The Director of Reconciliation Illustrates the Mechanics of Collusion
An interview with Canon David Porter, ++Justin Welby’s new Director of Reconciliation for the Anglican Communion transcribed by one of the elves over at T19:
Can there be any doubt at all about Archbishop Welby’s intentions? Can there be any doubt about what he means by “reconciliation”? He means that even though those who promote non-celibate homosexual behavior in the church and those who uphold biblical sexual morality make mutually exclusive truth claims about the nature and content of the Christian faith, the Person of Christ, and the authority and truthfulness of the Word of God, can and even should still call one another “brother”, work together to promote “the gospel”, legitimize and promote one another’s ministry.
As I’ve said before, many times, to agree with him and participate in any such process of mutual ministry or legitimization or even to call one of these heretics “brother” is a betrayal of the gospel. It is to participate with the hellish work of leading souls away from Christ. St. Paul writes in 1 Cor 6:9 writes that those who live lives characterized by homosexuality (not talking about the repentant person who struggles and falls but who struggles against it) will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. The message received by people who struggle with homosexuality when they see false teachers like Bishop Johnston embraced by orthodox leaders is: “This an area over which good faithful Christians can differ. If I side with Johnston on this, I can still faithfully serve Jesus and consider myself a disciple.”
That is a lie that St. Paul says damns people.
Bishop Johnston is teaching soul destroying heresy.
To participate with Canon Porter and Archbishop Welby and reconcile with men like Bishop Johnston without first demanding repentance and recantation, is to favor the visible fellowship of clergy over the care and protection of souls…a form of prejudice made even more sickening when it is given the false name “unity” and described as “reconciliation” .
ES: But so I am clear returning to my question, the press release from Lambeth Palace says ‘his [that is your] focus will be on supporting creative ways of renewing conversations in relationships around deeply held differences within the Church of England and the Anglican Communion’You can listen to the entire interview here.
Porter: Well I think we recognise that if the church is going to make any constructive contribution to the conflicts that are going on in our world then we need to look to ourselves and we need to be a people who are on a journey of Reconciliation who are modelling, not necessarily that we agree because it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are all going to agree, but that we hold our differences in a very Christian and constructive way
ES: Well, doesn’t this put a huge burden on your shoulders because the truth is that these tensions within the Anglican Communion and the Church of England have as you have just reflected in a way, have arisen because of very deeply held theological doctrinal disputes about questions like women bishops, like homosexuality, and it is difficult to see how one man by focussing on ‘process’ can overcome those.
Porter: Well in one sense it isn’t my job to overcome those issues – there are plenty of more intelligent more creative people who have lived and journeyed with these issues for quite a number of years. My job is actually to look at ‘process’ – it is to look at how we create the space for conversations to take place where people will still differ and they still will disagree but they will do so in a way that is able to say ‘look this is how Christians disagree, this is how we hold tensions and differences together’
ES: Except that on some of these issues people will believe that the disagreements go to the very heart of what it means to be a Christian
Porter: that is true
ES: so how can, how can a better ‘process’ overcome that?
Porter: well, in my background in Northern Ireland I used to say to people that if you are a fundamentalist protestant who believes that the catholic church are not Christian or if you are a strong catholic who believes there is no salvation outside the church and you’re in that conversation, the reality is that Jesus still tells you to love the people that you perceive as your enemies and that shows that you are holding what you hold on to in a Christian way and are able to disagree within that commitment of Jesus teling us how we disagree
ES: Do you think that some senior members of the Anglican Communion have forgotten that basic fact in the way that they have conducted themselves in these debates?
Porter: I think all of us when we get caught up in conflicts that are deep to who we are and to the values that we hold on to – we do forget that bigger voice from God that calls us to a different way of engaging with difference…read the rest
Can there be any doubt at all about Archbishop Welby’s intentions? Can there be any doubt about what he means by “reconciliation”? He means that even though those who promote non-celibate homosexual behavior in the church and those who uphold biblical sexual morality make mutually exclusive truth claims about the nature and content of the Christian faith, the Person of Christ, and the authority and truthfulness of the Word of God, can and even should still call one another “brother”, work together to promote “the gospel”, legitimize and promote one another’s ministry.
As I’ve said before, many times, to agree with him and participate in any such process of mutual ministry or legitimization or even to call one of these heretics “brother” is a betrayal of the gospel. It is to participate with the hellish work of leading souls away from Christ. St. Paul writes in 1 Cor 6:9 writes that those who live lives characterized by homosexuality (not talking about the repentant person who struggles and falls but who struggles against it) will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. The message received by people who struggle with homosexuality when they see false teachers like Bishop Johnston embraced by orthodox leaders is: “This an area over which good faithful Christians can differ. If I side with Johnston on this, I can still faithfully serve Jesus and consider myself a disciple.”
That is a lie that St. Paul says damns people.
Bishop Johnston is teaching soul destroying heresy.
To participate with Canon Porter and Archbishop Welby and reconcile with men like Bishop Johnston without first demanding repentance and recantation, is to favor the visible fellowship of clergy over the care and protection of souls…a form of prejudice made even more sickening when it is given the false name “unity” and described as “reconciliation” .
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