Posted on 11/06/2003 7:22:22 AM PST by crusher
Testimony at the "Consecration" of Gene Robinson
by Earle Fox
On Sunday, November 2, Gene Robinson, a man who had left his wife and children to pursue an actively homosexual lifestyle, was consecrated a bishop in the Episcopal Church, in the Diocese of New Hampshire. Such an event is contrary to Christian belief and practice, and is at the same time, contrary to all empirical evidence: medical, psychological, sociological, etc. Homosexuality is a compulsive, lethal addiction.
Gene Robinson and others who actively support the homosexual agenda have in fact left the Christian faith, so the status of the consecration ceremony to be held this Sunday in Durham, NH, is, to say the least, problematic. To what or whom was Gene Robinson being consecrated?
Below is what I said at the "protest" section of the event. Like a marriage, an ordination or a consecration has built into it a place for persons to object to the impending sacramental event -- "speak now, or forever hold your peace."
The Monday before the service in New Hampshire, the word of the Lord came to me (how else can I describe it?) that I should take the message I gave to Frank Wade up to the New Hampshire consecration. After recovery from initial panic, I called prayer partners to see what they thought. Everyone seemed to think it was indeed the Lord's will. (Easy for them to say, I thought. The idea of standing before an array of bishops and other dignitaries, possibly on live TV, with 6000+ expected persons, almost all of whom were hostile to my view, to verbally spell out the ugly list of homosexual behaviors, was not appealing. The Boston Globe later reported an attendance of only about 3000.) As the week wore on and the weekend drew closer, it seemed more and more right. I knew that someone needed to break the ice on an open discussion of the very unpleasant subject of homosexual behavior. I also knew that few persons were trained for such a task. And I was. The homosexual agenda will not long survive such a discussion. And the Lord was calming my spirit.
I drove up to New Hampshire Saturday, Nov. 1, staying that night in Sherborn, MA, just outside of Boston, with people who had been in the sexuality struggles for some time. Sunday, after worshipping in a Roman Catholic church (a really good sermon on All Saints and All Souls), I drove up to Durham, NH, to the Whittemore Center at the University of NH where the event was to be held. I had spent most of the day praying, for stability, wisdom, the right words, and the right attitude.
A few years ago, I had been in a funk over "nothing going right".I woke up one morning depressed and resentful, wanting to pull the covers over my head. The Lord spoke very clearly: "Stand up! at attention!" I wondered if He was going to decapitate me. But I stood there by my bed at attention. "I can't stand here!" I moaned within. "All this slime and garbage - FAILURE! FAILURE! FAILURE! - is washing over me (it felt) in great waves." He said, "Stand up! At attention!" As I stood there, I got perplexed. I thought, "Wait a minute. I AM standing here! How come I can do that?" I then realized that God was not punishing me, He was teaching me how to stand -- with all the slime and garbage from hell pouring over me.
In the car on the way the Whittemore Center, the Lord showed me with a clarity I had never seen before that the target of my prayers wasto be those dark entities that hovered in and over the Whittemore Center.I was not to fear them, but to command them to "Stand up!" and that the Light was going to shine on them. I was learning in a new way how to identify those voices within which come from the dark side, from the Accuser of the Brethren, those voices which slander God and which undermine my trust in His love for me, and especially my trust that God can get His word to me (the great epistemological question of our age... Maybe of all time).
As I walked from the parking lot to the center, I passed a row of people handing out tracts sharply critical of the homosexual lifestyle. I thought, "Oh no, Fred Phelps and his crew!" Phelps is a "pastor" from the midwest who leads a hateful group of his people to any place homosexuality might be the subject and holds up banners such as, "God hates fags!" I started to decline the literature, but the fellow said, "This is not hate literature. God loves homosexuals, He hates the sin." I agreed. He pointed to my collar and said, you are the first person with a collar to agree. I smiled and handed him a copy of what I was going to say.
Just outside the center, four mounted policemen stood at the ready, and several on foot. On one side of the walkway into the center was indeed Phelp's crew. One held a sign with "God hates America", and one was standing on an American flag. But at the other end of their row, what looked like two of their women were singing (quietly and rather beautifully) "God Bless America" and other hymns. (No one said this was going to make sense...) On the other side of the walk was a group of homosexual supporters with the typical platitudes such as "God loves everyone". No one but the Phelps-types were debating that. The police in between were directing traffic between this contest of hate vs. platitudes.
I kept praying when not distracted by some attention-getter.
There was a lengthy security-frisking procedure to ensure everyone's safety, but, so far as I know, no unhappy events (of that sort).
