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TEC Bishops fall into Gnostic Trap over Sexuality * PB Says NC Must Repeal Trannie Toilet Act * West Missouri Bishop Seeks PB Intervention. Canon III.12.10 invoked * Theologian says CofE has disordered understanding of Pastoral Care * Bishop Salmon Dies

"The first step towards the evangelizing of the world is the christianizing of the church." - Vance Havner

A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society. --- Billy Graham

No perfect society. Although it is right to campaign for social justice and to expect to improve society further, in order to make it more pleasing to God, we know that we should never perfect it. Christians are not utopians. Although we know the transforming power of the gospel and the wholesome effects of Christian salt and light, we also know that evil is ingrained in human nature and human society. We harbour no illusions. Only Christ at his second coming will eradicate evil and enthrone righteousness forever. For that day we wait with eagerness. --- John R. W. Stott

Orthodoxy is, in part, an act of humility. Faithful Christianity in this generation means believing and teaching what faithful Christians have always affirmed as taught in Scripture. --- Albert Mohler

G. K. Chesterton captured this spirit when he quipped: "Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about."

Envy, vanity and pride. Envy is the reverse side of a coin called vanity. Nobody is ever envious of others who is not first proud of himself. --- John R.W. Stott

Dear Brothers and Sisters
www.virtueonline.org
July 1, 2016

For decades, the Sexual Revolution was supposed to be about freedom. Today, it is about coercion. Once, it sought to free our sexual choices from restrictive laws and unwanted consequences. Now, it seeks to free our sexual choices from other people's disapproval.

That's a sharp turn--but it was inevitable, writes Sherif Girgis in the latest issue of FIRST THINGS magazine.

"The ideals of the Sexual Revolution call for it: That is one lesson of the year that has passed since the Supreme Court imposed same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges. Most of Obergefell's lay supporters were simply moved by concern for our LGBT neighbors. But the Court's ruling itself depended on a broader sexual progressivism; and its cultural fallout has made clearer that sexual progressivism is illiberal. Absorb its vision of the human person wholesale, and you will soon conclude that social justice requires getting others to subscribe to that vision.

"In short, the ideas that Obergefell imposed on our government could hardly stop there; as with an evangelical creed, the legal system could not embrace them without feeling bound to spread them. Obergefell is thus best seen as a religious bull from our national Magisterium, the Supreme Court, by the pen of its high priest, Justice Kennedy. With all the solemnity of a Chalcedon or Trent, it formalized new doctrines for our nation's civil religion--Gnostic ideas about the human person. Ideas that, by their very nature, create an obligation to recruit new adherents.

"Obergefell has thus inspired fidelity and stigmatized heresy, on pain of the (civic) mortal sins of bigotry and injustice. One year later, we can take the measure of its consequences--and prepare for future ones--only if we spell out the ideas it embraced, and why they demand to be enforced.

"Fittingly, then, has this new doctrine been called a New Gnosticism.

"Beyond marriage, this doctrine entails that sex doesn't matter, or that it matters only as an inner reality. Since I am not my body, I might have been born in the wrong one. Because the real me is internal, my sexual identity is just what I sense it to be. The same goes for other valuable aspects of my identity. My essence is what I say and feel that it is."

The tragedy is, that by embracing both the decision of the SCOTUS on same-sex marriage and, more recently, criticizing the North Carolina Transgender Bill by the Presiding Bishop of TEC and by Gay Jennings, President of the House of Deputies (in keeping with Executive Council's resolution,) they have fallen into the Gnostic trap.

*****

The following is excerpts of the letter to the Episcopal Church from the Presiding Bishop and President of the House of Deputies

Dear People of God in the Episcopal Church:

We all know that some things in holy Scripture can be confusing, hard to understand, or open to various ways of understanding. But some essential teachings are clear and incontrovertible. Jesus tells us to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves, and he tells us over and over again not to be afraid (Matthew 10:31, Mark 5:36, Luke 8:50, John 14:27).

