Mike Ovey on The Pilling Report
Principal of Oak Hill College, Dr Mike Ovey, has now posted eight responses to the Pilling Report (“the Report of the House of Bishops Working Group on Human Sexuality’).
1. God’s work versus God’s will?
“ultimately in practice, it prefers our judgment of what we think good to God’s judgment expressed in the scriptures of what is good.”
2. Does sincerity grant a veto?
“This creates the bizarre situation of an explicit submission to the authority of scripture, while not in fact applying what scripture says, either against same-sex marriages, or in favour.”
3. Groundhog Day: ‘scripture’s lack of clarity’
“As we have seen, judgments about the obscurity of scripture have been made before, notably in Roman Catholic responses to the Reformation.”
4. How common is the common ground?
“Like an iceberg, the most significant parts of the Pilling Report lie beneath the surface.”
“They have talked at length, listened at length and have had both clerical and expert help in all their deliberations. They have listened both to each other and to a wide range of witnesses. But this process has not enabled them to reach a collective conclusion as to whether or not same-sex sexual relations in the context of a faithful long-term commitment are right or wrong.”
6. Common grace and stolen fruit
“After noting that the tradition of the church for 2,000 years and indeed worldwide at the moment is against recognition of same-sex marriages and relationships, the report nevertheless goes on to speak in laudatory terms about the same-sex couples who have testified before it.”
“If we want a biblical precedent for a hermeneutics of suspicion where the hermeneutics of suspicion is wrongly placed, then we need look no further than Genesis 3:1ff.”
“Churches can get things wrong. One of the more disturbing moments in the Thirty-Nine Articles comes in Article 19 which deals with the doctrine of the church.”
Global South Statement in response to the Pilling Report
“The Global South considers forward movement on the Pilling Report’s recommendations as equal to what the North American churches did ten years ago which caused much confusion in the Communion.
This reminds us of Eli the High Priest who turned a blind eye to the wrongdoings of his sons which led to a period of spiritual dryness when the Spirit of God departed from the midst of His people (Ichabod).”
– Archbishop Dr. Mouneer Hanna Anis, Chairman of the Global South of the Anglican Communion, and Archbishop Ian Ernest, Hon. General Secretary, have issued this Statement – read it via Anglican Mainstream (PDF file).
Mike Ovey responds to the Pilling Report
“We humans have to live with grey. Sometimes we must weigh whether an action or life-choice is right or wrong. But so often, actions and life-choices are shades of grey rather than simply black or white. …”
– Oak Hill’s Principal, Dr Mike Ovey, responds to the Pilling Report –
Part 1 – God’s work versus God’s will?
Part 2 – Does sincerity grant a veto?
Reform’s ReNew Conference 2013 audio files
Reform’s “ReNew conference met Nov 26th to 27th, 2013. The conference was predominantly for church leaders and for women in paid positions of ministry in the Church of England. The purpose of the conference was to establish the basis on which Anglican evangelicals can work together and to begin to chart a way ahead.”
– Audio files of the talks are currently being added to the Reform website. The audio is a little over-compressed, but is quite audible and the talks are well worth hearing.
So far they have the talks by –
- Hugh Palmer – Proclaiming the gospel – the urgency of the hour
– 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, - Alasdair Paine – Defending and contending for the gospel – Romans 16:17-20,
- and Vaughan Roberts – JC Ryle – an Anglican Evangelical role model.
The Church of England facing ‘officially sanctioned apostasy’?
The Rev. Andrew Symes, Executive Secretary of Anglican Mainstream, works through The Pilling Report (PDF) to see the huge impact if its recommendations were to be adopted in The Church of England.
From his conclusions:
“This is why we are faced with officially sanctioned apostasy in our own church. It has finally happened. What do we do? The first thing to say is that the report has not yet been endorsed by the house of Bishops. We must pray for them and lobby them as politely but intensively as we can before their meeting to discuss the document.”
– Be sure to take the time to read his analysis in full here.
Anglican Mainstream also has a comprehensive list of links to reactions to the Report.
And some essential background:
The Anglican Debacle: Roots and Patterns – Mark Thompson (from The Sydney Lambeth Decision Briefing – 16 March 2008)
The Limits of Fellowship – Phillip Jensen (from The Sydney Lambeth Decision Briefing – 16 March 2008)
Are we stronger than He? (PDF) – David Short (January 2005)
Some questions for the new Archbishop of Canterbury – by Mark Thompson (09 November 2012)
‘Tearing the Fabric’ — 2012 edition – American Anglican Council (PDF)
Reform’s Chairman ‘deeply ashamed’ of the ‘very divisive’ Pilling Report
“Reform Chairman Prebendary Rod Thomas said today that he was “deeply ashamed” that the Pilling Report was opening up divisive discussions about the church’s stance on human sexuality.
He said: “Anglican evangelicals want to encourage the best possible provision of pastoral care for everyone involved in parish life. The calling of Christians is to a transformed life. True pastoral care in the case of those experiencing same-sex attraction will be to help them live Christianly. The report does not do this in its recommendations for “pastoral accommodation”. Reform profoundly regrets this insensitivity to real pastoral need.
Speaking at the close of the pan-evangelical ReNew conference, attended by over 250 senior Anglican leaders, Rod Thomas said that the report’s proposals were “very divisive and distressing”. He warmly endorsed the Bishop of Birkenhead’s dissenting statement with its understanding that the trajectory of the report “…undermined the discipleship and pastoral care of many faithful Christians”.
The Reform Council gave initial consideration to the report today. It concluded that the inevitable result of the report’s recommendations would be that pressure will increase for changes to the church’s understanding of marriage and of God’s purposes for human flourishing as outlined in the Bible. The Council reiterated its belief that the Anglican approach to doctrine and ethics can only be based on Scripture and therefore was not open to negotiation in facilitated conversations.”