I did not clearly map out in my mind the seating setup down on the floor, and made the mistake of sitting behind where the seats of the bishops, etc, were placed. I wanted to sit on the edge of a row to be able to get up quickly, but by the time I had realized my error, there were no more end-of-row seats on the other side. So I stayed put. I thought of all the times my slightly arthritic knees had felt like they might give out on me going up and down stairs. I said, "Lord, You are going to have to make these legs work!" Because of where I was seated, there was what seemed like an interminable empty space (everyone LOOKING AT ME) I would have to cross to get to the microphone, and I was not even sure where that would be.
The music began, and my panic began to ask, "Did I really belong here?" all accentuated when I realized how quickly in the service the testimonials for the candidate come, and I would have to walk forward. Episcopalians know how to do things with dignity. The music was beautiful, and the procession, which took two extended hymns to get through was wonderful. A woman behind me had one of those extraordinary voices which floats in the air. I thought, "These are not evil people. Many of them are sincere and really believe what they are doing is right. But tragically, tragically deluded.." It broke my heart that I could neither sing nor pray a word with them.
Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold began the part asking whether the assembled Body of Christ wanted to consecrate the candidate - ending in the invitation for anyone who had objections to come forward. I said, "Lord, tell me when to go..." He said "Now." I started down the steps, only four rows up, and waited at the bottom for the invitation. As the PB began the invitation, I began walking quickly toward the seated bishops, coming from behind their left side. It appeared that they did not see me, and I did not see any other people lined up to protest, so I waved my hand and hurried a bit faster, fearing that Griswold would proceed and no one protest. An usher came out from in front of the bishops to intercept me. At first I thought he was another protester, but he was friendly and we walked together toward the seated bishops. Griswold explained to the assembly that the chance to protest was a normal part of a consecration service (just like a wedding), and asked all to listen with courtesy to their brothers and sisters in Christ, and to show neither approval nor disagreement.
Then I was invited to give my objection to the consecration.
* * * * * *
Bishops, priests, deacons, and layfolk -- it breaks my heart to be here.... I am Earle Fox, a priest canonically resident in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. I thank the Diocese of New Hampshire and you all here for your courtesy in listening to those who object to the coming consecration. As with many, I believe that reason is a fundamental aspect of Biblical religion, and especially of the Anglican Way.
Whatever else homosexuality may be, it is at least a behavior. We are forbidden to judge persons, and yet required to judge behavior. It would thus be reasonable to inquire into the nature of such behavior for which approval is sought.
Research on homosexual behavior appears to be in substantial agreement from both sides of the fence, and gives a ballpark picture for persons active in the homosexual lifestyle -- though new research is both welcome and necessary.
For males, around 99% engage in oral sex. Approximately 91% engage in anal sex. 82% engage in "rimming", touching the anus of one's partner with one's tongue and inserting the tongue into the anus.
[At this point, Griswold, with a very embarrassed, flushed face, cut me off. He said, "We know where you are headed." I responded, "You know where I am headed? Then I have made my point?" He nodded, not happily. The fellow holding the microphone pointed to the next paragraph. I was not wanting to make a scene, so I complied. The rest of this paragraph was omitted. To their credit, no one gave a nasty response. The congregation remained silent.]
22% engage in "fisting", inserting one's fist into the rectum of the partner. 23% engage in "golden showers", urinating on each other. 4% engage in "scat", the eating of feces, and in "mud rolling", rolling on the floor where feces have been deposited.
The physical and spiritual health consequences of such behavior are devastating. There are 6000+ images of a loving God in this arena. Both reason and love would tell us that persons made in that loving image could not rightly engage in, bless, or consecrate such self-destructive behavior.
Thank you, again, for, in a very difficult situation, listening.
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I turned toward my seat, still not seeing the others ready to protest, wondering whether I were the only one. On my way back I heard a woman giving her testimony, followed then by someone (representing, I believe, the American Anglican Council), then a bishop who noted that the (I think he said about 40) bishops who signed the statement he was reading, and probably a majority of other Anglican bishops and primates, would not recognize the consecration of Gene Robinson.
I could not hear clearly Griswold's response to the objections, but he is quoted by the Boston Globe as saying (predictably) that "the basis of the objections put forward are well known and, I think, have been considered by both this diocese and the general convention.... We shall proceed."
If that was his response, he lied. There has been no public discussion of homosexual behavior, almost anywhere, let alone in the pathologically-polite Episcopal Church. And Frank Griswold has exercised a campaign of systematic manipulation to keep any such honest discussion from happening. He is not a brother in Christ. The House of Bishops has had the information I read above (including the part left out) since at least the 1994 General Convention in Indianapolis -- because some friends and I hand-delivered it to every delegate or their convention mailbox. That was almost a decade ago. So far as I know, the information never made it to the floor of debate. Not, at least, so's you'd notice. Not by either the "liberal" or the "conservative" leadership.
