The Episcopalian denomination, like many Protestant denominations, has been in the throes of a battle with liberal elements who prize politically correct pop-culture doctrine over God's word. And as has happened in some other denominations, the liberals have gained control of the Episcopal denomination.
One of the most egregious abandonments of truth in the Episcopal Church has been the embrace of homosexuality. The Bible is very clear in both Old and New Testaments that God's design for the expression of human sexuality is between a man and a woman in marriage. The Bible is equally clear that God does not approve of homosexual behavior, as it is clearly a violation of that design.
Yet the Episcopal denomination has gone so far as to appoint the openly and militantly homosexual V. Gene Robinson as the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire.
The Episcopal Church is the American branch of the Anglican Church, with its roots in the Church of England. The worldwide body of Anglicans has for the last year or so struggled to maintain its allegiance to Biblical truth while avoiding a total split with the apostate American branch.
But now a split has happened. Those in the Episcopal Church who have more loyalty to the Bible than political correctness have announced the formation of a new denomination of conservative Episcopalians called the Anglican Church in North America.
The new denomination will include four Episcopal dioceses that recently split from the U.S. church, along with breakaway Anglican parishes from Canada.
From Fox News:
The announcement Wednesday in Wheaton, Ill., comes after decades of debate over what Episcopalians should believe about issues ranging from salvation to sexuality. Tensions erupted in 2003 when Episcopalians consecrated the first openly gay bishop.
It's sad that Bible-believing Episcopalians weren't able to regain control over the denomination. But at least honor has been restored to a segment of the Anglican presence in North America.
The apostate Episcopalians would do well to take a long, hard look at what their embrace of sin has wrought. Maybe if they take an honest look at their loyalties and repent soon, the Episcopalian denomination could be brought back together before too much time has passed.
But when such an advanced state of apostasy has transpired, repentance is against the odds, so I won't hold my breath.
Kudos, though, to the Episcopalians who have clearly declared where their loyalty lies: with God.
8 comments:
Good riddance to bad rubbish. If they want a Christian denomination devoted to hate (which actually isn't very Christian), that's their right. But I hope they won't be too surprised when their afterlife is a little warmer than they thought it would be.
Yes, good riddance to bad rubbish, the kind found in the leadership of the Episcopalian church. Such hatred for God's word and for God's institution of marriage is reprehensible.
Hopefully they will repent of their approval of homosexuality and contempt for God's design before it's too late and they hit that "warmer" place you mentioned...only it's going to be nasty hot there.
I was actually referring to the churches breaking off from the Episcopalians as the "bad rubbish."
So Christian churches dedicated to following the teachings of Christ are "bad rubbish."
Thanks for clarifying the state of your moral barometer, Tom.
Just a few observations
While I personally couldn't care less if I had an openly gay pastor, it's technically unbiblical to allow such a thing. Would Episcopalians allow an openly adulterous married man to lead their church? Or a known and unrepentant thief? I don't think so. Religious denominations have their established rules. No one ever said they were fair or nondiscriminatory - just ask a woman! - but that's the way they are.
But we do live in a country of religious freedom, which means that people can believe whatever the heck they want, no matter how ridiculous or unbiblical or patently false it is. Isn't any attempt to stifle or "correct" someone else's beliefs a violation of that freedom? Is it too much to ask that they can at least practice their beliefs without being given a weather forecast of their afterlife?
Out of curiosity Mr. Ellis, why do you never use the word "gay" on your blog?
It is incorrect to say that the splinter groups are 'the Bible believing Episcopalians.' They just interpret the Bible differently from the majority of Episcopalians.
Good points, Anonymous 11:15, on the comparisons to adulterers and thieves. It's also more than just technically unBiblical; it would be totally unBiblical to have an openly unrepentant homosexual member of a church, much less someone in a leadership position.
It is also true that we have the legal freedom in our country to ignore the Bible and both Christians and institutions are legally free to act in complete contradiction to the Bible if they dare.
However, attempting to correct another Christian's obvious and blatant violation of God's teachings is not in any way, shape, form or fashion a violation of their legal freedom. Neither I nor the newly formed Anglican Church in North America (or anyone remaining in the Episcopal Church) has the power to force the unBiblical to believe any differently than they want to, or even to act as they want to. But Christians do have a Biblical duty to confront sin and acceptance of sin, especially when it comes from someone who professes to be a Christian. We have a duty to hold one another accountable to God's standards, but we also have a duty to speak the truth to counter their error; God's credibility in the world is diminished when someone who claims to follow him teaches something clearly at odds with what God has said.
And that is clearly what the leadership in the Episcopal Church has been doing. They have openly embraced and even "blessed" homosexual behavior and homosexual unions. God also makes it clear that unrepentant sin will be judged, so no "weather forecasts" are involved regarding what will happen to them if they don't straighten up--weather can change, but God's judgment is certain.
I don't use the term "gay" because it is an inaccurate, politically-correct term which is used to avoid the reality of homosexual behavior.
The word "gay" used to mean "happy" before it was hijacked by homosexuals, and pretty much every homosexual I've ever met has too many personal issues to rightly be referred to as "happy", and medical research on the health risks and mental health typical in the homosexual community backs up that observation.
So "gay" misrepresents the emotional state of many if not most homosexuals, and it also attempts to sanitize the reality of homosexual behavior, which is immoral, unnatural, and unhealthy.
Robert, it is incorrect to imply the old pre-split Episcopal Church are "Bible believing Episcopalians" when they clearly reject what the Bible has to say about God's design for human sexuality, His condemnation of homosexual behavior, and the requirement for moral uprightness from church leadership. I'm sure there are some remaining within that body who do believe the Bible, but when the majority and/or leadership clearly do NOT believe what the Bible says about these things, and another group leaves the first group because the first group has rejected what the Bible says about these things, then it seems quite accurate to refer to the leaving group as "Bible believing Episcopalians."
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