Other
Related Stories:
The
New Sexual Orientation
ECUSA's Apostasy
A
Call For A New Reformation By John Spong
Remarks From David Virtue's Interview
What To Make Of The Primates' Meeting
A General Summary Of Spong's Teachings
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Introduction to Special Commentary
On Church and Sexuality
By David Morgan, Publisher
After the recent top secret conference held at Kanuga, NC, which included
almost all the leading Bishops of the 38 Anglican church provinces from
around the world, many Episcopalian readers of The Tribune called and
requested that we put together some information regarding the conference.
Our readers wanted to know why the conference was held, what it was all
about, what happened, and in general what was going on within the Episcopal
church that required all this urgency and secrecy. Many of those requesting
the information were not aware even that there were 38 church provinces and
that they are separate and affiliated, and that the Episcopal Church of the
USA (ECUSA) is only one of the 38 provinces. ECUSA has lost some 30% of its
members in the last decade and now numbers 2.4 million. The worldwide
Anglican membership stands at approximately 77 million.
The following series of columns were submitted by various knowledgeable
individuals to try to provide some basic insight into what, they feel, is
happening within the Episcopal Church of the USA today and why it is
happening. |
Living On Borrowed Time:
The American Episcopal Church
Commentary by: Bill Fishburne
The Episcopal Church in the United States (ECUSA), and all of its
liberal
bishops and priests, are living theologically on borrowed time.
This is the primary conclusion to draw from the recently completed
series of
top-secret meetings held in Hendersonville, NC, at the Episcopal Kanuga
Conference Center.
Conservative American Episcopalians had anticipated immediate fireworks when
the 38 Primates were called, and 34 actually were able to attend. . The
growing liberalism and apparent apostasy in the Episcopal Church of the
United States disturbed many Anglican leaders, especially those from Africa,
the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific Rim. (An Anglican Primate
is
the leading bishop in each of the 38 separate but affiliated Anglican Church
provinces around the world. In the U.S., the church is called the
Episcopal
Church of the United States, headed by Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold,
III.).
Instead, they got a secretive meeting that seemingly amounted to much
ado
about nothing.
But based on conversations reported by various sources with Primates
after
the March retreat ended, it now appears that the Episcopal Church of the
United States is living on borrowed time. It is questionable as to how
much
longer the world-wide Anglican communion will continue to recognize the
ECUSA as one of its own, in full "communion" with the mother
church at
Canterbury, England, and the various branches in other parts of the
world.
The public issue is homosexuality. The deeper issue, however, is
apostasy.
(Also see sidebar "ECUSA's apostasy" by Otis
Page)
Apostasy is the abandonment of Christianity in order to teach a new religion. The new religion being taught in many Episcopal dioceses was
outlined in 1998 by retired bishop John Spong of the diocese of Newark,
New Jersey. Spong is a bishop in good standing with the ECUSA despite having
spoken heresy from his diocesan seat for many years before and after his
retirement. As Spong moved through his career with the church he was a lightning rod for change, and for advancing theological ideas that
differed greatly from the church's traditional teachings.
For example: Spong denies that Jesus was born of a virgin. He denies
that
Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to rejoin His Heavenly Father. In
1999 he was voted "Humanist of the Year," which some might consider
to be a
strange award for a Christian Bishop to accept.
Three years ago, these ideas, and more, were compiled in an article, and
book, entitled "A Call for A New Reformation." Most notably,
this included
Spongšs 12 Theses. Every Episcopal priest and bishop is thoroughly
familiar
with them (see sidebar "A Call for a New Reformation" by John
Spong). Yet
few in the U.S. have denounced them as either heresy (contrary to teachings)
or apostasy.
Spong's success in teaching his new religion encouraged the
traditionally
liberal ECUSA to take giant steps away from orthodox Christianity in
order
to become leaders in various avant garde social movements in the U.S.
