Posted on 02/19/2004 7:53:02 PM PST by ahadams2
Primate stirs strife among Aussie Anglicans
Number: 5705 Date: Feb 19,
The Primate of Australia, the Most Rev. Peter Carnley of Perth, has issued a stinging attack on the evangelical diocese of Sydney and its leader, Archbishop Peter Jensen.
“Sydney Anglicanism”, Dr. Carnley argues, in his book, Reflections in Glass, is out of synch with “mainstream Anglicanism” and holds fundamentalist or erroneous views on Scripture, women clergy, lay presidency at the Eucharist, bioethics, fetal embryo research, ecumenism and interfaith dialogue.
Furthermore he claims that the conservative evangelicalism of Sydney does not represent the full scope of the Church even the diocese itself. “The diocese of Sydney contains as much diversity of thought as most of the other Anglican dioceses, even if is to be frankly admitted that a distinct and characteristic kind of evangelicalism predominates.”
He added that “up to 50 Sydney parishes might consider approaching the college of Australian bishops to seek a form of alternative episcopal oversight” due to their differences with the diocesan hierarchy.
Dr. Carnley, who announced his early retirement last month, has long been at odds with the leaders of the Australian Church’s largest diocese. In his new book, Dr. Carnley takes issue with the prominence that evangelicals give to the doctrine of the atonement.
The Church’s traditional teaching of the atonement, whereby a sinless Christ takes upon himself the sins of the world and pays the debt of this sin through his atoning death upon the cross is “uncompromisingly cruel” and a medieval accretion. The Evangelical doctrine of a penal substitutionary atonement paints God as a cruel master who demands payment of sin from the innocent Christ and is unjust.
It is wrong for Evangelicals to make the atonement a core doctrine of the faith, he argues, as it was only fully articulated in the medieval era and was not defined by the creeds and councils of the undivided Church.
Dr. Carnley also takes issue with Sydney’s advocacy of lay presidency of the Eucharist saying such a move is opposed by all the Primates of the Communion and serves to devalue the roll of the priest. The Australian Church’s appellate tribunal decision in 1997 that declared there was no legal impediment to lay presidency, Dr. Carnley argues, was an impermissible step that sought to resolve issues of truth via a democratic or corporate model.
While allowing for temporary measures to respect the views of the minority, as a matter of justice Dr. Carnley argues the Church should authorize the ministry of women bishops. He also disputes the notion that life begins at conception, arguing that as twinning can take place weeks after conception, it is illogical to speak of a unique human life being created at the moment of conception. Given this understanding of the nature of life, Dr. Carnley argues that embryo research, gene therapy and other emerging areas of the bio-sciences should be encouraged.
Apparently, sola scriptura means nothing to him.
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2 Timothy 4 2Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
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