Posted on 04/17/2006 12:32:44 PM PDT by sionnsar
Very sad. From the Christian Science Monitor:
At the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Paul in Boston, the congregation has stripped Holy Week observances of traditional content that strikes members as offensive. On Palm Sunday last weekend, for instance, parishioners heard an adapted Passion narrative that removes biblical language seen as blaming Jews for Jesus’ crucifixion. And the hundreds who observe Good Friday won’t pray for those who haven’t yet received “the Gospel of Christ” but for those untouched by “the grace of God” - a new gesture of respect for the Muslims who use the church for Friday worship.
The goal of these adjustments, says Cathedral Dean Jep Streit, is to reflect in practice who Jesus is and what he represents. And that message-refining process, he says, echoes the debate between orthodox believers and dissenters centuries ago.
“We have this give and take through the first two or three centuries [after Christ’s birth], and it continues today, as it should,” he says.
Believers and dissenters, aka non-believers. So, what is really at issue is the inclusion of non-believers among believers. Sometimes, the truth comes out. But, what is truly most disturbing is that the one thing that binds the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion together, even according to liberal revisionists, is the Book of Common Prayer. However, if every priest in the communion can change it just as he sees fit, and decide, for example, on God Friday not to pray for people to accept the Gospel, while, let’s say, Matt Kennedy prays with two unbelievers on Good Friday and these two folks become Christians, well, we aren’t one church anymore, as the one thing that bound us together has been repudiated. BLD
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. ECUSA is a neo-pagan organization.
ping
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.