The Church of England, through its general synod, has adopted an anti-Christ plan to create "blessing" ceremonies for same-sex duos.
And the action may have created a rift within its congregations that won't be bridged.
Responding to the vote, the Most Rev. Dr. Justin Badi Arama, archbishop of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, said, "This disastrous decision creates the same serious consequences of differentiation and division as in other provinces and further fractures our beloved Anglican Communion."
A report from the Christian Institute pointed out bishops in the church are expressing their grief at the decision.
TRENDING: One media outlet inciting violence in 'Crusaders' lands
"Under previous proposals, the [same-sex] services would have been authorized under a two-year long process, which would have required a two-thirds majority in each of the General Synod’s three Houses. Instead, Synod backed a proposal to fast-track trial services. The amendment required a simple majority to pass and succeeded in the House of Laity by just one vote, the report said.
From the Anglican Network came a statement charging that the vote took the church "away from the life transforming grace and truth of the Lord Jesus Christ."
The bishops quoted Jeremiah, where he wrote, "Thus says the LORD: 'Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'"
They continued, "We grieve with those who have been dismayed and heartbroken by this betrayal in the abandonment of the sufficiency and supremacy of scripture which has until now been the bedrock and rule of the Church of England. We honor those who have courageously contended for orthodoxy… We especially feel the pain of those who continue to make costly stands for godliness and have been abandoned by those who were meant to shepherd and protect them."
The bishops, Andy Lines, Stuart Bell, Tim Davies, Ian Ferguson and Lee McMunn, bluntly warned that there are those in the church, both clergy and laity, "who cannot travel the road chosen…"
The Christian Institute report said the bishops "lamented" the fact that the vote "arrogantly rejects the authority of scripture, the historic teaching of the church from earliest times and the vast majority of Anglicans worldwide."
The report continued, "Following the Synod’s decision, the Church of England Evangelical Council has announced a series of temporary provisions to support orthodox evangelicals within the church. The 'Ephesian Fund' will allow congregations to financially support other churches that uphold biblical sexual ethics."
No comments:
Post a Comment