– Source: Reform.
See also: The Bishop of Birkenhead’s dissenting statement.
Anglican Mainstream statement.
Church Society responds to the Pilling Report on sexuality
“Church Society welcomes the publication of the Report of the House of Bishops Working Group on Human Sexuality, so that it can be discussed openly and publicly by the whole church.
Like the apostle Jude, in the Bible, we would prefer to discuss the good news of Jesus Christ and the salvation he offers to all, but feel constrained to respond to the teaching of those who are changing the gospel into an affirmation of immoral behaviour.
We call on the church to read the report prayerfully, and to weigh its teaching and recommendations carefully in the light of scripture’s very clear teaching on sexuality, to which the Church of England is committed in its canons, doctrinal formularies, Synodical statements, and the resolutions of the Lambeth Conference. We particularly commend to people the “dissenting statement” in the report from the Bishop of Birkenhead, and thank him for its clarity and care. A further statement will be made in due course.” – Lee Gatiss, Director of Church Society.
Click here for full Pilling Report and CofE statement (CofE website).”
– from Church Society’s EV news.
Abp Welby’s presentation to the General Synod
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby spoke on the first day of the Church of England’s General Synod in Westminster –
“While I was in Nairobi for the condolence visit, I was there just before the beginning of GAFCON, and I had the opportunity to benefit from meeting a number of primates who had arrived for it. This was a great pleasure, and, as always, an education. As leader of GAFCON Archbishop Wabukala was as gracious as could have been wished.
There were naturally, as you may have noticed, different views expressed about different aspects of the Anglican Communion while I was in Nairobi and subsequently, including views about me, it has to be said not invariably warm and cuddly, but I was genuinely most glad to have had the opportunity to meet, and I have to say that the overwhelming response was not only kind but also deeply encouraging.”
– full text at The Archbishop of Canterbury’s website.
Stay in Noah’s Ark — or get into the lifeboat?
“I’ve just completed four years of training for ministry in the Church of England, and, God willing, have ahead of me many years of gospel ministry in the Anglican Church.
However, there seems to me to be more pressure than ever to doubt the integrity of that position. How can an evangelical who takes seriously his stewardship of revealed truth, ever with a good conscience take office in the Church of England? …”
– At The Church Society, Oak Hill graduate Matt Graham asks if it’s worth sticking with the Church of England. (PDF file.)
Related: Audio files of talks from the Junior Anglican Evangelical Conference.
Blessing same-sex relationships in the Church of England?
“I have now confirmed from a number of sources what the Pilling Report is going to recommend. The final draft is ready and it will propose that the Church of England introduce some form of liturgy that will bless same-sex relationships. There is absolutely no doubt that this is what the outcome of the committee’s deliberations will be…
Once that happens we will have formally declared same-sex unions to be holy. In the Church of England our liturgy is our doctrine and the moment we have a rite that in any way affirms same-sex relationships then we will have fundamentally changed what we believe. …
The entire College of Bishops, not just Diocesans but every Suffragan as well, will meet on 27 January 2014 to discuss the report. This is likely to be an emotional event but it will be the first collective opportunity for Evangelical and Anglo-Catholic Bishops to clearly, gently but firmly say that they will have no part in this.”
– The Rev. Peter Ould in the UK sounds an ominous warning.
Background:
“05 January 2012. The membership of a group to advise the House of Bishops on the Church of England’s approach to human sexuality has been announced. The Group will be chaired by Sir Joseph Pilling…” – The Church of England website.
The Religion of the Self
At Jesmond Parish Church in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne, the Rev. David Holloway explains why the church-sponsored brownie and guide units are refusing to make the new Girl Guide promise.
“There was a problem at the beginning of last month. On 1 September 2013 the Girl Guide promise, “the beating heart of guiding” according to the Chief Guide, was to change. The promise that was being discarded was as follows:
I promise that I will do my best
To love my God
To serve the Queen and my country
To help other people
And to keep the Brownie/Guide Law
Instead it was mandated from Girlguiding’s central authority that from the 1 September every girl and leader must say these words:
I promise that I will do my best
To be true to myself and develop my beliefs
To serve the Queen and my community
To help other people
And to keep the Brownie/Guide Law …”
Read it all at the JPC website.
New Bishop of Durham announced
“The Diocese of Durham has announced this morning on their website the new Bishop of Durham Designate:
‘The announcement by Downing Street this morning confirms that the Bishop of Durham Designate is The Rt Revd Paul Butler … currently Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham…” – Report from EV News.
C of E Christmas Campaign back to basics
“A marketing initiative established to remind Brits about the true meaning of Christmas is trying something different this year … they have swapped their shock tactics for a simple, direct campaign message: Christmas starts with Christ. …
‘Just 12 per cent of adults know the nativity story, and more than one-third of children don’t know whose birthday it is.’” (emphasis added)
– from the Anglican Communion News Service. Photo: ChurchAds.net
Reaching the lost in England
“While in parts of Latin America or Nigeria a street preacher can regularly lead 20 people to make a decision for Christ in half an hour, in France or Britain even Christians will hurry past a street preacher, embarrassed, and the brave speaker may be more likely to get arrested than make a convert.”
– Andrew Symes, the new Executive Secretary of Anglican Mainstream, writes on the challenge facing the Church in England.
Key UK conference planned for November
Reform and the Anglican Mission in England are organising a conference for Anglican evangelical leaders in November.
“ReNew will be a two day conference with the aim of advancing Anglican Evangelical ministries for the salvation of England.”
Speakers include Hugh Palmer, William Taylor, Richard Coekin, Mike Ovey and John Richardson. Details here.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…