By what authority? Mainline battles reveal deeper problem

from Stand Firm by Sarah

I'm posting this article from The American Family News Network from the latter quarter of 2010 because it's good to see other Christian publications spreading the word about the mainline battles. We need as many Christians as possible to understand the issues and the battles going on, in particular so that ultimately the current leaders of TEC no longer receive recognition from the Christian community as Christian leaders. I think we're well, well on the way towards that goal, but every little bit helps.

Don't miss, also, the nice summary of the latest scheme [and its temporary defeat] by the Methodist bishops.

The issue is, of course, whether homosexuality should be celebrated or repudiated among Christians. Ironically, denominational leaders are often the ones tugging the laity away from traditional biblical teaching.

While the homosexual issue is the most public flashpoint in the mainlines, below the surface, an even more basic issue remains unreconciled, according to Jeff Walton of the Institute for Religion and Democracy in Washington, D.C. IRD (http://www.theird.org) is an organization that works to reaffirm the biblical and historical teaching in several mainline denominations.

“The acceptance of homosexuality may be the issue that gets the most attention at this point,” Walton said, “but the real issue is one of authority – the authority of the Scripture to speak truth to the church and the authority of the church to shepherd the lives of Christians in light of that truth.”

That issue of authority surfaced in the worldwide Anglican Communion in May when Rowan Williams (pictured), Archbishop of Canterbury, used his Pentecost letter to scold the Episcopal Church for consecrating lesbian Mary Glasspool as an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles. Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori (pictured) issued her own pastoral letter in which she defended the denomination’s embrace of same-sex blessings and partnered homosexual bishops.

Walton said that while Schori’s letter accuses the archbishop of attempting to centralize authority in the Anglican Communion, in reality, she is the one attempting to assume unparalleled powers as presiding bishop.