Nigeria remained the deadliest place in the world to follow Christ, with 4,118 people killed for their faith from Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 2023, according to Open Doors' 2024 World Watch List (WWL) report.

The devil is smart enough to use hollow, cultural Christianity to make us atheists in the long run, to realize that the best way to take down a cross is to replace it with a culture, a crown, or a cathedral--or a Christmas tree. --- Russell Moore

While we may not be facing the prospect of imminent death or being banished to the gulags, living out our faith well still requires the moral courage to stand against the culture when the culture stands against God. -- Alexei Navalny

Lost people are going to act like lost people, so we shouldn't expect Christ to change our culture without first changing the people in it. -- Ryan Denison

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
www.virtueonline.org
April 12, 2024

Come June and The Episcopal Church will elect a new presiding bishop. Four candidates are listed; all men, two whites, one Hispanic and one black, all straight; no women, no lesbians, or male homosexuals. Why there has been no outcry about the lack of diversity and inclusion is mind blowing. It speaks volumes about the contrarian state of the church. Wot no women! No queer candidates? Pick me off the floor Mildred.

The Episcopal Church is in desperate trouble. The decline in attendance between 2021 and 2022 was the largest on record - 5.6%. While average Sunday attendance (ASA) "declined dramatically" during the pandemic in 2020-2021, in 2022 the church did see a brief uptick to 372,952. The age of an average Episcopalian is 69. Membership has gone from 3.4 million in 1960 to 1.58 million in 2022. Only a zombie apocalypse much like that which followed the death of Jesus, when Matthew report that tombs broke open and the saints inside were resurrected, could TEC be saved.

By limiting the church's top slot to mostly white men, it is signaling that one of them can hopefully pull the church back from the brink. In truth they are moderate men of all shades of opinion, but united by a common belief that anything goes if you gloss it with a little creed, expensive robes, and miters, aided and abetted with shows of public piety when the occasion calls for it. But homosexual marriage (B012) is encased in Episcopal stone and nothing will reverse the ongoing downward trend. God is never mocked. TEC is reaping what it has sown.

You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/why-next-episcopal-presiding-bishop-really-doesnt-matter

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This begs the obvious question, what will the Church of Jesus Christ look like in 2050?

New York Times columnist Ross Douthart says that by 2050 the church in America will look very different from the church today. He observes that another survey showing religion's recent ebb from Gallup, confirms a deepening of the 21st-century decline in church attendance.

The American church is in decline, the dechurched (now unchurched) numbers are increasing, with Nones on the rise (people with no religion), and Gen. Z seriously uninterested in historic Christianity. Biblical illiteracy is on the rise along with the parallel rise of mysticism (Douthart's belief) and the occult in all its manifestations. The mainline denominations will be all but gone.

Today most Gen Z's, Baby boomers or Gen-Exers couldn't tell the difference between a Presbyterian and Episcopalian. Furthermore, they don't care. The differences are irrelevant to their lives consumed as they are by Tik Tok, Taylor Swift, AI, animation, and new forms of social media.

Douthart believes that the main alternative to traditional religion, a faith in secular progress, has entered its own crisis of commitment and belief, with mysticism creeping back in around secularism's edges. He may be right. I would also argue that with the loss of Christian faith is seeing a concurrent rise in paganism.

"With apologies to the likes of Dawkins, Christianity's decline across the West doesn't mean that secular liberalism, much less atheism, will triumph, but that a new religious creed will take its place. And make no mistake: This new form of paganism will bring with it all the violence and oppression common to every pagan empire across the dreary ages of the world. Instead of citizens in a self-governing republic, we will find ourselves slaves in a pagan empire," writes John Daniel Davidson a senior editor at The Federalist.

You can read more of my analysis here: https://virtueonline.org/what-will-church-look-2050

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IS THE END NIGH FOR THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND? Anglican Futures an orthodox Anglican blog in the Church of England has said the unsayable, but nonetheless believable truth that the Church of England as presently constructed and being run, is over and its end is nigh.

