True Anglican Blog

Remember this thread where we discussed the Religious Declaration on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing. Here’s the list of those who have signed. Here’s the list of Episcopal clergy, staff, and seminary professors who signed.

Hat tip: Robert Lundy

There was an elderly lady who had great faith in God, and also was very exuberant about expressing it, and it was her practice that every morning she would go out on her front porch and raise her arms to the sky and shout “praise the Lord!”

Well, it happened that her next door neighbor was an atheist who would shout back “there ain’t no Lord!”

So every morning this little routine went on, and it came to pass that this woman of great faith was experiencing financial difficulty, going through very hard times, so one morning she went out on her front porch to do her normal routine and said: “Lord, you have to send me some groceries, I don’t have enough money to buy the food we need. Lord, send me some groceries, and praise the Lord!”

So the next morning she went out on her porch and lo and behold there were two big bags of groceries, all the food that she needed, and of course didn’t hesitate to say “Praise the Lord!” But her neighbor had been hiding in the bushes, and he jumped out and said: “Ha! I put those groceries there! There is no Lord!” Well, that didn’t stop her for a second, she jumped up and down with even more Joy than ever and yelled: Praise the Lord! The Lord bought me groceries and even made the someone greatly resisting your goodness pay for them!”

Every Wednesday morning, homeless men arrive for their haircuts at the Listening House of St. Paul, Minn., eager to take a seat in what was once a dental chair.

Some will eye their barber, and a nearby portrait of people in a 1890s barbershop, and they’ll ask: “Which one are you?”

The barber, Ken Porwoll, takes it in stride.

He is, after all, 89 years old. As a former prisoner of war and father of nine, Porwoll has done a lot of living.

Terrific inspiring stuff–read it all.

Now you can’t broad-brush the emergent movement. But I saw two big problems in the emergent world.

First, the emergents are so sensitive to issues of community, relationship, egalitarianism, and being non-utilitarian in their relationships, that evangelism has simply become a synonym for manipulation—a foul ball, relationally. If you and I were work colleagues and I built a relationship in which I could influence your journey toward Christ, that would be considered wrong in these circles. I cannot be friends with you if I intend to lead you to Christ.

Second, after 10 or 12 years of the emerging church, you have to ask where anything has been built. Evangelism has been so muted and the normal building of structures and processes hasn’t moved forward because there’s no positive, godly imagination for doing either evangelism or leadership. Such things are by definition utilitarian, and so they were made especially difficult.

Read it all.

Read it all.

The rabbis had every reason to fear science. It was done, in their day, by the Greeks, and there was a profound difference between the two cultures, so much so that Jews had fought a war — essentially a war of culture — against Hellenism. The name Epicurus, the Greek thinker who more than anyone presaged atomic science, was synonymous for Jews with heretic.

Yet the rabbis knew wisdom when they saw it, and they valued it even though they dissented from some of its conclusions. They did so for three reasons. First, it was evidence of the fact that God had indeed created humankind “in his image, after his likeness”, meaning according to Jewish tradition, “with the capacity to understand and discern”. Intellect, insight, the ability to frame and test hypotheses: these are God-given and a reason to give thanks.

Second, scientific method can apply to religion as well.

Read it all.

Published in the Rock Hill Herald:

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are writing as individuals to disassociate ourselves from certain actions taken at the recently concluded General Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the General Convention of The Episcopal Church (TEC). We believe that by their actions, the ELCA and TEC have abandoned the authority and plain teaching of Holy Scripture; overturned two thousand years of Christian thought and teaching; and sought to conform the church to this world/age instead of discerning the will of God (Romans 12:2).

In response to these actions, we wish to affirm that;

· Jesus Christ is “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6) and that “there is salvation in no one else” (Acts 4:12).

· We believe the Holy Scriptures to be God’s Word written and to “contain all things necessary for salvation.” In addition, we feel that “it is not lawful for the Church to ordain anything that is contrary to God’s Word written” (XX – Articles of Religion).

· The ideal set forth by God in Holy Scripture for human sexuality is found within the bounds of Holy Matrimony between one man and one woman, or chastity in the single state. And if this be the case, the church cannot bless relationships outside of this standard, and ought not ordain those whose lifestyle does not conform to this standard.

We call upon all men, women and children to put on the Gospel armor, especially taking the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:10-17). We call upon all ordained ministers to heed what Jesus says to us, lest we miss our eternal commendation from the Lord (Matthew 5:19, Luke 12:48b). We call upon all Christians to heed the words of the Apostles (Acts 5:29b).

We acknowledge our own sinfulness and the need we have for repentance and amendment of life. We rejoice that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom we are chief (1 Timothy 1:15). As we do believe that since all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God (Romans 3:23), all are welcome to join us in the fellowship of the church and we invite everyone, regardless of who you are, to come and worship with us.

