Sunday 3 March 2013

"It is God's job to build her Church..."

Back from saying the office in Church this morning, and before the first mass of the day, I made the mistake of tuning in to the BBC's Sunday programme (why do I do it?)
One of the items was an "open letter" to the new Archbishop of Canterbury by a women cleric of the Church of England, Canon Rosie Harper, who appears to be, among other things, chaplain to the Bishop of Buckingham, a suffragan of the Bishop of Oxford. Just part of one sentence of her message will suffice: "It is God's job to build Her Church and She has called you to a specific role because of your particular gifts.." [here about 13 minutes 40 seconds in]
Now these kinds of expression may be commonplace in certain Anglican circles these days, but I have to confess (perhaps it was the early hour of the day) that I was profoundly shocked. No doubt that was the intention.
The thought struck me quite forcibly now at the time the Apostolic See of the West is vacant, that it is the wholesale abandonment of the apostolic tradition (and more) by Anglicans in the western world like Canon Harper and those who agree with her which will finally destroy any remaining prospect of meaningful ecumenical dialogue leading towards unity. 
Before anyone deigns to lecture me on the subject that all language about God is by way of analogy, I will say this: some language is consonant with the tradition, some language is not.
C.S. Lewis was right: this is a new religion - this is not the Christian faith. 
Women bishops are just a symptom. We will find ourselves in a brief generation part of a politically correct goddess cult. 
As someone has said to me today, 'Anglicanism will now embrace any doxy except orthodoxy' - I couldn't possibly comment.
Pray for us all.

3 comments:

  1. In her evidence to the Commons Committee on the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill:
    "..the decision to marry a gay couple to be a genuine matter of conscience for the clergy person concerned.."
    http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmpublic/marriage/memo/m32.htm
    Conscience, like the Holy Spirit, is a thing to be applied liberally, or ignored, according to circumstance!

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  2. ' ... any doxy except orthodoxy.'

    Well, at least the end our you post put a smile on my face :-)

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  3. Apparently in some places the 'doxies' are taking over the Orthos.
    Sorry, my bad, as they say.

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