VirtueOnline Digest, Vol 17, Issue 19

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=================================
VirtueOnline Weekly News Digest
http://www.VirtueOnline.org
=================================

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Today's Topics:

1. Table of Contents (David Virtue)
2. VIEWPOINTS: May 12, 2017 (David Virtue)
3. Heather Cook denied parole for failure to be contrite
(David Virtue)
4. Episcopal Presiding Bishop's Faux Jesus Movement Evangelistic
Crusades (David Virtue)
5. BINGHAMTON, NY: CANA Bishop Says No to Women Priests at
Diocesan Convention (David Virtue)
6. The Fictional World of Anglican Reconciliation: Truro and
Diocese of VA vs. Mid-Atlantic Diocese and ACNA (David Virtue)
7. GAFCON UK responds positively to Primates' Communique
(David Virtue)
8. Blueprint for Church schism revealed as conservative
Christian leaders plot separate Anglican structure (David Virtue)
9. Irish synod votes not to apologise and give public prayer for
gay couples (David Virtue)
10. Church of Ireland delegates defeat motion on public service
for same-sex couples (David Virtue)
11. UK: Jesmond curate's breakaway consecration surprises both
diocese and conservative Evangelicals (David Virtue)
12. Clergy accuse Archbishops of backing Tories in election
letter (David Virtue)
13. Archbishop Welby should check his facts before uttering
inanities (David Virtue)
14. THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE (David Virtue)
15. A manifesto for the persecuted church (David Virtue)
16. Rebutting the Transgender Myths: Walt Heyer (David Virtue)
17. Civilisation sleeps while a Christian Holocaust takes shape
(David Virtue)
18. Trump's Executive Order On Religious Liberty Is A Big
Disappointment (David Virtue)
19. "How on Earth do you forgive like this?" (David Virtue)
20. IRELAND: Some reflections on General Synod 2017 - Human
Sexuality Debate/Motion 12 (David Virtue)
21. FOR OUR REDEMPTION: The Scope of the Atonement (David Virtue)
22. 400 radical Muslims embrace Jesus as their Saviour in Nigeria
(David Virtue)
23. What Does Our Resurrection Body Look Like? - 1 Corinthians
15:35-49 (David Virtue)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:21:36 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Table of Contents
Message-ID:
<1494534096.4129900...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

VirtueOnline Weekly News Digest - Desktop & Mobile Edition
www.virtueonline.org
May 12, 2017


*************************************
VIEWPOINTS
*************************************

1. Rival Anglican Structure set up in UK * Heather Cook Denied Parole *
Church of Ireland votes no on Gay Marriage....
http://www.virtueonline.org/rival-anglican-structure-set-uk-heather-cook-denied-parole-church-ireland-votes-no-gay-marriage-no


*********************************************
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
*********************************************

2.Heather Cook denied parole for failure to be contrite
http://www.virtueonline.org/heather-cook-denied-parole-failure-be-contrite

3.Episcopal Presiding Bishop's Faux Jesus Movement Evangelistic Crusades
http://www.virtueonline.org/episcopal-presiding-bishops-faux-jesus-movement-evangelistic-crusades


************************************************
ANGLICAN NEWS IN NORTH AMERICA
************************************************

3.BINGHAMTON, NY: CANA Bishop Says No to Women Priests at Diocesan
Convention
http://www.virtueonline.org/binghamton-ny-cana-bishop-says-no-women-priests-diocesan-convention

4.The Fictional World of Anglican Reconciliation: Truro and Diocese of
Virginia vs. Mid-Atlantic Diocese and ACNA
http://www.virtueonline.org/fictional-world-anglican-reconciliation-truro-and-diocese-va-vs-mid-atlantic-diocese-and-acna


*********************************************
GLOBAL ANGLICAN NEWS
*********************************************

5.GAFCON UK responds positively to Primates' Communique
http://www.virtueonline.org/gafcon-uk-responds-positively-primates-communique