This age-old cycle of fear and hatred plays out again and again in our broken world, in sickening and shocking events like the massacre targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Orlando, but also in the rules we make and the laws we pass. Most recently, we've seen fear at work in North Carolina, a state dear to both of our hearts, where a law called the "Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act" has decimated the civil rights and God-given dignity of transgender people and, by extension, drastically curtailed protections against discrimination for women, people of color, and many others. We are thankful for the prayerful and pastoral public leadership of the North Carolina bishops on this law, which is known as House Bill 2.

This is not the first time that the segregation of bathrooms and public facilities has been used to discriminate unjustly against minority groups. And just as in our painful racial past, it is even being claimed that the "bathroom bills," as they are sometimes called, ensure the safety of women and children--the same reason so often given to justify Jim Crow racial segregation.

On June 10, the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church stood against fear and for God's love by passing a resolution that reaffirms the Episcopal Church's support of local, state and federal laws that prevent discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression and voices our opposition to all legislation that seeks to deny the God-given dignity, the legal equality, and the civil rights of transgender people.

In keeping with Executive Council's resolution, we are sending a letter to the governor and members of the North Carolina General Assembly calling on them to repeal the "Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act." When legislation that discriminates against transgender people arises in other places, we will also voice our opposition and ask Episcopalians to join us. We will also support legislation, like a bill recently passed in the Massachusetts state legislature, that prevents discrimination of all kinds based on gender identity or gender expression.

*****

The Episcopal Bishop of West Missouri, Martin Field, and the President of the Standing Committee, the Very Reverend Peter J. DeVeau, along with the diocese are having unexplained difficulties getting along together, and the bishop says Canon III.12.10 of the Episcopal Church has been invoked, seeking assistance, specifically requesting the Presiding Bishop to intervene according to the new canon passed in 2015 and which hitherto has not been invoked, according to Bishop Field.

In a phone call to the bishop, he told VOL that this had nothing to do with "conduct unbecoming a bishop", nothing to do with sex or financial hanky panky, no charges have been invoked and he has not been temporarily inhibited. "This is not a disciplinary procedure, it is strictly pastoral in nature," said Field. "It is about pastoral relationships between myself, the Standing Committee and the diocese, nothing more, and it is the first time this canon has been invoked by a diocese in TEC." Field refused to be more specific about the nature of the charges. "I have no obligation to reveal what they are," he told VOL. He said the term "pastoral relationship" was designed give the diocese and himself a way through whatever differences they are experiencing.

At the end of May, The Rt. Rev. F. Clayton Matthews, Bishop of the Office of Pastoral Development appointed Mary Kostel, Special Counsel, to visit West Missouri to listen to the bishop, clergy, and lay persons of the Diocese. Her appointment was in response to a letter written by the Standing Committee of the Diocese of West Missouri to Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry, requesting mediation of the pastoral relationship between the bishop and diocese.

Ms. Kostel completed a visit to the diocese, spoke to the bishop as well as to several key leaders from both the Diocesan Council and the Standing Committee, and received open and honest cooperation from all parties. She will now consult with Bishops Matthews and Curry, and we await our Presiding Bishop's desires and recommendations for next steps.

The Standing Committee wrote its letter having been made aware of concerns among members of the diocese and having decided to seek help as laid out in the aforementioned canon. This is a new canon and a new process in the Episcopal Church, the aim of which is to restore pastoral relationships in a diocese where such might be imperiled. The process provides for a time of mutual and careful listening; It is not about finding or assigning blame.

A source told VOL that this is about the outlying parishes not sending their plate/pledges to Kansas City to sustain a dying cathedral church that is "inclusive". The country folk don't like it and they voted with their pocketbooks not to support it. However, Bishop Field denied this and said all parishes are playing a part in the covenantal life of the diocese.

VOL was told that the second oldest parish in the state, Christ Church Episcopal in Boonville, is in dire straits and can barely make the electricity/water bill, and Kansas City (Diocesan HQ) wants more of their money sent to them.

From its founding in 1889, the Diocese of West Missouri has been a diverse mix of urban, town and rural Episcopal churches. The diocese comprises 48 churches composed of 10,000 baptized parishioners which span the western half of the state in communities as distinct as Kansas City, Joplin and Warrensburg. Actual communicants are 8,289, with Average Sunday Attendance (ASA) 3,340. (It was 4,460 in 2004). Baptisms totaled 137, Confirmations totaled 83, but burials 171 and marriages 62.

