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No, It's Not About Gay Bishops
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Dear
Friends of the Anglican realignment,
From time to time you will observe my column missing from the masthead of
the AAC's Weekly Update. Do not fear, nothing has happened to me. I am
usually traveling when this happens, and this makes preparing an article
and then finding a timely way to file it frequently difficult.
I continue as President of the American Anglican Council, with my
associate, Canon Phil Ashey, as the Chief Operating Officer and our
wonderful staff assisting us. But to those who are concerned when my
article doesn't appear, thanks for being concerned.
Now to issues of greater importance: when pseudo liberals, including many
journalists, approach us in the Anglican realignment, I have often heard
them say, "so, it's all about gay bishops isn't it," and I then
have an opportunity to give them the truth, one more time.
No, it's not about gay bishops. It really is about Jesus Christ being the
savior of the world, the Son of God, and our reunion with God being on
God's terms, not ours, with Jesus being the mediator of the reunion. It's
also about the authority of Holy Scripture as the Word of God, with the
force to speak into our lives individually and culturally. Moral law
doesn't come from people sitting in a General Convention and taking a
vote. It comes from the mouth of God. If God says something is blessed,
it is blessed. If God says something is abhorrent to him, it is a sin.
It's all much simpler than the liberal encampment would make it sound.
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Flowing out of God's
Word and moral law is His concern and love for the individual person. God
has so wonderfully made us that each and every cell of our body (except the
male and female reproductive cells) contains our full, complete, individual
genome. In the miracle of conception, the male and female reproductive
cells join their DNA together and become united. Thenceforth, in the new
fetal child, every cell of his or her body (with the one exception noted)
contains its full DNA genome.
In order to give each of us the freedom to discern right and wrong and to
act upon that, our Heavenly Father knew before the foundation of the world
that this gift would also necessitate Jesus going to the cross. That is the
basis for the phrase that he was the Lamb that was slain before the
foundation of the world.
Out of this concern that God has for each individual has come corollary
issues having to do with the sanctity of life in the womb, prohibitions
against murder, against suicide and euthanasia. As Anglican Christians we
need to fight within our respective churches and within our secular
political systems against abortion (expect in very extenuating
circumstances), permissive suicide (assisted or otherwise), and
legalization of euthanasia.
Wesley J. Smith, writing for National
Review Online, has picked up on a bill in Scotland that not only
legalizes assisted suicide but makes a new, licensed profession called
"Licensed Suicide Facilitator." You need to read his article and
judge for yourself.
Blessings and Peace in Jesus,
+David
The Rt. Rev. David C. Anderson
President & CEO, American Anglican Council
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