Full acceptance of homosexuality as nothing more than an alternative
lifestyle was, of course, one of the foremost Spongian teachings. And
while
the Holy Bible declares homosexual acts to be abominations in both the
Old
and New Testaments, Spong and his willing followers saw that as a minor
inconvenience in the establishment of their new theology. All they had
to
do
was to discredit the traditional teachings of the Anglican Church and
re-interpret Holy Scripture.
The three-legged stool
There is a tradition in the Episcopal Church that says the denominationšs
theology is built on a three-legged stool. The legs are considered to be
Holy Scripture (the Bible), the Book of Common Prayer (BCP), and Reason.
Of these, Reason, the accumulated wisdom of man in conjunction with modern
science and social trends, has become the dominant and, in fact, the
only
remaining leg for the Spongian branch of the church.
In recent years the ECUSA has been thoroughly dominated by seminary
graduates who chose social justice over evangelism as the reasons for
their
ministry. And social justice, in their minds, requires them to be open
and
understanding to all peoples. Forget the issues of Holy Scripture and
the
BCP. Reason alone is the only leg they choose to stand on, except for
whatever Biblical passages they might find that seemingly support their
positions. Example: The ECUSA is not sure what salvation is all about. While
certain passages of the Gospels specifically state that Jesus Christ is
the
one and only pathway to salvation, the ECUSA is corporately unable to
determine that. There is no such thing in the ECUSA as "being
saved." Ask an
Episcopal priest what he or she believes in and they are most likely to
answer with nebulous notions such as "come worship with us,"
or "we're
non-judgmental so we leave that question to each individual." Or,
in the
worst cases, they will totally ignore the Bible and refer to the She-God
in
all of us, and in nature.
It is no wonder that active membership, according to the ECUSA itself,
has
now fallen to an all-time low of less than 2.3 million members.
Conservative bishops up in arms; American Mission in America
established
Last year at the previous Primates meeting in Pao, Portugal, the
primates
realized that apostasy had taken control of the pulpits in the U.S. So
they
scheduled an irregular meeting for 2001 at Kanuga, NC. The purpose of
the
meeting was to examine the ECUSA up close and personal. In the interim,
between these two meetings, the conservative bishops were up in arms
about
the situation. (See sidebar "Remarks from David
Virtue's
Interview")
*The bishops of Rwanda and Singapore appointed two
well-known American priests as bishops.
*Two other conservatives wrote a mini-book entitled
"To Mend the Net"
which outlined a process for bringing the American theology back into
line
with the remainder of the Anglican Church.
The newly appointed American bishops were Bp. John Rogers of
Pennsylvania,
former head of the conservative Trinity Divinity School in Ambridge, PA;
and
Bp. Charles Murphy, a parish priest on Pawley's Island, SC.
Furthermore, the bishops of Rwanda and Singapore sent Murphy and Rogers
home to the U.S. with the charter to establish the Anglican Mission in
America
(AMiA) in order to provide pastoral care and guidance for conservative
parishes who had reached the theological end of the road in their
dealings
with the ECUSA in general, and their local liberal bishops, in
particular.
The AMiA was an instant success. Within the first six months more than
20
ECUSA parishes voted to leave the ECUSA in order to affiliate with the AMiA.
But in addition, many individual priests from across the nation also
renounced their local diocesan ties and turned to Bps. Rogers and Murphy
for
spiritual guidance.
The AMiA is a missionary organization. It adheres to strict Anglican
doctrine, including the Biblical viewpoint that the practice of
homosexual
sex acts, and sex outside of marriage between anyone, is fornication.
The
AMiA also believes that the priesthood is a male calling in accordance
with
scriptural practice and instruction. Thus the ordination of women, while
not
a top-drawer issue, is an issue nonetheless.
