INFECTION
Memo to the Anglican Church in North America: as far as I’m concerned, official recognition by Lambeth Palace is NOT a selling point for your church. If this letter to the Independent is any indication, the Episcopal religion is winning converts in Great Britain:
Let’s start off by insulting large numbers of fellow Christians and Christian churches.
First, because the Bible teaches that “in Christ there is no male or female”, but all people are equal before God. Just as the churches have repented of our historic antisemitism and endorsement of slavery, so we believe that we must now show clearly that we no longer believe women to be inferior to men.
That paragraph right there means that whatever follows it is theologically worthless. Presumably, Church of England ministers have to have college educations so it is difficult to conceive of any allegedly-intelligent people signing their names to something so incredibly dishonest and blitheringly idiotic.
There is no absolutely no attempt to intellectually engage conservative arguments. Anyone opposed to this measure is equated with anti-Semites and slaveholders who Hate WomenTM and therefore, engagement must not take place. What fellowship hath liberal light with traditionalist darkness?
Undergirding all this, of course, is pure Episcopalianism. There is not only one right answer, there is only oneconceivable answer. And guess which one of us has it.
Secondly, Jesus treated women radically equally. He encouraged them as disciples, and chose a woman as the first witness to His resurrection, at a time when women’s testimony was inadmissible in law.
But He didn’t choose one to be an apostle. Guess it must have slipped His mind. Good thing we have the C of E around to correct God Incarnate’s error.
Thirdly, we have promised as clergy to “proclaim the faith afresh in every generation”. We fear that failing to take this step would do the opposite, proclaiming instead that the church is more interested in the past than the future.
Two things. The Bible, which these people approvingly quote, was written in the past. And a church which is not interested in the past is a “church” that can constantly be reshaped into whatever the secular culture wants it to be. In other words, a completely useless, Laodicean waste of everyone’s time.
The legislation to be voted on represents enormous compromise from all sides. Those who wish to avoid the ministry of women will still be able legally to do so.
In other words, the misogynist bigots. See above.
We hope and pray that all will feel able to work together in the future with the trust and respect that should characterise our church.
I thought it was self-evident that public slander is never a good way to build “trust and respect” so I don’t like your chances.
We, as clergy of the Church of England, stand alongside Rowan Williams, Justin Welby, and the dioceses of the Church of England, in hoping that the General Synod will vote on Tuesday to allow women to become bishops in our church.
We believe wholeheartedly that this is the right thing to do, and that the time is now right to do it. There are many reasons for this belief, and we highlight just some here.Let’s start off by insulting large numbers of fellow Christians and Christian churches.
First, because the Bible teaches that “in Christ there is no male or female”, but all people are equal before God. Just as the churches have repented of our historic antisemitism and endorsement of slavery, so we believe that we must now show clearly that we no longer believe women to be inferior to men.
That paragraph right there means that whatever follows it is theologically worthless. Presumably, Church of England ministers have to have college educations so it is difficult to conceive of any allegedly-intelligent people signing their names to something so incredibly dishonest and blitheringly idiotic.
There is no absolutely no attempt to intellectually engage conservative arguments. Anyone opposed to this measure is equated with anti-Semites and slaveholders who Hate WomenTM and therefore, engagement must not take place. What fellowship hath liberal light with traditionalist darkness?
Undergirding all this, of course, is pure Episcopalianism. There is not only one right answer, there is only oneconceivable answer. And guess which one of us has it.
Secondly, Jesus treated women radically equally. He encouraged them as disciples, and chose a woman as the first witness to His resurrection, at a time when women’s testimony was inadmissible in law.
But He didn’t choose one to be an apostle. Guess it must have slipped His mind. Good thing we have the C of E around to correct God Incarnate’s error.
Thirdly, we have promised as clergy to “proclaim the faith afresh in every generation”. We fear that failing to take this step would do the opposite, proclaiming instead that the church is more interested in the past than the future.
Two things. The Bible, which these people approvingly quote, was written in the past. And a church which is not interested in the past is a “church” that can constantly be reshaped into whatever the secular culture wants it to be. In other words, a completely useless, Laodicean waste of everyone’s time.
The legislation to be voted on represents enormous compromise from all sides. Those who wish to avoid the ministry of women will still be able legally to do so.
In other words, the misogynist bigots. See above.
We hope and pray that all will feel able to work together in the future with the trust and respect that should characterise our church.
I thought it was self-evident that public slander is never a good way to build “trust and respect” so I don’t like your chances.
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