Posted on 07/09/2006 4:41:38 AM PDT by Oshkalaboomboom
The accelerating fragmentation of the strife-torn Episcopal Church USA, in which several parishes and even a few dioceses are opting out of the church, isn't simply about gay bishops, the blessing of same-sex unions or the election of a woman as presiding bishop. It also is about the meltdown of liberal Christianity.
Embraced by the leadership of all the mainline Protestant denominations, as well as large segments of American Catholicism, liberal Christianity has been hailed by its boosters for 40 years as the future of the Christian church.
Instead, as all but a few die-hards now admit, all the mainline churches and movements within churches that have blurred doctrine and softened moral precepts are demographically declining and, in the case of the Episcopal Church, disintegrating.
It is not entirely coincidental that at about the same time that Episcopalians, at their general convention in Columbus, Ohio, were thumbing their noses at a directive from the worldwide Anglican Communion that they "repent" of confirming the openly gay Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire three years ago, the Presbyterian Church USA, at its general assembly in Birmingham, Ala., was turning itself into the laughingstock of the blogosphere by tacitly approving alternative designations for the supposedly sexist Christian Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Among the suggested names were "Mother, Child and Womb" and "Rock, Redeemer and Friend." Moved by the spirit of the Presbyterian revisionists, Beliefnet blogger Rod Dreher held a "Name That Trinity" contest. Entries included "Rock, Scissors and Paper" and "Larry, Curly and Moe."
Following the Episcopalian lead, the Presbyterians also voted to give local congregations the freedom to ordain openly cohabiting gay and lesbian ministers and endorsed the legalization of medical marijuana.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Seems like you are following dogma, not simply reading scipture and taking it as it is, not with a political dogma attached to it.
Not very "sala scriptura" of you.
Seems like you are following dogma, not simply reading scipture and taking it as it is, not with a political dogma attached to it.
Not very "sola scriptura" of you.
You can ignore the emphatic way that Jesus repeated the hard teaching that many of his followers were rejecting: the fact that they had to eat his flesh and drink his blood.
How sad that you would twist the actual words of Jesus Himself so that you could feel better about rejecting the Church Christ founded upon Peter.
Oi vey. Do you honestly not know the difference between having the NT in hand and having a formal list of the books that comprise it? That's like saying that until someone came up with an exhaustive list of Shakespeare's works, we didn't have Shakespeare. Are you honestly ignorant enough to believe that before the Councils of Laodicea, Hippo, and Carthage, the Church fathers were sitting around, twiddling their thumbs, without any Scriptures? Have you never actually read Polycarp, Irenaeus, Ignatius, Hippolytus, etc. and seen how often they quoted NT Scripture with the assumption that their audiences would accept their citations as having God's voice?
If you can't tell the difference between making a list of already authoritative books and giving authority to those books, then you really need to do some homework. I recommend Geisler and Nix's A General Introduction to the Bible for starters.
What planet are you from?
Vulcan, apparently.
Why would Christ found His church on Peter? That makes NO sense. (yes, I know all about "That art Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.") Peter denied the Lord.
Now, if you say Christ founded His church on "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.", now that might make some sense.
HE might have something else to say about this statement:
Psalm 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
Isaiah 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
1 Peter 1:23-25 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
I fully recognize that as satan attacked the Word made flesh he has attacked the written Word as well. Just stick with the Authorized Version, and leave the inventiveness of man to himself.
Psalm 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
(The novel groups that have no core but the Bible)
Have you seen any of the novel groups embrace the Bible? What's killing them is how far their teaching is from the Bible. I'd say based on anecdotal evidence, the more people are familiar about what the Bible teaches, the more solid their faith is and they are less likely to fall for the fads of the day.
(Jesus criticized the Pharisees in part for elevating tradition to the level of Scripture. And he taught others by saying, "It is written," not "We've done it this way for 500 years.")
I couldn't have said it better. Thank you.
Pssssst . . . Dreher was committing what some around here like to call a "joke." Further explanation provided if still needed.
I was an Elder in the PC USA. I left this whacked-out denomination in 1991 and have never regretted it. The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is a great Evangilical denomination.
Why does the phrase "race to the bottom" keep intruding into my thoughts as I read this.
I Timothy 4:1-2, Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times Episcopalians, Presybterians, some Lutherans, definitely the Mormons and the JWs and especially the Muslims etc. etc. shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
.Oh me too. How disgusting!
Looks like plagerism to me. You should write them a letter.
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