Another AMiA issue is evangelism. As noted, this is a problem for
American
Episcopalians. Most cannot tell you what is necessary, according to the
church, for salvation. Thus it has been easy for Spongian theology to
infiltrate their parishes. According to Bishop Murphy, "the
Anglican Mission
in America is committed to moving forward in mission to draw more and
more
people into the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Uncomfortably for most American Episcopalians, that means the individual
church member is being asked to speak to people about Jesus.
Sometimes that might mean standing in Pritchard Park in Asheville. Or
standing your ground in your office, or even at the school flagpole.
The impact: What actually happened at Kanuga, and what it means
for American Episcopalians.
The 2001 Anglican Primates Conference at Kanuga was a disappointment to
conservative American Episcopalians. But it was no victory for the liberals.
Prior to the meeting it was widely anticipated that the Primates would
impose some type of discipline on the American church to stop the acceptance
of sex outside of holy matrimony as normal and acceptable. Most
obviously,
the American proclivity towards accepting homosexual activity within the
church, including ordination of practicing homosexual priests, was a
major
issue to be addressed.
What happened? Well, the Primates spent about an hour debating a
proposal
put forth by conservatives to "Mend the Net" then sent it to a
committee.
The proposal would have given the Archbishops responsibility for theological
orthodoxy in the greater Anglican Communion. As it is now there is no
such
authority. The Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury is in no way empowered
to
set policy, unlike the Pope in the Roman Catholic Church.
A statement issued at the end of the meeting said "We have been
reminded of
alienated groups within the Church's own life. Some of our number spoke
of
the difficulties of those who are estranged from others because of
changes
in theology and practice...that they believe to be unfaithful to the
Gospel
of Christ."
The statement went on at great length, but the gist of it was that the
Primates had noted the problem, discussed it with ECUSA Presiding Bishop
Frank Griswold, III, and decided not to take action at this time.
That left the issue of what to do for the few Anglo-Catholic and other
theologically orthodox parishes in the US, and even fewer dioceses,
where a
conservative bishop might still be hanging around. (See sidebar
"What to
make of the Primates meeting")
ECUSA revisionist theories remain strong
A good part of the problem stems from the definition of terms. The
Bible, in
both Old and New Testaments, condemns homosexuality as an
"abomination." In a larger sense, and in many more instances, it also condemns any sex
outside of marriage, which is fornication.
Under the revisionist theology of the ECUSA and its revised definitions,
homosexuality is equal to heterosexuality and only those uneducated
conservatives who are "judgmental" oppose it. Likewise, sex
outside of
marriage is tolerated because it "might be right" for the
individuals, and
they should not be judged.
The basis of these beliefs seems to be the elevation of Man's desire
and
intellect above the word of God, as revealed in the Bible. As noted in
the
first part of this series, John Spong, the retired Episcopal Bishop of
Newark, outlined these ideas and more in his "12 Theses"
published in 1998.
The fact that these ideas combined to overturn traditional Christianity
didn't even raise an eyebrow with most ECUSA bishops. It was all part
of
the church's effort to develop a new theology which is more "open,
accepting,
caring and non-judgmental" than in the past.
Many Episcopalian theologians pride themselves on being
"non-judgmental."
That is, they declare it is not up to people to judge anyone else's
conduct
or lifestyle. So when the Bible specifically states that something is an
"abomination," they start to look either for a newer
translation of the
Bible, or for the "context" of the scripture. Eventually,
someone always
comes up with a way in which the statement does not apply to ordinary
homosexuality. And thus Episcopal theology is revised further from its
original roots.
AmiA represents a 'wild card' ray of hope for orthodox
believers in the US
The ray of hope for many traditional Episcopalians is the Anglican
Mission
in America, or AMiA. As mentioned, this was established by Archbishops
Emmanuel Kolini of Rwanda and Ping Chung Yong of South East Asia through
the ordination of Fr. John Rodgers of Ambridge, PA, and Fr. Charles Murphy
of Pawley's Island, SC. The two American bishops were sent home to form
the
AMiA as a source of traditional spiritual leadership for American
Episcopalians who have serious problems with ECUSA's theology, and apparent
apostasy.
