Posted on 05/05/2005 2:27:30 PM PDT by sionnsar
While we sympathize with the difficulty of the times, and the trials and troubles of being a Christian leader in an ever more officially anti-religious Canada, it’s hard to make any sense whatsoever of the recent gathering of Canadian bishops– except that Michael Ingham might as well be elected Primate, and stop this slow death by a million waffles.
All Canadians need brave and visible moral and orthodox Christian leadership now more than ever; for an unparalleled and bizarre moment of social engineering is underway, in the decunstruction of the family, and the legalization (and ensuing promotion) of same-sex ‘marriage.’ As we’ve said before, this has to do with the nature of Christian anthropology and man & woman; of sin & salvation; of life-threatening and soul-destroying ‘lifestyles’; childbearing & co-creation; the structure of society and families and communites; the freedoms of Christians and other people of faith to live and speak freely in their own society; the foisting of legal, political, and social experiments on Canada, in the militant interests of the tiny minority of Canadians who engage in same-sex behaviour.
One might think this is the moment for those in positions of responsibility and authority– watchmen, stewards, and shepherds– to stand up and be counted; particularly for the ‘conservative’ bishops to reassert and restate– in a positive and faithful way– what we are supposed to know and believe to be true, come hell or high water.
RIGHT NOW Canadian people of faith– including Anglicans– are facing what seems to be a climate of silencing, censoring, legal harrassment, and the ‘threat of ‘hate crime’ trouble if they don’t keep quiet over same-sex marriage. Freedomm is being abused and threatened. Governments and courts are often collaborating in this politically correct programme; and there’s no reason to think it will be getting better. Canadian clergy have an obligation to teach in parishes, diocese, and in public, the fullness of God’s Word and will in this and other matters.
To fail to act, to fail to speak out, is indeed to act and speak; it is to acquiesce; to let a turning-point pass. To fail to act is to accept partial responsibility for all the bad consequences which follow, which might have been lessened, deflected, or reversed by acting at a critical time.
As Fr. Thomas Hopko has recently written of the late Pope, what commands worthy love and respect– and often vigorous opposition and disagreement– is to be fully alive and honestly human, “to be a man with “a chest” and an “upper story” who preserved “the likeness.’” Otherwise, we are “deprived of the uniquely human intuitions of goodness, truth and beauty that their humanity obliges them to acknowledge, honor and serve.” This moment in our civilization is a call to come alive, not hide or collaborate or justify or equivocate. We are called, in Christ, to be fully alive, and to call goodness good, and badness bad.
The Canadian Anglican Church is failing her calling and her Lord in this respect; we all bear responsibility for the lukewarmness, silence, and the intellectual and moral corruption and confusion of our witness on this and other matters. We have forgotten our first love, and our church is dying spiriutally– never mind numerically– we all have a calling to act and speak; to support, encourage, and remind our leaders to take a stand for Christian morality; we are fighting for Western civilization and liberal democracy, and for the future shape of our society, and of the salvation of souls. It’s now our watch; the wolves are at the door and in the fold; we have work to do– let’s do it …(Various)
- BY THE PRICKING OF MY THUMBS– Canadian Same-Sex Marriage Bill C-38 Passes Second Reading 164-137. Canadian Anglican bishops prepare to defy government, bear any suffering or reproach for their fearless public witness to classical Christianity, and lay down lives, if necessary. Sorry– scratch all that last sentence … (Various)
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams.
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