Frank Griswold is not interested in the truth of the matter, and is largely responsible for the deluded state of many of the people in that arena. That means that Griswold (and his following of bishops) are guilty, surely in the eyes of God, of criminal pastoral malfeasance. They are promoting a lifestyle which is killing the very people they are telling us "love" each other, a lifestyle which takes from 30% to 40% off the lifespan of those who follow it. That systematic subversion of truth is treason against the Son of God and betrayal of those in his pastoral care. His refusal to deal with reality is denying the people who need it most an honest and straight forward discussion of their plight. God does not take lightly such abuse by the shepherds. General Convention, if it does not want to be held an accomplice to this travesty, must declare that Frank Griswold has un-bishopped himself, and that the office of presiding bishop is vacant.
From one point of view the objections could hardly have gone better. Griswold's interruption was a public admission that he could not tolerate an open discussion of the facts of homosexuality. Griswold exposed his vulnerability. He "knew where I was headed", so he knew of the facts with which I was confronting the assembly. He knows of their truth, but simply does not care that he is leading people into a death style, not a lifestyle. The Light of truth had been shined on him, and the dark side had to shut me down. Which really meant that he had been shut down -- because he was not able to keep his own request to listen with courtesy.
So God took my bumbling through and lined it all up. I turned out to be first to protest, putting Griswold and Co. right in the glare. Homosexual behavior, the "forbidden subject", was spotlighted right at the start. Had I been seated at the front where I "should" have been, this might not have happened. The establishment's control of things got ambushed by my "error".
The other objectors, so far as I was able to hear them, made good and necessary points. But their issues were all issues which Griswold could "deal with". He did not have to shut them down because nothing they were saying would seriously damage his massively successful PR program. Nothing was said that had not been said a hundred times before and dismissed by the pseudo-liberals (liberals who do not liberate).
The one issue which homosexual advocates MUST keep hidden is their behavior. That damages their PR program. They understand that, and have said so publicly (read "After the Ball", by Marshall Kirk & Hunter Madsen -- two of their primary strategists). Griswold has done a masterful job of cooperating with their deceit. And the American public has done a masterful job of falling right into their snare.
It is time to shine the light. It is not likely that the exposure of their behavior will result in a massive repentance on the pseudo-liberal side. But one hopes that conservative leadership will take the initiative, will recognize the Achilles' heel of the enemy, their jugular vein, and begin a systematic exposure of homosexual behavior -- right out in front of God and everybody. One hopes likewise for one of those rare outbreaks of honest investigative reporting on the part of the media. The homosexual program will not long survive such exposure to the light. And they know it. It is time the rest of us knew it.
After the objections were registered, we all departed from the consecration for the Evangelical Free Church, a few miles away, where an alternative Eucharist had been arranged. I wondered why there were so many people standing outside greeting us as we came in. Kendall Harmon preached a super sermon on "en-couragement". There were about 200 (a guess) Episcopalians there to mourn and grieve and be en-couraged.
The pastor had made the church available free of cost. We learned that there were about 500 persons outside of other denominations praying for those of us inside. They stayed outside to save space (there was just enough) for Episcopalians. Incredible. It was a powerful experience of the love of God ministered through His many people -- including a magnificent coffee hour with tons of food.
[NOTE: The following was printed below the above testimony-material on my hand-out sheet for the press and other interested parties.]
The figures above come from one of the largest surveys of homosexual sex-practices, The Gay Report , by two homosexual researchers, Jay and Young, in 1979.
More recent, and slightly higher statistics, are given by Stanley Monteith, MD., speaking in a video, "The Gay Agenda", published in the early 1990's by The Report. Dr. Monteith is the author of AIDS - the Unnecessary Epidemic. The video is available from Peter Labarbera, at the Illinois Family Institute (tel: 630 790-8370; web: http://www.illinoisfamily.org/).
For these, other references, and an extended discussion of homosexual behavior from both sides of the fence, see the book by Earle Fox and David Virtue: Homosexuality: Good & Right in the Eyes of God? the Wedding of Truth to Compassion and Reason to Revelation chapter V, "The Hard Evidence", subsection A-2, "Data and Lifestyle". ISBN 0-945778-01-5
This book is a comprehensive, Biblical, and scientifically credible assessment of (1) the Biblical foundations of human sexuality, (2) how the Church and America got sexualized, and (3) the invincible Godly strategy for restoring sexual sanity -- namely, moral authority wedded to scientific credibility.
For further information, go to the Emmaus Ministries website: http://theRoadtoEmmaus.org
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