Arkansas bishop rejects syncretic bishop-elect

From the BibleBeltBlogger via TitusOneNine:


The Rev. Larry Benfield, the Episcopal Bishop of Little Rock, has voted against the confirmation of Kevin Genpo Thew Forrester as bishop of Northern Michigan.

In an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Benfield said he was concerned that Thew Forrester had altered the denomination’s rite of baptism without the approval of the broader church. The rite is included in the Book of Common Prayer.

Instead, Thew Forrester has used and promoted a “Trial Baptismal Liturgy” which removes any mention of Satan and adds New-Age style language.

The Book of Common Prayer is one of the instruments of unity in the Anglican Communion and unites Episcopalians across the United States and Anglicans around the world.

The American version was last revised in 1979.

“I think it’s incumbent upon bishops in the church to decide that we are going to worship using the Book of Common Prayer and have the discussion in the community about if and when the prayer book should be changed,” Benfield said.

Thew Forrester’s candidacy has been criticized by orthodox Episcopalians for several other reasons:

1.) He included a reading from the Quran in one of his church services and referred to the Quran as “the word of God.”

2.) He participated in a “Buddhist lay ordination”, took a new Buddhist name and announced in his diocesan newsletter: “I now walk the path of Christianity and Zen Buddhism.”

3.) He has taken some theological stances that appear to contradict the Nicene Creed.