Schori lauds demon possessed girl, says Paul failed to see her gift of "spiritual awareness"
By David W. Virtue DD
May 21, 2013
In what one blogger described as "the worst sermon ever", the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church told listeners, in a sermon she delivered in Curacao, that the Apostle Paul betrayed his understanding of the faith he had been given and was guilty of bigotry in handling a case of demonic possession found in a slave girl.The account in Acts 16 reads thus: "Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, 'These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.' And this she did for many days.
A Satirical essay
by David W. Virtue
May 17, 2013
Welcome, brothers and sisters, to the First Downtown Church of Sin. Are you tired of feeling rejected because you won't renounce your sinful lifestyle? Because of your sin, are you made to feel ashamed by all those nasty evangelical church preachers who want you to repent of your ways...abandon fornication and sodomy in favor of righteousness?Are you looking for a church that will welcome you with open arms (and legs) and who want you, nay demand, that you continue in your carnality and promiscuity? Fret no more. You no longer have to feel harassed because of your sin and concupiscence. Here at the First Downtown Church of Sin we embrace you as you are and hope you will stay as you are because God loves you just the way you are and doesn't expect you to change at all. What nasty ol' God would do that to his struggling people?
Former Archbishop should mind his own business
News Analysis
By David W. Virtue
May 12, 2013
The former Archbishop of Canterbury is urging Presbyterians in Scotland not to split over gay ministers. Dr. Rowan Williams is counseling the Kirk to stay together. The Church of Scotland has been decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation and traces its roots back to the beginnings of Christianity in Scotland, but its identity is principally shaped by the Reformation of 1560. Its current pledged membership is about 9% of the Scottish population-though according to the 2001 national census, 42% of the Scottish population claim some form of allegiance to it.
Upper Midwest Diocese will affiliate with the Anglican Church in North America
By David W. Virtue
May 8, 2013
A New Anglican Diocese - the Anglican Diocese of the Upper Midwest - has been launched and should receive official approval and recognition by the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) House of Bishops when they meet June in Nashotah House, Wisconsin.Some 117 Anglican laity and priests gathered for prayer in Wheaton, IL, on April 27th at the Church of the Resurrection with the idea of giving birth to a new Anglican identity in the Midwest providing a safe harbor for orthodox Anglicans under siege by the liberally led Episcopal Church.
By David W. Virtue
May 7, 2013
A pioneering decision to jump start orthodox Anglicanism on Philadelphia's historic mainline took place this past weekend when the inaugural synod of the Missionary Diocese of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) ordained two presbyters and a deacon for future ministry.In front of some 150 people that included three bishops, numerous clergy and laity, the Rt. Rev. Julian Dobbs told the first CANA East synod, held at the centrally located Wayne United Methodist Church, that the diocese and the new congregation of Christ Church Anglican on the Mainline would engage in Gospel mission, Christian ministry, and build a fresh and dynamic future together.
By David W. Virtue
May 6, 2013
The Orange County Superior Court yesterday granted a motion by the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles seeking possession of a Newport Beach church campus owned by St. James Anglican Church.The Rev. Richard Crocker who serves as St. James' chief pastor, said, "We are obviously disappointed at the ruling of the court, and surprised that an agreement reached over 20 years ago to facilitate the development of our campus could be swept away like this. But we are a church seeking to follow Jesus, and pursue his mission. We will be in prayer for guidance as to our next steps."
Leroy Butler loses speaking gig at church after comment backing gay NBA player
By David W. Virtue
May 6, 2013
The feminist priest of St. Dunstan's Episcopal parish in Madison, Wisconsin is bringing Leroy Butler, inventor of the "Lambeau Leap" to her church.LeRoy Butler, a former Green Bay Packers star, sent a Twitter message of congratulations to Jason Collins, a veteran NBA player who made headlines last week when he became the first NBA player to come out as gay.
A word of encouragement from a senior to a junior devil
By David W. Virtue
May 6, 2013
My dear Wormwood,
It is hard to fathom, even by our standards of dissimulation and subterfuge, just how fast western culture is moving in our direction.We have gone from the love that dare not speak its name to full acceptance of homoerotic behavior declaring all opposition to pansexuality as homophobic and hate speech. That same sex marriage is being endorsed in state after state in the Disunited States is most comforting especially with only token opposition from the Roman Catholic Church and a few evangelicals.
By David W. Virtue
May 1, 2013
The ultra-liberal Anglican Bishop of Niagara, the Rt. Rev. Michael Bird has sued an orthodox Anglican blogger, a layman, alleging that he was libeled 31 times on Anglican Samizdat, a blog by David Jenkins that presents facts and pokes satirical fun at liberal Anglican leaders who depart from "the faith once for all delivered to the saints."The Bishop of Niagara was one of his targets. The claim seeks:
* $400,000 in damages plus court and legal costs.
* An interim and permanent injunction to shut down Anglican Samizdat.
* An interim and permanent injunction prohibiting Jenkins from publishing further comments about Michael Bird.
We need to challenge the narrative despair, says Ian Markham
News Analysis by David W. Virtue
April 30, 2013
The Dean of Virginia Theological Seminary denounced as "untrue" and a "myth" that The Episcopal Church is declining when he addressed delegates to the Diocese of Delaware Convention recently. The Rev. Dr. Ian Markham said endless stories, [told] over and over about the fact that we're part of the "mainline" and the "mainline" is getting smaller are not true. "The picture you get in the media is that we (TEC) are among a group called 'mainline' (a very opaque word) and like other mainline churches we are in decline. The other part of this picture is that it has been going on for years. People talk that it all started in the mid-1950's when we were at three and a half million Episcopalians and we're now down to 1,951,907.
By David W. Virtue
April 24, 2013
Five Anglican clergy in the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil (IEAB) including the Dean of the Cathedral in Sao Paulo, have been formally excommunicated by the ultra-liberal Brazilian Anglican province. In a letter to VOL, Bishop Miguel Uchoa, Bishop of the separated Diocese of Recife, said they were suspended for schismatic behavior that amounted to abandonment of communion, but not defrocked. "It is all about power," he told VOL. "Naturally it is a futile gesture, even if liberal on liberal."