up in sexual identity that the secular evangelists are promoting. And they have the time, resources, evangelists, and currently, the power, to ensure their gospel rings out across the land. …”

In his conclusions, he warns –

“Folks, this is the make-or-break time for Christian schooling. I don’t mean whether those schools whose shingle out the front claims allegiance to a denomination or has the word ‘Christian’ in it. I mean those schools that seek to offer an alternative vision to the Sexular Age’s vision of what life is about. If Christian schools don’t take a stand on what is the single-most hostile assault on biblical distinctives, then why bother?…”

– Read it all at The Gospel Coalition Australia,

 See also Neil Foster’s earlier post at Law and Religion Australia.

How could you make your views known?

Associate Professor Neil Foster points out –

“The ALRC has invited responses to this consultation paper, which should be provided by 24 February 2023.

In addition to formal responses, it has set up a web portal for ‘individual views and experiences’, and is especially interested in hearing from ‘those connected with religious educational institutions (including schools, early learning centres, colleges, and universities)’, although any interested parties can make their views known. It would be a good idea, I think, for those who support the work of religious schools and colleges to provide comments on this portal.” (Emphasis added.)

C of E General Synod: The argument of the Bishop of London

Martin Davie looks at the approach taken by the Bishop of London (an approach which is very popular among members of the House of Bishops, it seems) –

“If you read carefully the transcript of the Bishop of London’s presentation to the General Synod yesterday on the House of Bishops’ response to Living in Love and Faith you will find that that the heart of her argument for what the House of Bishops is proposing lies in the following passage in her speech:

‘Our call is and always will be to seek the face of Christ – yes, in each other, but above all in searching the Scriptures, examining the Church’s tradition, and exercising our reason as we strive to make sense of how truth is to be lived out with grace in our 21st century context.‘…”

– Read his analysis here.

And compare the bishop’s approach with that of the Letter of Jude. (See also St. Helen’s Bishopsgate’s sermon series on that letter.)

You can see the Bishop of London’s complete address to the General Synod on Monday 06 February 2023 here. (The link should take you to the 2 hour 16 minute point.)

(Image from the Church of England livestream.)

The Church of England faces a huge week

“One thing worse than Sam Smith’s performance at the Grammys is the revisionist Bishops in the Church of England who are this week gaslighting both the sheep under their care and deceiving the general public.

Presumably, Sam Smith thinks that dressing up in a satan costume and performing a song called ‘unholy’ is making some kind of loud and shocking creative statement. Perhaps someone could tell him, he’s doing nothing more than copying a longish line of musicians. It is all rather boorish, except that mimicking the very personification of evil isn’t a particularly bright idea.

Over in old England land, ecclesiastical leaders have taken up that ancient inquisition of the Devil, by suggesting, ‘Did God really say?”…”

– Murray Campbell in Melbourne summarises what’s happening in the Church of England and argues it has lessons for Australian churches.

All Souls Langham Place Letter to the Bishop of London

Anglican Ink has published a letter from the PCC of All Souls’ Langham Place to the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally.

Here is the text.

“Friday 3rd February 2023

Dear Bishop Sarah,

We are writing to you as the PCC of All Souls, Langham Place to express our concern and sadness at the response that has been presented by the House of Bishops as the outcome of Living in Love and Faith.

Both the response and the draft prayers abandon confidence in the goodness and authority of God’s Word and in doing so they move the Church of England away from her historic formularies, which are foundational to our life together in London, England and as part of the global Anglican Communion. While the response states that there is to be no change in the Biblical doctrine of marriage, in practice they are that.

At a very practical level these materials undermine the Biblical call to discipleship: a call to put aside one’s self in a desire to live in response to all that our Lord Jesus has done for us. This is particularly true for many in our church family who have chosen to abstain from sex outside marriage, regardless of their sexuality. We are deeply saddened that these prayers devalue the difficult road they have travelled by communicating that sex outside of marriage is not sinful but actually something they can receive a blessing for. This is wrong.

We particularly grieve for those members of our congregation and the wider Church who are same sex attracted and whose Biblical convictions mean they are single and abstinent against a culture that encourages them to be otherwise. Their daily battle of faithfulness is intense yet their voice is absent from the Bishops’ response to Living in Love and Faith. This is incredibly sad.

We share in the Bishops’ apology expressed in the pastoral letter for homophobia in the Church and acknowledge that we have not loved LGBTQI+ individuals always in the ways that we should have.

Church has too often been a place where people feel unable even to say they are same sex attracted or struggling with their gender identity and we need to work harder so that is no longer the case. But church has also been a place where people find freedom through finding their identity in Christ, joy in knowing unconditional love and peace in the forgiveness of Jesus. All of us are fallen and sinful and we all are called to repent before the Lord Jesus. As drafted, the prayers of Love and Faith now teach every sexually active unmarried couple that repentance is not needed. If believed, this denies people the joy of stepping away from those things God has called sinful into new life in him. We cannot participate in such a departure from Biblical Christianity.

These proposals leave us in a very difficult position with regard to episcopal oversight. This is a further point of particular sadness – we have greatly valued your ministry to us, your support and your commitment to mutual flourishing. We would like to be clear that we will continue to maintain the strong partnership we have with the Diocesan Safeguarding Team.

In considering our position, we are also mindful of our partnership with the global Anglican church and also with smaller orthodox churches within the London diocese and across England and our desire to stand with them in upholding historic Anglican theology.

We ask that you encourage the London bishops to clarify their personal position shortly by stating whether they intend to endorse or otherwise use the Prayers of Love and Faith. We presume that your proposing of the motion at General Synod is an endorsement of the prayers and signals your intention to authorise them for use within the diocese – please correct us if that assumption is wrong. Clarity on this will help our PCC discussions over the coming months as we seek to work out what this means for our relationship with the London diocese.

Given the current proposals, the PCC voted this week to pause all Common Fund payments until we know the outcome of General Synod and have taken the time necessary to work through the implications of any decisions coming from it. Please know that this decision was not taken lightly or with any joy but is a reflection of the degree of concern we have with the response and draft text that have been presented by the House of Bishops.

We will of course continue to pray for you and for the Church of England as a whole.

Your sincerely,

The All Souls Langham Place PCC.”

See it here.

Image: All Souls Langham Place.

British Muslims express ‘Deep Concern’ over Church of England ‘Gay Blessing’ proposals – and ‘Identity Politics’ in Church Schools

“Muslim leaders have expressed their “deep concern” that their convictions that marriage can only be between one man and one woman, and over ‘identity politics’ in CofE schools were not sought by Church of England bishops ahead of next week’s General Synod crunch debate on ‘gay blessings’ in the ‘Established church’.

The leader of the oldest representative group of British Muslims has written to the Archbishop of Canterbury expressing frustration that the proposals have not been discussed with leaders of the other main faiths in Britain – despite many joint meetings of faith leaders on other topics at Lambeth Palace these past six years – when the church has been considering changes to marriage and sexual ethics via the Living in Love & Faith (LLF) project. …”

– News via Anglican Mainstream.

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