Bishop-elect edits Jesus’ own words

From The BibleBeltBlogger:

May 7th, 2009

In his new document, ‘Approaching the Heart of Faith,’ the bishop-elect of Northern Michigan explains more about his support for universalism — the doctrine that everyone is saved — and for the non-uniqueness of Christ’s revelation to humanity.

Much has already been written about the Rev. Kevin G. Thew Forrester’s liturgies, how he overhauled the Book of Common Prayer’s baptismal covenant and the Easter Vigil and the Apostle’s Creed. In doing so, he removed traditional teachings — embraced by the universal church — and replaced them with his own theological beliefs.

But Thew Forrester has also revised the Eucharist liturgy, to remove doctrine that is at odds with his own. In doing so, Thew Forrester not only changes the words of the Book of Common Prayer, but the words of Jesus Christ himself [assuming, as one reader points out, that the New Testament is accurately quoting Jesus in the first place...]

The BCP quotes Jesus’ words at the Last Supper: “Drink ye all of this, for this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you, and for many, for the remission of sins.”

The Rev. Kevin G. Thew Forrester is a universalist — teaching that all people are always and already saved and embraced by God. So in at least one Thew Forrester’s Eucharistic liturgy, Jesus says that Jesus’ blood is shed “for you and for all.”

Interestingly, the “for you and for all” language is already part of the Catholic Church’s post-Vatican II Eucharistic liturgy [and used by some Protestant churches as well.] However, there are indications that the Catholic Church is going to change the language of the English Mass from “for all” to “for many” because it is believed to be more faithful to the words of the Scriptures.

The first change (from “many” to “all”) is worthy of note. But the second change in Christ’s words are also interesting.

Thew Forrester teaches that the blood of Jesus does not redeem us or wash away our sins. So in at least one Thew Forrester liturgy Jesus’ language about Jesus dying “for the remission of sins” is omitted. Instead, the blood of Jesus is poured out so “that you may know God always holds you in tender forgiveness.”

Jesus’ death doesn’t cleanse us from sin, Thew Forrester teaches. It merely opens our eyes to our pre-existing “at-one-ment” with the divine.

“All are saved by God whose love and forgiveness are truly infinite,” Thew Forrester writes. So why was it God’s will for Jesus to die on the cross? It wasn’t, Thew Forrester has argued previously.

In his new paper, Thew Forrester says other religious leaders have shown us the same path. [And they pulled it off without being crucified]

So where in the Bible does it say that “all of the enduring religions” lead to salvation? Thew Forrester doesn’t say. But he cites Jesus Seminar fellow Marcus Borg to bolster his claim: “Rather than being the unique revelation of a way known only in him [Jesus], his life and death are the incarnation of a universal way known in all of the enduring religions.”

Thew Forrester writes: “And once again, with respect to our prayer and liturgies, we need to recognize and affirm ‘the way’ of Christ spoken of in the gospel of John is the universal path [his emphasis] of death and resurrection.”

Thew Forrester has upped the ante by writing “Approaching the Heart of Faith” and mailing it to bishops and standing committees across the United States. And it’s a high stakes gamble.

In conversations with standing committee presidents, some told me they were unaware that objections had been raised to Thew Forrester’s theological and liturgical innovations. They knew he had practiced Buddhist meditation. And they knew he had been the only candidate on the ballot when he was elected. But they were unaware that his teachings on sin, salvation, the atonement, the incarnation were causing concern in some quarters.

Now they’ll all know about the theological and liturgical concerns. We’ll know soon whether they believe these teachings are [to quote pro-KTF bishop Bruce Caldwell] “within the ballpark” of Episcopal Church theology.

The bishop of Northern California could be one of the first to weigh in. I’m told that he is currently studying the latest batch of documents and will likely reveal his decision in the next few days.