6.Blueprint for Church schism revealed as conservative Christian leaders
plot separate Anglican structure
http://www.virtueonline.org/blueprint-church-schism-revealed-conservative-christian-leaders-plot-separate-anglican-structure

7.Irish synod votes not to apologise and give public prayer for gay
couples
http://www.virtueonline.org/irish-synod-votes-not-apologise-and-give-public-prayer-gay-couples

8.UK: Jesmond curate's breakaway consecration surprises both diocese and
conservative evangelicals
http://www.virtueonline.org/uk-jesmond-curates-breakaway-consecration-surprises-both-diocese-and-conservative-evangelicals

9.Church of Ireland delegates defeat motion on public service for
same-sex couples
http://www.virtueonline.org/church-ireland-delegates-defeat-motion-public-service-same-sex-couples


*********************************************
CHURCH OF ENGLAND NEWS
*********************************************

10.Clergy accuse Archbishops of backing Tories in election letter
http://www.virtueonline.org/clergy-accuse-archbishops-backing-tories-election-letter

11.Archbishop Welby should check his facts before uttering inanities
http://www.virtueonline.org/archbishop-welby-should-check-his-facts-uttering-inanities


********************************
CULTURE WARS
********************************

12.THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE
http://www.virtueonline.org/truth-shall-set-you-free

13.A manifesto for the persecuted church
http://www.virtueonline.org/manifesto-persecuted-church

14.Rebutting the Transgender Myths: Walt Heyer
http://www.virtueonline.org/rebutting-transgender-myths-walt-heyer

15.Civilisation sleeps while a Christian Holocaust takes shape
http://www.virtueonline.org/civilisation-sleeps-while-christian-holocaust-takes-shape

16.Trump's Executive Order On Religious Liberty Is A Big Disappointment
http://www.virtueonline.org/trumps-executive-order-religious-liberty-big-disappointment


********************************
AS EYE SEE IT
********************************

17."How on Earth do you forgive like this?"
http://www.virtueonline.org/how-earth-do-you-forgive

18.IRELAND: Some reflections on General Synod 2017 - Human Sexuality
Debate/Motion
http://www.virtueonline.org/ireland-some-reflections-general-synod-2017-human-sexuality-debatemotion-12


*****************************************
THEOLOGY
*****************************************

19.FOR OUR REDEMPTION: The Scope of the Atonement
http://www.virtueonline.org/our-redemption-scope-atonement


*********************************************
REFORMATION AND RENEWAL
*********************************************

20. 400 Radical Muslims Embrace Jesus As Their Saviour In Nigeria
http://www.virtueonline.org/400-radical-muslims-embrace-jesus-their-saviour-nigeria


*********************************
DEVOTIONALS
*********************************

21.What Does Our Resurrection Body Look Like? - 1 Corinthians 15:35-49
http://www.virtueonline.org/what-does-our-resurrection-body-look-1-corinthians-1535-49


END



------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:22:30 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: VIEWPOINTS: May 12, 2017
Message-ID:
<1494534150.4130253...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

The church's twofold task. The vocation of the church is to be occupied
with God and with the world. God has constituted his church to be a
worshipping and witnessing community. --- John R. W Stott

One hallmark of a free and democratic nation is genuine diversity,
pluralism and the celebration of differences. A sure sign of a
totalitarian dictatorship is stifling uniformity, even coerced
conformity. Everyone must act and think the same way in the totalist
state. The ironic thing in all this is the ones who are the most
anti-democratic and anti-freedom today in the West are those who shout
the most about diversity. They in fact hate diversity and are working
overtime to smash all differences, especially when it comes to male and
female. --- Bill Muehlenberg

"The Religious Liberty Executive Order Is Meaningless. No Substantive
Protections for Conscience. A Betrayal. Ivanka And Jared Won. We Lost."
His reference to Trump's daughter, and son-in-law Jared Kushner,
followed news reports that they worked inside the White House to protect
LGBTQ cause. --- Robert P. George of Princeton University a vocal
Catholic and professor of jurisprudence