Some call it "terminal orthodoxy" and others "cut flower" Anglicanism. Both terms express the idea that even if the position of the faithful in the Church of England in 2024 is currently tenable, the situation is unlikely to last beyond the present generation. And for that reason, it is also sometimes known as the "one generation strategy"- make hay while the sun shines or bricks while there is straw - but recognise that the end is nigh for the orthodox in the CofE - that the opportunities for orthodox ministry are withering and dying.

Any optimism however, needs to be balanced with the reality that many orthodox ordinands, at different stages, are questioning their futures and the possible lack of curacies for those who do enter the Church but are determined to resist liberalism. The odds of the House of Bishops being anything other than revisionist-controlled for the foreseeable future appear very long indeed, and the impact of that on the operation of General Synod has been all too evident. Few would regard the existing provision for prayers of blessing for same-sex couples as the end rather than the start of the process.

And all this is before the orthodox commence, or increase, militancy - whether it be withholding funds, utilising the "Ephesian Fund", accepting "Alternative Spiritual Oversight", creating "parallel structures", organising "irregular" ordinations, withdrawing from Chapter meetings or "Chrism masses", being vocally critical of bishops, etc. In some places (just the threat of) such acts have already seen clergy summoned before their bishop, and it might well be thought that militant parishes will not be rewarded by dioceses.

Those who believe that the end has been reached have no choice but to pursue a future outside the CofE - anything else is unconscionable. Those who fear the "trajectory" argument is right, will be making preparations.

To convince them otherwise, those who think this is doom-mongering and a "self-fulfilling prophesy" will need to make more compelling arguments - both for why the 'trajectory' argument is wrong and for how the longed for "structural settlement" can be achieved.

Watch the Rev Philip de Grey-Warters story about leaving the Church of England here: https://youtu.be/LLKvODr5rYY

You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/end-nigh-church-england and here: https://www.anglicanfutures.org/post/is-the-end-nigh

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AN ECCLESIASTICAL COURT WILL DECIDE THE FUTURE OF ACNA BISHOP TODD ATKINSON. The Court for the Trial of a Bishop has found Atkinson guilty of four charges of violating Canon IV.2.4: "Conduct giving just cause for scandal or offense, including the abuse of ecclesiastical power."

All parties agreed to conduct the trial by written submissions of briefings, witness testimony through affidavit, and other evidence. This manner of proceeding saved resources for all parties and spared witnesses, including victims, from enduring the stresses of live testimony and cross-examination. Atkinson has 30 days to appeal the Trial Court's decision (Canon IV.5.5.1).

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On the international front, The Anglican Church in Uganda has said it is happy about the recent upholding of the anti-homosexuality law which the LGBT community and human rights activists wanted the court to overturn.

LGBT activists in Uganda petitioned in the constitutional court seeking the scrapping of a homosexuality law passed last year saying it infringed on their human rights. The court rejected their appeal.

The Church of Uganda praised the five judges who made the ruling for being religious and patriotic. It said it is happy with the decision.

Speaking on behalf of Anglican Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba, the provincial secretary of Anglican Church of Uganda, The Rev. Canon Captain William Ongeng, told VOL; "We are happy about the court ruling. Any right-thinking person would think that is the right decision. In fact, there was nothing new. Ugandans decided a long time ago that they are against homosexuality."

The Anglican Church of Uganda has never favored the use of the death penalty. You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/uganda-anglican-archbishop-applauds-high-court-decision-over-homosexuality

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Internecine war among Nigerian Anglicans is bad testimony to the gospel. In an exclusive special report, VOL learned that the Anglican Diocese of the Trinity (ADOTT), a diocese of the Church of Nigeria North America Mission (CONNAM), is suing the Church of Nigeria (CoN), CONNAM (the Church of Nigeria North American Mission), its Primate, the Most Rev. Henry Ndukuba, Bishop Nathan Kanu as coordinating bishop of CONNAM, and ADOTT Bishop Olukayode Adebogun, to prevent the General Synod of the Church of Nigeria from dissolving it.

