FORM OVER SUBSTANCE
You have to grant traditionalist Anglicans this. They’re still capable of stirring words:
6. While there were many reports and resolutions at ACC-15, we wish to highlight our concerns over the report and the resolution on “The Bible in the Life of the Church” project. There is much to commend in this report on the central role the Holy Scriptures play in the life of Anglicans everywhere. We affirm the need to address the gap between the pulpit and the pew, the scholars and ordinary Anglicans who are seeking to apply the Bible to their daily lives. However, we are seriously concerned that the context in which people interpret the Bible is considered as important as what the Bible actually says.
7. In our reflection groups, we heard Anglicans from the west say that this conclusion requires us to honour any interpretation of the Bible-since every context from which the Scriptures are read is to be honoured. We reject this assertion and the claim that there are no justifiable limits in interpreting and applying God’s word. The Bible stands over context, not the context over the Bible. God’s Word changes us-we do not change God’s Word. We note that in April of this year over 200 leaders-Archbishops, bishops, clergy and laity-gathered in London from 30 countries and 25 provinces within the Anglican Communion. They read, studied and proclaimed the Holy Scriptures together, focusing on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians . Despite their diversity of contexts, they affirmed in a spirit of unity and joy the Lordship of Jesus Christ, his uniqueness and sufficiency for the salvation of all people.
8. We close with an observation from the Right Rev. Michael Nazir-Ali on the limits of biblical interpretation: “We cannot, because of a process of inculturation, produce forms of the Christian faith that are entirely opaque to Christians elsewhere.” We are grieved that the Anglican Consultative Council continues to tolerate, and even honour, The Episcopal Church USA, the Anglican Church of Canada and other provinces who continue to produce revisionist forms of the Christian faith that are unrecognizable to the majority of Anglicans worldwide, contrary to a plain reading of God’s Word and in violation of Anglican Faith and Order.
9. We call upon all Anglicans to pray that our beloved Communion will stand firm in honouring the unique and universal Lordship of Jesus Christ as the Son Of God, and the authority of God’s Word written over all contexts, and in every matter of faith and practice.
And yet? And yet there they remain, year after year after year, still part of their “beloved Communion,” still meeting with the Americans and Canadians, still unwilling to do anything more meaningful than issuing yet another open letter about how Somebody Ought To Do Something and still apparently unaware that the Americans and Canadians know full well that the traditionalists will never ever do anything except complain.
Gentlemen? Take an actual risk and get back to me.
6. While there were many reports and resolutions at ACC-15, we wish to highlight our concerns over the report and the resolution on “The Bible in the Life of the Church” project. There is much to commend in this report on the central role the Holy Scriptures play in the life of Anglicans everywhere. We affirm the need to address the gap between the pulpit and the pew, the scholars and ordinary Anglicans who are seeking to apply the Bible to their daily lives. However, we are seriously concerned that the context in which people interpret the Bible is considered as important as what the Bible actually says.
7. In our reflection groups, we heard Anglicans from the west say that this conclusion requires us to honour any interpretation of the Bible-since every context from which the Scriptures are read is to be honoured. We reject this assertion and the claim that there are no justifiable limits in interpreting and applying God’s word. The Bible stands over context, not the context over the Bible. God’s Word changes us-we do not change God’s Word. We note that in April of this year over 200 leaders-Archbishops, bishops, clergy and laity-gathered in London from 30 countries and 25 provinces within the Anglican Communion. They read, studied and proclaimed the Holy Scriptures together, focusing on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians . Despite their diversity of contexts, they affirmed in a spirit of unity and joy the Lordship of Jesus Christ, his uniqueness and sufficiency for the salvation of all people.
8. We close with an observation from the Right Rev. Michael Nazir-Ali on the limits of biblical interpretation: “We cannot, because of a process of inculturation, produce forms of the Christian faith that are entirely opaque to Christians elsewhere.” We are grieved that the Anglican Consultative Council continues to tolerate, and even honour, The Episcopal Church USA, the Anglican Church of Canada and other provinces who continue to produce revisionist forms of the Christian faith that are unrecognizable to the majority of Anglicans worldwide, contrary to a plain reading of God’s Word and in violation of Anglican Faith and Order.
9. We call upon all Anglicans to pray that our beloved Communion will stand firm in honouring the unique and universal Lordship of Jesus Christ as the Son Of God, and the authority of God’s Word written over all contexts, and in every matter of faith and practice.
And yet? And yet there they remain, year after year after year, still part of their “beloved Communion,” still meeting with the Americans and Canadians, still unwilling to do anything more meaningful than issuing yet another open letter about how Somebody Ought To Do Something and still apparently unaware that the Americans and Canadians know full well that the traditionalists will never ever do anything except complain.
Gentlemen? Take an actual risk and get back to me.
No comments:
Post a Comment