Posted on 06/20/2006 12:59:42 PM PDT by Abathar
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Episcopal clergy and lay delegates Tuesday rejected a demand from fellow Anglicans that they temporarily stop electing gay bishops, leaving little chance the proposal could be revived at a national church meeting.
Anglican leaders, angered by the 2003 consecration of an openly gay Episcopal bishop, had asked the Episcopalians pass a moratorium — at least for now — on homosexuals leading dioceses.
But in a complex balloting system, a majority of the Episcopal House of Deputies voted against the measure, which church leaders had seen as critical to keeping the embattled Anglican Communion together.
The critical debate in the Episcopal Church came on a day when another American Protestant denomination, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), coincidentally planned to decide on whether to allow leeway on the ordination of gay clergy and lay elders and deacons.
Mainline Protestant groups, including the Methodists and the largest U.S. Lutheran branch, have been struggling for decades over the traditional Christian prohibition on gay sex as lesbians and gays push for full inclusion in their churches. The issue has frequently dominated debate at national Protestant assemblies.
The Episcopal General Convention ends Wednesday, and the House of Bishops could still try to resurrect the ban on gay bishops. But such a measure would still need the approval of the very same deputies who have now rejected it.
My wife and I left the ELCA a year ago for the LCMS. We still have friends in our old congregation and would never presume them less than faithful for staying with the ELCA.
One must follow one's conscience in all matters. The only caution I raise to them, and you, is be ever diligent in your beliefs and interaction with others. It is very easy to become lax and allow doubts or seemingly cohesive arguments creep in to ones beliefs. The heads of the ELCA have allowed Satan to play in their lot.
Take note from the bad/bad tobacco zealotry. It's only beginning. The priests WILL be required to demo how to "service" a queer. Maybe out on the lawn at first, but at the Altar eventually. AND the US Fed/Guv WILL require compliance. Church attendace WILL be required by the Fed/Guv also. And there better be something in the collection plates. Any bets?
Mrs. Reb and I are staying in our ELCA church and will do what we can to remain faithful and influence others to do the same. Several individuals (usually ones who have converted from ELCA to LCMS) have regularly lambasted me and the ELCA. The nicest thing we have been called today is "brain dead."
Here's another one about the Episcopalians if you want ont.
Thanks for the ping.
Episcopalians reject ban on gay bishops
Episcopalians reject reality, accept delusion...
The homosexual agenda is quite a pervasive nihilistic agenda -embracing it is embracing destruction...
Just eeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwww! gross!
"It seems only just that a church founded on Henry VIII's fixation on Anne Boleyn's vagina"
That is a rather pathetic, well-worn, lie.
The Anglican Church (primarily in the form of the Celtic Church) existed co-equal with the Roman Church, joining the RCC at the Synod of Whitby.
Even as part of the union, it was always a thorn in Rome's side, with its decentralized practices and dislike of foreign authority and its own practices (e.g., monestaries and friars (married priests)).
The union was falling apart again for the typical Protestant reasons and things like Tynsdale's Bible (the basis for all major English Bibles).
King Henry just jumped on the leaving train for political and personal reasons, and the slander has been repeated ever since.
I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you let them know how their comments were received.
My family has a long history in the LCMS so returning was not a difficult decisiion, and that past was a major factor in that decision. If I'd been lifelong ELCA it may well have turned out differently.
Blessings to you and all who fight the Lord's fight.
"Who, having known the justice of God, did not understand that they who do such things, are worthy of death; and not only they that do them, but they also that consent to them that do them"." Romans 1:32
I'd say that they pretty much are on the path to hell.
It's true. I heard Mark Davis discussing it on the Hugh Hewitt show last night.
Oh, good, now AP has picked up the "full inclusion" mantra.
If you think that the founding of the Anglican Church was all about Henry VIII's desire for a male heir, you need to do some more reading. The English Church never felt as strong a tie to Rome as the continental churches did.
History of Anglicanism
King Henry VIII
The churches of the Anglican Communion have their historical roots in the English Reformation, when King Henry VIII (r. 1509-1547) wished to obtain a divorce that the pope would not grant. Through the Act of Supremacy of 1534, the king made himself the "supreme head" of the Church of England in place of the Pope. After this dramatic move, King Henry dissolved England's monasteries, destroyed Catholic shrines, and ordered the Great Bible (in English) to be placed in all churches. However, Henry allowed few doctrinal changes and very little changed in the religious life of the common English worshipper. Under Henry VIII, and the Church of England remained almost fully Catholic with the exception of loyalty to Rome.
I think I know why now.
Was he hanging out with "Bishop" Vicki Gene at the time?
D'oh. A retry:
I heard Mark D. Roberts discussing the schisms on the show. I heard Mark Davis as well, but he was mostly discussing what time his show came on.
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