Posted on 04/10/2006 7:23:43 AM PDT by Millee
The Episcopal Church's gay and lesbian lobby is vowing to fight any retreat from the denomination's recent embrace of homosexuality.
A report by a 14-member commission late last week urged dioceses to proceed with caution when choosing bishops whose "manner of life presents a challenge" to the wider church.
The commission was referring to the election of priests as bishops who are known to be homosexual. The commission was formed to propose recommendations to the Episcopal Church, which is the U.S. branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, about efforts of a majority of the Communion to expel the Episcopal Church for consecrating an openly gay man as bishop three years ago.
The Episcopal Church will consider the commission's recommendations this summer when it meets in Ohio. Of particular concern to the denomination's leaders are May 6 elections in the Diocese of California for a new bishop; three of the leading candidates are openly homosexual.
The commission's report provoked the church's gay and lesbian lobby, and prompted one homosexual activist to link the fate of gays and lesbians in the Episcopal Church with that of women clergy.
"Of most interest to the Diocese of California is the report's call for 'nominating committees, electing conventions, Standing Committees, and bishops with jurisdiction to exercise very considerable caution in the nomination, election, consent to, and consecration of bishops whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion,'" said the Rev. John Kirkley, president of Oasis/California.
"Exercising caution when electing a bishop is always wise counsel; it should not mean ignoring the church's canons protecting all Episcopalians against discrimination on the basis of gender or sexual orientation," he added.
"Electing a woman as bishop would present a challenge to large parts of the Anglican Communion, but most Episcopalians would not vote against a female candidate just because she is a woman. The unity of the Anglican Communion cannot be based on scapegoating women or gay and lesbian people."
The House of Bishops has been trying to do the least amount possible to avoid getting kicked out of the Communion. The homosexual lobby is having none of it -- from their perspective any slowdown represents a defeat, so they're going to avoid it.
It's entirely likely that General Convention will have to deal with the Diocese of California electing a practicing homosexual bishop. There will also be a variety of stage shows about various homosexual agenda items, and I'm guessing that they'll end up being successful in at least a few of them.
The leadership of the church would like to stay in the Communion, but they're about to learn what the orthodox learned a long time ago: once the homosexual lobby has infiltrated the inner workings of the church -- and in many places they have done so -- the HOB really has no power to stop anything.
I think it's fair to speculate that there will be a significant realignment with respect to the Communion and the American church after General Convention.
As an outsider looking in, the unity of the anglican communion seems to be based on the idea that unity is more sacred and important than the Gospel.
That is a sad message for them to be sending.
I got right in his face and blasted his ears off for inferring that my wife was a sexual deviant simply for being a woman and demanded an apology. I then warned him never to compare someone's sex or race to homosexuality as it was thoroughly demeaning, despicable and abominable to drag everything else down to the level of homosexuality to make sexual deviance acceptable.
I got my apology and have never heard him make similar references since.
Did not Christ take on their sins and become their scapegoat -- led out to the desert to die?
Good for you! What a strange statement for that priest to make. Sounds like he has been PC brainwashed.
Does this mean that some Episcopalians are considering moving towards becoming a Christian faith and away from being a homosexual one?
It's true not just for the ECUSA, but for many inter-denominational efforts (WCC and NCCUSA being the vanguard associations). UNITY OVER EVERYTHING seems to be their mantra. And the gay spearpoint is their weapon of choice to browbeat traditional, conservative Christians into submission.
"... unity is more sacred and important than the Gospel."
Unity or status quo?
It's not really the status quo, cause as an armchair watcher, I have seen how people have pushed the envelope again and again, but to keep holy unity, people don't take a stand against it.
The confusion about wicca and feminist approaches to Christ are a great example.
The whole controversy is moot though since the eventual islamification of society will put women bacdk another 500 years anyway.
Though I attend and ECUSA church, and I believe God's Word when it calls homosexual activity an "abomination" (about the most evil thing you can do...), honestly, I hope the homosexual lobby wins this one.
Right now, as one of my (conservative) rectors put it, it's the "institutional liberals vs. the homosexual activist liberals." If the institutional ones win--it will be a fudge--JUST enough to keep the world-wide Anglican Communion from immediately falling apart, and both institutional and homosexual liberals will continue to persecute faithful Episcopal congregations and priests. It's been looking like the institutional liberals have the upper hand over the homosexual activist ones...but I think it would be entirely fitting if, as it says in Romans regarding homosexual idolators: "God gave them up..." meaning, God ALLOWED people to follow their evil desires, which then brought about natural consequences....
For example, if friends and relatives "give up" a drunkard...allowing him to buy and drink all that he desires, then he will eventually destroy his liver, along with his overall health--leading to serious sickness and early death. Of course sometimes friends and relatives must do that--just to allow a drunkard to see where his addiction will lead--so he will (hopefully) become horrified at what he is doing, and will then willingly seek help--before his life is totally wrecked.
God does the same to persons involved in willful sinful behavior--his allowance to do (and get away with) evil behavior is actually harmful to themselves--and perhaps will lead them to the despair necessary before they will willingly seek any help.
Personally, I think AIDS (and other STDs) are this kind of "gave them up" issue, a "receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error." as St. Paul puts it. (Romans 1:27)
NOT so much to subject people to "wrath" rather, that such natural harmful results of evil (and unhealthy) behavior will shake people to their senses--reflecting that an eternity awaits those who follow such behavior FAR worse than the worst case of AIDS. In this sense harmful STD diseases, and even mental disease and depression are signs of God's mercy--warning signs that people better turn around and accept the mercy offered in following Christ.
SO, I for one am currently praying that God will "give up" the apostate bishops of the ECUSA church, in order to shake it up to its core--allowing the apostate to increase their appostasy, so that the faithful will get serious and drastic, saving themselves and their families from Sodom.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. "Though I attend and ECUSA church,..."
Do your tithes go to fund these people?
One can hope, but it would take courage and leadership, something that has been notably lacking from the so-called conservative Bishops.
Would that one of them would have the courage of a Luther or a Cromwell.
What narcissism!!!
"...but to keep holy unity, people don't take a stand against it. "
Yea, I'm talking about the traditionalist and status-quo. I hate to say it, but many seem to be more attached to the Episcopal Church and all it's trappings than the Gospel. Sort of, "we'll let you have your little radicalism as long as we can still 'play' church."
I've seen a lot of hand wringing over the loss of a facility, but not as much over the loss of Christ's reputation. I wish they could just walk away from the buildings, budgets, etc. with the realization that if God wants them to have buildings He can give them buildings. When the homos are clawing at your door, it's time to get out of Sodom!
These traditionalist put up with a lot - a lot more than they should have. They should have put up a fight 40 years ago... but that would have disturbed the status quo!
How about the courage of Ridley, Latimer or Cranmer? They were Anglicans. ;)
I see we were seeing the same thing, but just talking about it a bit differently...
The ECUSA is past the point of needing pious men willing to die for their faith. They need leaders of a more radical bent.
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