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6.20.2006    |    No longer Christian?
The Episcopal Church, USA, has not just withdrawn (at least symbolically) from the Anglican Communion. They've declared that they are no longer bound by Scripture. Hence it becomes an open question as to whether they remain Christian.

This one paragraph says it all (from USA Today):
The Episcopal Church USA's election of a female presiding bishop who supports gay bishops and the blessing of gay unions may stress the centuries-old global Anglican Communion to the breaking point.
My reaction to this is, "hmm, do you think so?" That's sarcasm; the html coding for it doesn't seem to be working at the moment...

The serious issue is, how far may a group declare that it's social views negate black-letter Scripture? It takes some fancy lawyering to justify women as priests. We're not Druids, after all. But, in the end, it comes down to simply ignoring Paul's admonition in 1 Corinthians 14:33-34, "women should keep silent in the churches."

Paul may have been the founder of what we call "Christianity," but he was just a man. So perhaps it's acceptable to ignore what he wrote, or twist it beyond recognition. Fancy lawyering in the church is needed; Episcopalians have no shortage of theological lawyers, it would seem.

Much harder to ignore is the actual word of God in Leviticus 18:22: "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." To call homosexual acts worthy of blessing places one outside of acceptable interpretation of Scripture. That isn't exegesis; it's the triumph of ego over God.

I can only conclude that those in ECUSA who support their new presiding bishop don't much care about Scripture. Or God's will.

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2 Comments:

Blogger Barbara said...

Check out what the Presbyterian General Assembly passed in Birmingham, AL.
http://tidbitsandtreasures.blogspot.com/2006/06/god-move-over-we-know-best.html

2:50 PM, June 22, 2006  
Blogger Dr. Russell Norman Murray said...

I can only conclude that those in ECUSA who support their new presiding bishop don't much care about Scripture. Or God's will.

I don't suppose to know motives, but it appears that many within liberal Christian churches have lost the gospel and God's truth.

6:10 AM, August 15, 2006  

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About this site and the author

Welcome. My name is John Luke Rich, (very) struggling Christian. The focus here is Christianity in its many varieties, its fussing and feuding, how it impacts our lives and our society, with detours to consider it with other faiths (or lack thereof).

Call this blog my way of evangelizing on the internet.

Putting it differently, we're only here on this earth a short time. It's the rest of eternity that we should be most concerned about. Call it the care and feeding of our souls.

I was born Jewish, and born again in Christ Jesus over thirty years ago. First as a Roman Catholic; now a Calvinist by persuasion and a Baptist by denomination. But I'm hardly a poster boy for doctrinal rigidity.

I believe that Scripture is the rock on which all Christian churches must stand -- or sink if they are not so grounded. I believe that we are saved by faith, but hardly in a vacuum. That faith is a gift from God, through no agency on our part -- although we sometimes turn a deaf ear and choose to ignore God's knocking on the door.

To be Christian is to evangelize. Those who think it not their part to evangelize perhaps haven't truly understood what our Lord told us in Matthew 28. We must preach the Gospel as best we are able. Using words if necessary.

Though my faith waxes and wanes, it never seems to go away. Sometimes I wish it would, to give me some peace of mind. But then, Jesus never said that walking with Him was going to be easy...

Final note: I also blog as Jack Rich on cultural, political and other things over at Wrong Side of the Tracks

Thanks for stopping by.