The AMiA is controversial within the Anglican communion because the AMiA
bishops receive spiritual guidance from the bishops who ordained them.
They
do not report to Frank Griswold and the ECUSA. And the offerings their
parishes collect do not go to "815", the ECUSA headquarters in
New York.
Thus they are a wild card. In less than a year, Bp. Griswold and the
ECUSA
have lost or are losing nearly 100 parishes to the AMiA and more than
that
number of priests. This means the AMiA is the fastest growing Anglican order
in the country, while the ECUSA continues its decades-old loss in
membership. Less than 1.7 percent of all Americans are Episcopalians.
When
the nation was founded, more than 90 percent of all Americans belonged
to
the Church of England.
Not all of the AMiA followers have come from the ECUSA, however. As a
mission or missionary church, AMiA priests are clear that their primary
mission is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to lead lost souls
to
salvation. In this calling they are more like American Baptists than
traditional Episcopalians.
In the words of AMiA Bishop Charles Murphy, "the Anglican Mission
in America is committed to moving forward in mission to draw more and more people
into the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ."
In supporting this mission, along with traditional orthodoxy, the AMiA
has
become the logical home for all three major sub-groups of the ECUSA.
These
are the Evangelical, the Anglo-Catholic, and the Charismatic. None of
these fit in well with the ECUSA mainstream.
What holds ECUSA together?
The glue holding ECUSA together at the present time seems to be the
hierarchical nature of the church itself. The ECUSA, in keeping with
other
Anglican branches around the world, claims that all Episcopal churches
and
their property belong to the ECUSA. The claim includes the buildings,
the
stained glass windows, the organ, the choir robes and the priestšs
vestments.
This is being challenged in several court cases, including one in North
Carolina. The primary legal argument is the date the individual church
was
established compared with the date the diocese was established. Some
have
successfully argued that individual parishes retain title to their
property
if their diocese was established after the parish.
In Summary
In summary, the ECUSA is in a mess.
*Membership is at an all-time low
*Membership continues to decline
*Anglo-Catholics and other conservatives feel out of
place in a church
that ordains women priests and bishops, and forces them on them
*Sexuality has become a touchstone for liberal
priests, including the
ordination of practicing homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex
unions.
*The Episcopal church is a "beach head" for
the homosexual incursion as it
has large trust funds and prize parish assets that can come under
control of
homosexual activists.
*Spongian theology has spread rapidly through most
ECUSA seminaries,
producing fresh new priests who doubt the Bible and are more concerned
with
social issues than with the Gospel. And because the bishop of each
diocese
must approve the priest selected at each parish, and the priests in turn
select the bishop, the circle is self-perpetuating. Often, a priest who
comes from the two or three remaining more orthodox seminaries is
refused
acceptance by a bishop.
*By endorsing the teachings of Spong, it repudiates
the basic doctrines
of faith and manifests its apostasy.
*Episcopalians are aging at a faster rate than any
other denomination,
thus contributing to the decline in membership
*And worst of all, the ECUSAšs policies have made
this formerly
dominant denomination absolutely unable to define either sin or salvation to its
membership.
One local Episcopalian observed that ECUSA bishops who accept all
religions
as equally valid with Christianity had more in common with Unitarians
than
they did with their own congregations.
How will it all be resolved? No one knows for sure. It seems the AMiA
has
its feet on solid theological ground, and understands the basic tenets
of
Christianity. Its numbers are growing.
The ECUSA, with its Spongian apostate theology, politically correct
secular
morality and its inability to articulate salvation, will probably
continue
to shrink, even though well-led parishes will grow. So far there is
little
to suggest otherwise.
An alternative might be for the Primates to take action to censure ECUSA
leadership, resulting in mass defections within the American church to a
new
leadership structure.
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