Of the 49 congregations, 27 have 50 or less parishioners.

Mary Kostel operates out of Goodwin Proctor in Washington, DC, along with David Booth Beers.

*****

Theologian Rollin Grams has written a critical appraisal of the Church of England's understanding of Pastoral Care and he has determined that it is a disordered Understanding of Pastoral Care.

In light of the present crisis brought on by revisionist theologians and ministers in mainline denominations--and now some confused ministers in supposedly 'Evangelical' churches,[1]a contrast needs to be made. The alternative perspective strangling the Church's pastoral mission involves:

(1) denying that certain behaviors are sin at all;

(2) returning to a world of 'chaos' regarding the distinction between male and female in creation;

(3) denying God's commandments that distinguish sin from righteousness (and denying Biblical authority in matters of faith and practice);

(4) affirming sinful behaviors as acceptable, even (blasphemously) as desirable;

(5) denying a need for God's grace, His redemption, and Jesus Christ's death on the cross for our sins; and, therefore,

(6) seeing pastoral care as a matter of helping people affirm their own inclinations by celebrating inclusiveness and diversity so that unity, love, and community can be achieved;

(7) ignoring the clear teaching of the Church through the centuries.

As a result, under the guise of affirming diversity, humanity--applauded by false teachers in the Church (Romans 1.32)--returns to primeval chaos that cannot distinguish male from female. As a result, under the guise of inclusiveness and diversity, the Fall and sin are denied. As a result, under the guise of unity, 'separation unto God'--holiness--is turned into a 'no fault' embrace of sinners' sins by God. As a result, under the guise of love, the narrative of redemption through Christ's blood shed on the cross becomes irrelevant, if not embarrassing ('would a loving God send His Son to the cross?,' such people ask). As a result, under the guise of community, Christ-centered fellowship is considered exclusionary. As a result, peace with God is seen as embracing every diversity rather than as justification of the sinner by faith in God.

Thus, the Church is well-instructed in its pastoral care of sinners by God the Father's mission in and to a sinful world. We all know this care--those of us who live under the cross of Jesus Christ--just as Israel knew this care. The crisis facing the Church of England and many Anglicans in the West is a pastoral accommodation of sin, rather than a pastoral care of sinners.

*****

An elderly ACNA Anglican priest tried to shield his wife from flames that devoured more than 46,000 acres in California and destroyed more than 200 buildings. They both died in the massive brush fire.

Gladys McKaig, 90, was in failing health, but her 81-year-old husband, Byron -- a retired Anglican Church in North America priest -- was her constant companion and protector.

And it remained so even as they lay dying. The couple perished in the massive Erskine Fire.

Their bodies were found outside the smoldering remains of their home, sprawled against a corner of their fence, according to KERO-TV.

"He was like on top of her, and they were together, like he was blocking her from the fire," neighbor Bill Johnson told the Los Angeles Times. "It made me sick because immediately I saw and knew exactly what had happened -- that they were alive and ran out of this burning inferno and got stuck, and that was where they ended.

"I thought it was terrible for those people to go like that. Just horrible. They didn't deserve it," he said.

He was an Anglican priest who married the church organist in July, 1984. He had come to the Lake Isabella area in the early 1980s after a divorce.

Gladys was a deeply religious woman with a fierce love of music, as was her husband. They were a "perfect match," daughter Susan McKaig told the Bakersfield Californian.

"They were each other's half," she said. "They loved each other very much and the family [is] taking comfort from the fact that they passed together."

The couple had two other grown daughters.

He had retired from his pastoral duties eight years ago, but was still active in the church.

"It was beautiful, his devotion to her," said Bishop Eric Menees of the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin.

"He cared for her up until their very last seconds."

*****

Church of England leaders have criticized the rise in racist abuse and attacks in the UK following last week's historic referendum decision to withdraw from the European Union. Members of ethnic minority communities and immigrants from across the EU have reported being told to "go home -- we voted to leave" and other forms of abuse.