Finally, we ask for your prayers (Ephesians 6:19-20) as we continue to preach the Gospel in this portion of the vineyard.

In Christ’s love and service,

The Rev. Robert Gaillard Kirkland
Rector, The Church of the Good Shepherd (Episcopal), York, SC

The Rev. Charles Aurand
Pastor, Abiding Presence Lutheran Church, York, SC

Pastor R.E. Lybrand, Jr
Lake Wylie Lutheran Church, Tega Cay, SC

The Rev. Kenneth “Corky” Spitler
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Gaffney SC

The Underground Pewster is every liberal Episcopal rector’s nightmare: An anonymous, highly educated and very articulate observer who sits in the pew most every Sunday, where the rector knows not, and then publishes his critique of the homily as well as other statements and actions by the rector – pointing out the flaws in logic, exegesis, theology and everything else; gently chuckling at them for their incompetence and incoherence.

Describing yesterday’s homily, the Pewster notes:

Included in this particularly odious piece of finger pointing oratory were important looks into the pernicious undermining of God’s Word by those sworn to uphold it.

He goes on to list several. My favorite is this section:

Number four is to call people names or mock those opposed to your personal desires. This rector desires to perform same sex blessings. There are people who would oppose this and the ordination of active homosexuals on Biblical grounds. Lacking a Biblical basis himself, the liberal preacher must indirectly call those opposed to his personal feelings Pharisees, hypocrites, and prejudiced.

Number five is to reject the authority of scripture by casting doubt on Biblical truths, and then confuse the congregation by saying that you believe in the living word. The liberal preacher may think but should never, never say out loud, “We Don’t Believe in the Bible,” because even if he tries to contextualize it by saying that he believes in the living word, he will still lose a good portion of the congregation. Of course, the liberal preacher should not concern himself with parishioners who vote with their feet. To the liberal preacher, the church is a better place without those Bible thumpers.

Today’s ravings from the pulpit came before a crowd of visitors and guests who were present to witness a double baptism. There will be repercussions. The conservative fraction of the church will continue to be driven out. Next year’s budget will proportionately decrease. Today, a mild family of pewsitters told me that something had to be done. I am afraid that nothing will happen, and the rector will have a free reign to continue in this cattle drive because he knows we are under the rule of a lame duck bishop, and that he has the support of those who gave him a loud “Amen” at the end of today’s sermon. I, for one, will remain constant in prayer, and when I pass the Holy Book sitting on the back of the large brass eagle in the front of the church, I will say out loud, “I believe!” Will there be anyone left who will change that “I believe” into a “We believe!”?

Oh, for an Underground Pewster in every liberal rector’s pews.

Hie thee hence.

How do you know a Roman Catholic nun when you see one? It used to be easy. They wore long black habits and veils with confining headgear, traveled in pairs, were teachers or nurses, and lived quietly in convents. There was a timelessness about them: the essentials of their way of living had remained unaltered for centuries.

Then came the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), with its mandate to bring the church — nuns and all — into the 20th century. Shortly thereafter, the Dominican Sisters at my school, St. Mary’s in Rutherford, N.J., took the plunge and modernized their garb. But otherwise, they still conformed to the traditional model, living in community and teaching primary and secondary school.

Their change of habits was but a baby step toward much broader subsequent changes for Catholic nuns. And the church’s current response to these changes suggests how resolutely clueless the hierarchy remains when it comes to what these religious women are up to, and how the changes in the realities of their dedicated lives mirror changes for women in American society at large.

Read it all.

When I first heard this story, instead of posting it immediately I decided to wait and see if it was a real case of persecution, and not just a teenage girl running away to be with her boyfriend.

Sadly, it’s genuine. Thanks to Faith McDonnell of the IRD for staying on it:

The most well publicized honor killing in America is one that did not take place. Seventeen year old Rifqa Bary disappeared from her home in New Albany, Ohio in mid July, and surfaced in Florida on August 10, 2009. The teenager, who comes from a Sri Lankan Muslim family, sought refuge in Orlando with a pastor and his wife whom she had met through a Facebook prayer group. At a jurisdiction hearing in an Orlando juvenile court on August 21, Rifqa testified that she had fled because her father threatened to kill her for shaming the family by leaving Islam and becoming a Christian. “My life is at stake,” Rifqa said in an earlier interview. “My dad threatened me. I was ready to die, these were my thoughts, that I’ll be a martyr for Christ, let it be so! But the Lord led me here somehow through His grace… it’s been God’s hand protecting me the entire time. But I’m fighting for my life.”

Strangely, Sam Lloyd and John Chane have offered no comment.