The prepared heart. There is no greater need for the preacher than that
he should know God. I care not about his lack of eloquence and artistry,
about his ill-constructed discourse or his poorly-enunciated message, if
only it is evident that God is a reality to him and that he has learned
to abide in Christ. The preparation of the heart is of far greater
importance than the preparation of the sermon. The preacher's words,
however clear and forceful, will not ring true unless he speaks from
conviction born of experience. --- John R.W. Stott

Dear Brothers and Sisters
www.virtueonline.org
May 12, 2017

RECONCILIATION talk by the Archbishop of Canterbury and other leftist
Anglican provinces took another body blow this week when a news story
hit cyber space that a blueprint for schism seen by Christian Today
revealed extensive plans by conservative evangelicals to form a rival
Anglican structure to the Church of England in the UK.

The proposals, born out of concerns about liberal teachings on
homosexuality, include suggestions for a new synod, new liturgy, an
appointments system for new bishops, new church canons and new
statements of belief.

First mooted at ReNew, a conference of traditionalist church leaders
last autumn, the 15-page discussion document outlines how the new
faction could take shape and establish credibility as an alternative
Anglican church.

'Widespread credible bishops serving conservative evangelicals here in
England today seems an unlikely dream,' the document notes before going
on to outline how traditionalists concerned about a liberal drift on
issues like sexuality, could appoint their own bishops.

Entitled Credible Bishops, the document defends the role of bishops to
ordain 'biblically faithful' church leaders and says this is not always
possible within the CofE.

It goes on to outline plans 'to consider irregular ordination' and
'irregular options for oversight' outside the CofE for conservative
churches.

This comes in the wake of the Rev Jonathan Pryke, senior minister of
Jesmond Parish Church, who was consecrated by bishops from the Reformed
Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa (REACH-SA) at a service in
Newcastle earlier this month. This was done without the authority of the
Church of England.

Pryke, 57, was ordained as a 'bishop in the Church of God', a statement
from his church confirmed, and will now oversee the ordination and
planting of new Anglican churches who hold to a Biblical view of
homosexual behavior.

Pryke will spend 80 per cent of his time working in the Jesmond parish
and 20 per cent 'helping establish new churches', the church said in a
statement.

Despite insisting Jesmond does not want to see bishops 'parachuted in'
to form a new 'orthodox church' or 'province', the move will be seen as
forming a parallel Church of England -- an official one overseen by the
Archbishop of Canterbury and another unofficial one, overseen by
conservative bishops.

The statement said Pryke sees his role as 'helping English people have
the courage to take responsibility for reforming the Church of England
to be in line with' traditional Anglican teaching, as well as to
evangelize and to see growth'.

The consecration seemed to take GAFCON-UK and AMiE by surprise.

The AMiE issued a statement celebrating the decision of GAFCON to plant
bishops of their own on English soil. The AMiE Executive Committee
recently requested that the GAFCON Primates support the consecration of
a Missionary Bishop. They were overjoyed when they agreed to do this for
the sake of gospel growth.

"We can confirm that the consecration of the Revd Jonathan Pryke was a
gospel decision taken independently of AMiE. His consecration was never
discussed at our Executive meetings," said an AMiE leader.

Now what all this says is that Archbishop Justin Welby's attempts at
global reconciliation are falling flat and that he cannot even contain
ecclesial forces on his own home turf from imploding. One wonders what
conversations are going on between Welby, Canon Porter, Bishop Graham
Kings, and Bishop Fearon of the AAC. Perhaps a lot of sound and fury
signifying they are helpless to stop the orthodox train coming down the
tracks that will roll right over them. You can read a number of stories
about all this in today's digest.