Last night the Archbishop of Canterbury hosted a multi-faith Iftar meal for 100 young people from across London's faith communities at Lambeth Palace. It was attended by the UK's Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis and London Mayor, Sadiq Khan.

The Mayor, a Muslim, took a "selfie" with Archbishop Welby and Chief Rabbi Mirvis in front of the young people. It has been been widely shared on social media and praised for showing the real face of the UK.

"This is London!", the Mayor Tweeted. "Breaking my fast tonight with the Chief Rabbi, Archbishop Justin Welby & young Londoners of many faiths in the beautiful surroundings of Lambeth Palace."

Archbishop Welby said it was "a huge privilege and joy" to host the Iftar, and added: "Britain is a country divided in many ways at the moment -- and we've seen a rise in intolerance, discrimination and hatred.

"But last night was a powerful reminder that faith communities in this country can work together in friendship and solidarity for the common good.

"These friendships will be absolutely crucial as we build a new vision of what it means to be an outward-looking, generous and hospitable country in the world."

Earlier, as the British Parliament discussed the result of the referendum, the Bishop of Chelmsford, Stephen Cottrell, said that a head teacher in his diocese told him that "the children were frightened when they went to school on Friday and that she had seen an increase in race hatred and intolerance."

He asked the government: "What plans are there to address the lack of unity in our nation and to counter the fear and race hatred that is on the rise? Can we ensure that those who lost this vote, as well as those who won, can be part of the planning going forward?"

Speaking on Friday, Chief Rabbi Mirvis said: "The respective campaigns that led us to this point have sharply divided our country. But the time for disagreement and division is now over. It is more essential than ever before that we unite so that the ensuing political upheaval does not adversely affect the most vulnerable in our society and that our moral leadership role in the world remains undiminished."

The Church of England has published prayers for reconciliation, including a brief litany which can be used in services on Sunday or in small groups.

The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has arrived in Brussels this afternoon, for talks with the leaders of the 27 other EU member states. Many are pushing for the UK to invoke Article 50 of the EU Treaty -- the legal mechanism for starting two-years of exit negotiations -- swiftly; but Mr. Cameron has insisted that the decision to begin the formal legal process will be for his successor to make. Mr. Cameron will resign as Prime Minister as soon as the Conservative Party has elected a new leader, which is expected to take place by early September.

*****

The Rev. Canon Jose A. McLoughlin was elected as the seventh bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina, earlier this week. The election was held during a special Electing Convention June 25, at Trinity Episcopal Church, in Asheville, North Carolina.

In his nomination profile, McLoughlin wrote, "I think the church today longs for a new type of bishop. A bishop who is truly engaged in the ministry and lives of people within the diocese; engaged in mission and evangelism; a bishop willing to sit with the people of the diocese and explore new ways to be disciples of Christ." We shall see.

*****

The arguments for a third way between conservative and liberal approaches on sexuality do not work, and Evangelicals in the Church of England should resist pressure to go down this route, Dr. Martin Davie, a leading Anglican theologian, writes.

Nowhere in the New Testament is sexual ethics seen as a matter on which there is liberty for Christians to take different approaches. In the New Testament, the Old Testament laws regarding sexual conduct are seen as still in place and applicable to all Christians (see Matthew 5:27-30, Acts 15:29, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8). Transgression of them is seen as a matter which needs to entail the transgressor being subject to disciplinary exclusion from membership of God's people in this life (1 Corinthians 5) and which carries with it the danger of eternal separation from the life of God's kingdom in the world to come (1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Galatians 5:18-21, Revelation 21:8).

The New Testament thus firmly closes the door on any idea that sexual ethics is a matter on which Christians are free to have different beliefs and observe different practices. There is a basic pattern of sexual conduct involving fidelity within (heterosexual) marriage and abstinence outside it that all Christians, without exception, are expected to observe. In historically forbidding same-sex activity the Christian Church has simply remained faithful to this pattern.

You can read more about this and a very fine article by Charles Raven in today's digest.

*****

The faux Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina is getting a new part-time Provisional Bishop in the person of the retiring Bishop of Central New York, Bishop Gladstone "Skip" Adams, following the retirement of Charles vonRosenberg.

