Posted on 08/12/2003 2:16:03 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
I am not an Episcopalian, although I did attend an Anglican church in Europe for nearly two years. While my denomination, the Southern Baptist Conference, does not have much stylistically in common with the Anglican liturgy, I have always respected and enjoyed its solemn and beautiful traditions.
But, as the Apostle Paul warned, an enemy lurks within every church, always alert for an opportunity to destroy it. This destruction can take many forms, and it never ceases to amaze me that church leaders of all denominations devote so little time to performing one of their central duties – indeed, perhaps their primary duty – in guarding their flock from the wolves who would slip in amongst them.
It's not as if this day should have been a surprise to anyone. It has been a long time in the making, as evil always labors long and hard to drive out good. The slippery slope is not a paranoid straw man, it is the primary way in which a weak, but determined minority exerts its will on a more powerful, but less disciplined majority. The English Anglican and the American Episcopal churches have long been flirting with disaster, and with the approval of Mr. V. Gene Robinson as a bishop, the Episcopal church has finally signed its death warrant.
The issue is not the homosexuality of Mr. Robinson. The issue is the willful decision of the bishops' convention to raise a man openly flaunting his sin to a position of senior church leadership. Such a man cannot speak out against sin, for he is publicly embracing it for all to see. Indeed, it is difficult for him to do so much as preach the Gospel, for what is the point of Jesus Christ's sacrifice for humanity if sin does not matter? One does not need to be redeemed from an irrelevancy, after all, and the world has no need of a church that cannot bring itself to condemn sin, even in its leadership.
The good news is that Christianity is not Episcopalian, it is not Catholicism and it is not Southern Baptist. Jesus Christ does not live in buildings, or denominations, but in the hearts and lives of His followers. There is no need of vestments, bishops or cathedrals to worship Him, only a repentant heart and a will to follow.
Nor is there any need to rescue the Episcopal Church. It has been dying for a long time, and though it may take a while for the corpse to cease its flopping around, it is now, as they say, an ex-church. But what of that? Let it rot and fade away upon the winds of time. Denominations are trivial things anyhow, they are spiritual nothings. What is important is that Jesus Christ lives, and everywhere that men and women gather in His name, there is a place for those who wish to worship Him and help each other learn to live according to His teachings.
But the ongoing suicide of the Episcopal Church should be an object lesson for other mainline denominations which attempt to curry favor with the world by watering down the message of the Gospel. A man cannot serve two masters – eventually, you will be forced to choose. And if the way is easy, and if the praises of the world ring in your ears, you have almost certainly chosen the wrong path.
Episcopal Christians, it's time to go.
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