The Collapse of the Diocese of Texas
The Diocese of Texas has been, since the retirement of orthodox stalwart Bishop Ben Benitez, trending leftward. Now, under Bishop Doyle, the journey to the dark side is complete. When General Convention approves same sex blessing liturgies this summer, Bishop Doyle will support congregations that choose to use them in the Diocese of Texas. [Update: The Diocese of Texas removed the PDF from their site. Stand Firm has safely archived it here.]
The question is: “What has God said about homosexual behavior?”
Which really means there is no “question” at all because scripture contains not even a hint, shadow or shade of ambiguity (Leviticus 18:22, Rom 1:18-33; 1 Cor 6:9). Bishop Doyle has made a compromise to be sure. It’s not a compromise between “liberals” and “conservatives”. His compromise is with the pit.
How many people will now be led away from Christ and into the darkness down the bishop’s middle road?
But don’t even think of escape. This “middle road” is lined with barbed wire, this from the FAQ accompanying the bishop’s note:
It’s a sad day for a once great diocese.
Allowing rectors and individual parishes to decide for themselves how to respond to General Convention 2012 and using resources found in this text and online is not a move towards congregationalism. The final decision belongs in the parish and in conversation between rector and people. We do this while maintaining our unity for mission and thereby walk the middle way together with our diverse opinions on sexuality set aside. I encourage the people of the diocese to prayerfully seek to walk the via media and to honor our Anglican heritage of making new decisions in new contexts for the sake of common mission. As Hooker wrote, “When the best things are not possible, the best may be made of those that are.” Mordecai urged Esther: “You have been chosen for such a time as this.”
This is our time, our moment to come together for the sake of the one who loved us and died for us that we might be coworkers in the heavenly vineyards of God.This controversy has little to with “diverse opinions”. Who really cares what I think or what Bishop Doyle thinks?
The question is: “What has God said about homosexual behavior?”
Which really means there is no “question” at all because scripture contains not even a hint, shadow or shade of ambiguity (Leviticus 18:22, Rom 1:18-33; 1 Cor 6:9). Bishop Doyle has made a compromise to be sure. It’s not a compromise between “liberals” and “conservatives”. His compromise is with the pit.
How many people will now be led away from Christ and into the darkness down the bishop’s middle road?
But don’t even think of escape. This “middle road” is lined with barbed wire, this from the FAQ accompanying the bishop’s note:
Can the bylaws be changed so that the deed of a church’s property is transferred from the diocese to the parish? NoNice. It turns out “walking the middle way together” involves all the warmth and togetherness of a death march.
It’s a sad day for a once great diocese.
No comments:
Post a Comment