Back in February 18, 2010, VOL blew the whistle on Skippy, when a former Episcopal priest, Fr. Ralph Elwood Johnson, was charged with multiple counts each of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault, and corruption of a minor.

The arrest of the former 82-year old Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Central New York, and the possible cover-up of the priest's sexual activities by Episcopal Bishop Gladstone (Skip) Adams years earlier, begged for double justice.

The first justice was what the courts handed down to Johnson for his vile conduct. The second is what should have happened to Bishop Adams, who tried to conceal the priest's behavior, and, in the process, attempted to depose a godly priest for being a whistleblower.

The truth is the bishop should have been investigated by the national church. He should have faced the same charges brought against the now inhibited and deposed former Bishop of Pennsylvania, Charles E. Bennison, who was forced to step down following a trial and conviction on charges that he covered up his brother's sexual abuse of a female minor.

None of this happened, of course. This is, after all, the Blessed Church of Holy Avoidance. You can read the full story here: http://tinyurl.com/hr9edcn It got nearly 7,500 hits at that time.

*****

Bishop Salmon dies. The Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon, Jr., the 19th Dean and President of Nashotah House Theological Seminary, died on Wednesday, June 29th, 2016, following a battle with cancer.

"Edward Salmon loved Christ and His Church, and gave himself completely to service. He lived hospitality, welcoming all as Christ. He was a man of deep prayer and spiritual insight, and it showed in the way he lived," said The Very Reverend Steven A. Peay, Dean and President of Nashotah House. "My fondest memory of him is his love of the intellectual life. He delighted in conversations with the faculty. He was quick to say that he was not a scholar, but that never kept him from thinking, reading and asking questions."

Bishop Salmon was born in Natchez, Mississippi. He received his BA from the University of the South; his BD from Virginia Theological Seminary; DD degrees from Nashotah House, the University of the South and Virginia Theological Seminary. He was ordained Deacon in June, 1960 and Priest in March, 1961 in the Dioceses of Arkansas.

He served as the 13th Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina, 1990-2008. In addition, he served numerous churches, including: All Saints, Chevy Chase, MD, 2010-2012; St. Michael and St. George, St. Louis, MO, 1978-2000; St. Paul's, Fayatteville, AR, 1967-1978; St. Andrew's, Rogers, AR, 1960-1963; St. James, Eureka Springs, AR, 1960-1963; St. Thomas, Springdale, AR, 1960-1963.

Bishop Salmon was a Trustee of Nashotah House for 22 years, which included 13 years as Chairman. He also served on the boards of the University of the South, Voorhees College, Porter-Gaud School, Bishop Gadsen Community, York Place, and Canterbury House.

He had been the President of the Anglican Digest and was a recipient of the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina's highest civilian honor in 2007.

The requiem for the Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon Jr., will be held at 7 PM, Thursday, July 7, 2016 at The Church of St. Michael and St. George in Clayton, Missouri.

*****

Christianity Explored Ministries has produced "Life Explored" (LE), a beautiful new series which helps people discover that there is indeed more to life. Over seven sessions, they explore the idea that we have been made for something - and someone - infinitely better than money, career, sex, family, or the million other things to which we give our lives.

It is our hope and prayer that this rich combination of Bible interaction, provocative discussion, and stunning short films will introduce people to the One who made us to be restless until we find our rest in Him, writes Rico Tice.

Life Explored has been designed to speak powerfully to those who don't consider themselves to be religious and have never read the Bible. But it will also provoke good discussions among followers of Christ, too.

The Leader's Kit contains:
- a leader's handbook that's concise and user friendly
- a freshly-designed guest handbook
- a beautifully filmed DVD
- a code so that you can download the episodes to your laptop, tablet, or phone.

Life Explored is as flexible as you are. It's been designed to be used one-to-one, or with larger groups meeting in a bigger space together.

You can pre-order your kit from here: http://www.thegoodbook.co.uk/life-explored-leaders-kit- Materials will be shipped 3 days prior to the global launch on 1 September, 2016.

"It is our hope and prayer that this rich combination of Bible interaction, provocative discussion, and stunning short films will introduce people to the One who made us to be restless until we find our rest in Him," writes Tice.

*****

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