At issue is who has the right to make decisions for the diocese, an Indiana nonprofit corporation with 501 (C)(3) tax-exempt status, and who owns the diocesan properties and governs the other entities affiliated with it, which includes 7,000 persons, a cathedral, as well as 80 parishes.

ADOTT's constitution states that "[a]ny property, both real and personal, owned by the Diocese now and in the future, is not and shall not be subject to any trust interest in favor of CONNAM, the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), or any other Province of the Anglican Communion."

Millions of dollars are at stake as well as the integrity of all parties involved. You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/north-american-nigerian-diocese-suing-anglican-church-nigeria-over-property-and-other-claims

***

The Episcopal Church it seems, can't keep its nose out of international politics even when it is wrong, or conversely has no ability to change the outcome, but has the remarkable ability to virtue signal its will.

A letter signed by 140 Global "Christian" leaders has been sent to President Biden demanding an "immediate and permanent ceasefire" in Gaza and a halt to arms shipments to Israel.

The letter was organized by the Churches for Middle East Peace a hodgepodge of liberal leftist churches and groups demanding a ceasefire that would surely guarante the continuation of the war, the regrouping of Hamas, and a Palestinian state side-by-side with Israel, bent on Israel's destruction.

Using Ramadan and Easter as high holy days for a ceasefire, the Christian leaders naively believe that Palestinians of good will, will see the light, sit down with their Israeli brothers and sisters, and negotiate a peace that will last until the next genocidal attack on Jews.

Under the guise of peace, these leaders are promoting war and the continued slaughter of innocents, writes Eugene Korn, an ethicist living in Israel.

"A permanent ceasefire today would leave Hamas in power and free to continue its violent assault on the State of Israel, its citizens, and any prospects for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The letter conveniently never mentions the cause of the war, namely Hamas' barbaric slaughter, rape, beheading and kidnapping of more than 1,300 innocent Israelis on October 7, writes Korn.

And yet these American liberals which includes, of course, the American Episcopal presiding Bishop Michael Curry, want a permanent ceasefire that would in time, see the destruction of Israel.

There are times when barbarism and evil can only be met with force. Had the British and Americans stopped at the borders of Germany, the Holocaust would have gone on and on.

You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/global-christian-leaders-would-see-israel-driven-out-existence-if-war-stopped-now

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The seven Episcopal bishops who serve the dioceses of New York and Long Island are publicly opposing the potential long-term lease of General Theological Seminary's property and facilities to a nonprofit choral music school that has ties to Christian conservatives. The bishops oppose General Seminary's long-term lease with choral music school over LGBTQ+ inclusion concerns.

The School of Sacred Music, which describes itself on its website as "grounded in the Roman Catholic tradition," has been using part of the seminary as its base since late 2023 through a short-term rental agreement. "We engage and inspire students and professional church musicians, members of the clergy, congregations, faith communities, and all interested members of the public," the website says. The school's vespers are now scheduled every Tuesday and Thursday in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd. You can read more here: https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2024/04/11/bishops-oppose-general-seminarys-long-term-lease-with-choral-music-school-over-lgbtq-inclusion-concerns/

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In a 20-page document released Monday, the Vatican's doctrine office outlined what it called several "grave threats" to human dignity, including surrogacy, euthanasia and assisted suicide, discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender transition surgery, and "gender theory," which it says "intends to deny the greatest possible difference that exists between living beings: sexual difference." The document mostly reiterates Catholic teaching on these subjects but comes as Pope Francis has recently allowed priests to bless gay couples and allow transgender people to serve as godparents.

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ABORTION. It has been a hot button issue for as long as I can remember and remains on the front burner for Catholics and evangelicals. But lately it has met resistance from some unlikely quarters. Recent polls show 70% of Americans favor abortion with 86 percent in favor of IVF a procedure that allows a lab to fertilize the eggs of a woman. (Full disclosure. We know people who have had this procedure and today have healthy children.)

In 1970, a poll conducted by the Baptist Sunday School Board found that 70 percent of Southern Baptist pastors supported abortion to protect the mental or physical health of the mother, a position that has slowly reversed with time.

