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Naïve or Duplicitous

Naïve or Duplicitous

By the Rt. Rev. David C. Anderson
https://americananglican.org/
December 12, 2014

The Archbishop of Canterbury's recent remarks are once again somewhat puzzling. One question that comes to mind is whether he really believes this statement that he made: "I could see circumstances in which there could be people moving apart and then coming back together." With the proviso noted that in God all things are possible, does he really believe this or is he playing games with us as the British Empire leadership has been wont to do with those of us who are less worthy?

If he is looking at the issue of women in Holy Orders, and most especially in the Episcopate, and the sexuality issues, most especially homosexual issues, and he thinks those are the problems, he may be honest, though wrong in his assessment. The problem with looking at tertiary issues is they are often the result of more basic disagreements which in the final analysis have far more leverage on the Anglican Communion. It is my contention that the authority of Holy Scripture as noted in 2 Timothy 3:16 and the person and work of Jesus Christ are actually the primary points of disagreement, though the so-called progressive wing of the Anglican Communion, and indeed the leadership of much of the Western church will not acknowledge it.

Many of us during our time in the Episcopal Church USA found ourselves ridiculed as "fundamentalists" because we believed that Jesus was serious and accurate when he said that he was the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and none would come to the Father except by him. This statement just didn't fit into the Episcopal Church's drive towards "total inclusivity." To believe that the Holy Scripture has authority to speak authentically into our private lives, telling us how to behave, even how to behave sexually, is just so inappropriate and culturally insensitive, according to TEC's "progressives."

The Episcopal Church and many others needed to dethrone the authority of Holy Scripture quietly and subversively so the awkward statements of Jesus could be scrubbed away. And the concept that Jesus is the Savior, the only savior, and his life and death and resurrection are the only effective way that men and women, in the midst of their sin and estrangement from God, can come into a life-giving, eternal relationship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, just had to be put quietly aside to promote inclusivity and fellowship with other faiths, especially Muslims.

I have watched the Episcopal Church's leadership move that church first to the margins of orthodoxy, then beyond. This is not to say that there are not thousands of orthodox Christian Episcopalians still in the Episcopal Church, but their days are numbered, and meanwhile their contributions which are siphoned off to the national church are available for lawsuits domestically and missional mischief in the rest of the world.

If Archbishop Justin Welby actually thinks that the tertiary issues ARE the issues and in the fullness of time we can all come back together, forgetting the punishment that the Episcopal Church inflicted on those members who chose to depart, and all drink tea and sing Kumbaya together, he is at best naive. If he knows that this isn't really the case and is mouthing this platitude anyway, it is part of the old school church duplicity.

If an Anglican really wants to examine the division in the Anglican Communion in North America, the British Isles, and Episcopal Church-controlled parts of South and Central America, he or she needs to inquire deeply into how these churches are dealing with the primary issues of the authority of Scripture and the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is important for the African, Asian and other Western churches to keep their eyes on both the Bible and Jesus, and insist that these not be compromised in the least.

Might the Anglican Communion come apart? Yes, in one form or another, because of the Western Churches' incipient heresy on the primary issues. Might the Anglican Communion come back together? Yes, either through a profound repentance by the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Canada, the Church of England and other similar churches, or through such a loss of membership that they are replaced by those who do still believe in the core tenants of the historic Christian faith. For now, I see a time of trial by fire of those who hold fast to the faith, or suffering on the part of the faithful, and of the triumph of the faith brought about by God which honors and glorifies him, and secondarily vindicates those who stood faithfully with him.

All of us should know that there is a judge who observes all that takes place, and those who turn and twist the Gospel and rob the people of the truth will have to face the one who separates the sheep from the goats at the end of time. Keep the faith, live the faith, share the faith, in Jesus' Name.

The Rt. Rev. David C. Anderson is President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Anglican Council

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