*****

Heather Cook, the former Bishop of Maryland, was denied parole this
week. A spokesman for the parole board said, in rejecting her appeal,
that Cook lacked remorse, showed no contrition and did not take
responsibility for her actions. The rationale from two commissioners was
that this was the second alcohol related case (and Presiding Bishop
Jefferts Schori knew about Cook's drinking and said nothing, no doubt
because she was a woman, and her boss was black) and God forbid that we
should allow anybody with real skills to get the position

The commissioners said she went back to drinking and driving, and after
hitting and killing the cyclist, she left the scene of the accident with
the cyclist's helmet jammed into her windshield. Furthermore, she did
not call 911, but made two calls to her boyfriend (a relationship that
was never questioned by the search committee) and that she lacked
remorse and failed to apologize to the victim. She was definitely not
worthy of discretionary early release. Their decision is unanimous and
not appealable. She will do the full seven years till 2020 and then be
on probation after that.

Cook, once the second-highest-ranking Episcopal leader in Maryland,
struck and killed 41-year-old cyclist Tom Palermo on Dec. 27, 2014. She
left the scene for 30 minutes before returning, and her blood alcohol
level was 0.22 -- far higher than Maryland's legal limit of 0.08.

You have to ask yourself how it is that TEC is not just picking from the
bottom of the barrel, but actually scraping it for bishops like Cook.
And what of her relationship with the former Connecticut TEC priest who
got dumped, briefly joined the ACNA, then somehow got back into a TEC
parish in the Diocese of Easton! Can we now assume that both
fornication, and homosexuality are thoroughly acceptable, but adultery
is now the only remaining sexual sin?

*****

The Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop has been conducting his Jesus
Movement evangelistic crusades, and he has held two to date -- one in
Pittsburgh the other in Western Missouri. There were no recorded
conversion statistics, but we will bring them to you if they ever
emerge.

Michael Curry announced his Jesus Movement agenda at his first press
conference at the last General Convention in Utah, with much fanfare and
he has been pushing his understanding of evangelism ever since.

But this is not the evangelism of Billy Graham, Jonathan Edwards or
well-known Anglican evangelist Michael Green. You can read my full take
on this in today's digest.

*****

The Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Delaware has
announced a slate of five nominees to stand for election as the 11th
bishop of the diocese. One of them will succeed the Rt. Rev. Wayne
Wright, who retired in February.

The five nominees are:
The Rt. Rev. Laura J. Ahrens, bishop suffragan, Diocese of Connecticut;
The Very Rev. Michael Battle, Herbert Thompson Professorial Chair of
Church and Society and director of the Desmond Tutu Center at The
General Theological Seminary, New York, New York;
The Rev. Kevin S. Brown, rector, Episcopal Church of the Holy Comforter,
Charlotte, North Carolina;
The Rev. Patricia S. Downing, rector, Trinity and Old Swedes Parish,
Wilmington, Delaware; and
The Rev. Scott A. Gunn, executive director, Forward Movement,
Cincinnati, Ohio.

Some of these candidates are old and tired Episcopal war horses from
liberal dioceses, looking for a final fling at a miter before retiring
into anonymity with a good pension.

The winner will face a diocese in steep decline. In 2005, the diocese
had 11,981 baptized members; by 2015, that number had dropped to about
9,000 a total loss of 25.4%. In 2005, the ASA was 4,200; by 2015, it had
dropped to bellows 3,422, a drop of 28%. While plate and pledge had held
steady at about $6.4 million, the diocese was still forced to close and
sell the cathedral under Bishop Wayne P. Wright's tenure.

There are only 33 congregations in the diocese which had 101
confirmations last year, received 50, but had 194 burials.

The real kicker is the age of active priests. It is 65 with nearly 60%
over the age of 65. Some 28 of the priests includes interim, full?and
part?time and non?stipendiary priests serving as rectors, deans, vicars,
curates, assistants, associates or pastors and does not include supply
priests or retired assisting priests or emeritus priests. The diocese
has 17 women priests, but most are not full time.