Despite three judges being appointed to the Supreme Court on the issue, Republicans are backpedaling faster than when facing an overtaking tsunami wave. Presumptive president Donald Trump has reversed himself (13 times) and now wants the issue left up to the states. He has abandoned his absolute ban on abortion because it is not a winning strategy. Republican politicians no longer see it as a winning reelection ticket either. Democrats have always believed in a woman's right to choose, with both Republican and Democratic politicians wanting to keep government fingers off women's bodies. Arizona's unearthing of an ancient abortion law is giving Republicans historical hiccoughs. Complicating the issue is the abortion pill. Abortion pills end a pregnancy. Morning-after pills prevent pregnancy from occurring. Pro-Lifers may have to rethink their strategy for the future. Pro-life Democrats like Casey of PA, maybe "generally believed".

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MENTAL HEALTH. There's a strong empirical argument that people who don't believe in the basic tenets of any faith group should still make it a habit to attend services at a house of worship. In a recent study published in the Sociology of Religion, scholars examined whether church attendance was associated with improved mental or physical health during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data points to a clear conclusion: The people in the sample who reported better overall health outcomes were those who attended religious services in person at least once a week. Attending religious services online, meanwhile, brought no measurable health benefit. You can read more here:
https://thedispatch.com/article/why-church-attendance-is-more-important-than-ever/

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LEAVE THE BIBLE ALONE. The God Bless the USA Bible should never have been made, says a Southern Baptist theologian.

Andrew T. Walker, in a critique of Donald Trump's hawking of a $60.00 Bible to raise money for his re-election or legal expenses, he writes, "if you are a Christian, familiarity with the Constitution and Declaration of Independence is good. America's founding was, after all, doubtlessly influenced by its heavily Protestant character. If you are a Christian, familiarity with the Bible is even more important. We rely on God's Word to sustain us in our daily relationship with Christ. The Word is a "lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path," as Scripture says.

But fusing America's founding documents with the Word of God is a syncretistic expression of civil religion that goes farther than what those who love their country--and, more importantly, for those who love their Bibles--should ever allow. You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/leave-bible-alone

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This past week marked a milestone in my own life. I found myself diagnosed with afib, with shortness of breath, rapid heart-beat and reduced heart function. I was obliged to wear a heart monitor and swallow a variety of heart pills to hopefully get my heart back to its original state. We shall see how all that works out.

Part of it no doubt is long hours of work, stress, taking some people way too seriously and trying too hard. I would value your prayers.

***

I plan to attend several Anglican events over the next few weeks that include the ACNA assembly in Latrobe, Pa and later the first assembly of the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA) in Cairo, Egypt. This worldwide fellowship of orthodox Anglicans who count amongst its members 25 provinces that are seeking to reorder the Anglican Communion to establish mutual accountability and to guard the faith. They believe the American Episcopal Church has gone off the rails and the Church of England is heading in the same direction, with Justin Welby the Archbishop of Canterbury a feckless leader.

I could use some financial support to make these trips possible. You can send a tax-deductible donation to the address below:

VIRTUEONLINE
P.O. Box 111
Shohola, PA 18458

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If you know someone who would like to receive these bi-weekly news reports, they can subscribe here: https://virtueonline.org/ It is free and nothing is behind a paywall. Thank you for your support.

***

I leave VOL readers today with this thought:

When did being a disciple become discipleship - a verb? Something we do for God rather than what God in his Son does for us?

When did the Christian "disciplines" turn into exercises and about duty and obedience, instead of our loving response to a very gracious Father?

And sermons, when did they become about us and not God? A nice man telling nice people to be nicer? Rather than announcing God's mercy to the wicked and the ungrateful?

And when did faithfulness become our holding on to God, before his hold on us?

Christianity isn't a self-improvement program. Even if it never results in moral improvement, it is about enjoying God who rejoices over his children with gladness and exults over them with loud singing. -- Dean Chuck Collins

All Blessings,

David