What this says is that within five years, there will be massive
retirements with no replacements because the seminaries are not churning
out enough parish priests, and most parishes cannot afford a full-time
priest who may still have seminary debts. This may not be such a
glorious appointment.

*****

Irish Anglicans still have cojones apparently. A recent Church of
Ireland General Synod voted not to apologize and give public prayer for
gay couples, who didn't receive support when celebrating their marriage.
And, as you can imagine, the push back was fierce with charges of
homophobia and hate floating all over the Internet.

A motion at its recent meeting asked the synod to "acknowledge the
injury felt by members of the Church who enter into loving, committed
and legally-recognized, same-sex relationships, due to the absence of
provision for them to mark that key moment in their lives publicly and
prayerfully in Church."

The second part of the motion requested "the House of Bishops to
investigate a means to develop sensitive, local pastoral arrangements
for public prayer and thanksgiving with same-sex couples at these key
moments in their lives, and to present their ideas to General Synod
2018, with a view to making proposals at General Synod 2019."

When Dr. Leo Kilroy proposed the motion, he spoke of the chance to bring
unity to the church. "Advances in civic society in recent years have
seen LGBT people achieve many rights and legal protections, including,
frameworks for legal union. But many lesbian and gay people continue
feel gravely hurt by the Church," he said.

"They have been injured by the lack of compassion shown by some, who
cling to a small number of disparate and disputed verses that exist in
pockets of the Bible, and claim a divine rejection of gay people.

"This motion is not asking for marriage in the Church. I understand that
many of you hold the Church's definition of marriage dearly.

"This motion is careful to protect Canon 31. It is simply calling for
permission to develop ways to publicly and pastorally support and
celebrate lesbian and gay people at important times in their lives."

Those who opposed the motion described it as impossible because it would
bring division in the church and would discriminate against those who
experience same-sex attraction, but don't act on it.

They also said the motion was against Canon 31, which upholds
traditional teachings on marriage in the Church of Ireland.

You can read Dr. Alan McCann's analysis here, or in today's digest.
http://tinyurl.com/jwqaaq4

Here is a sample: "The Church of Ireland is in for a very turbulent time
and there is no sign that the storm will abate any time soon. In fact,
the very opposite is true. The liberal revisionists are emboldened by
the closeness of the vote. Orthodox Anglicans within the Church of
Ireland cannot rest at all as the vote showed there is no 'middle
ground' on this issue in the Church of Ireland. General Synod 2017 will,
I fear, come to be seen as a watershed, especially when compared to the
overwhelming vote in 2012 which restated, and which is still our
official position, that marriage is between one man and one women. The
orthodox can no longer remain silent and we desperately need a clearer
lead from the orthodox bishops or we need to start to look elsewhere,
and I suggest GAFCON, for that leadership."

*****

A compromise attempt by ACNA priest, Tory Baucum of Truro Anglican
Church, VA, and TEC Virginia Bishop, Shannon Johnston, to reach an
agreement through something called Peace and Reconciliation with
Mid-Atlantic Anglican Bishop John Guernsey, is nothing more than a
dagger pointed at the heart of the ACNA.

If it should succeed, it will make a mockery of the very existence of
the ACNA, which fought a long and bitter spiritual and property battle
involving millions of dollars, tens of thousands of former
Episcopalians, hundreds of priests and dozens of bishops. It will say to
the Anglican world that breaking away from TEC was wrong and it can all
now be patched up with a new-fangled peace and reconciliation agreement.

As part of the P & R, it stipulates that from now on, while Bishop John
Guernsey has access to the congregation, ACNA Archbishop Foley Beach
must obtain permission of TEC Virginia Bishop, Shannon Johnston, to
officiate at Truro Anglican Church. That is not going to happen Beach
told VOL. But Guernsey must act and act quickly to discipline Baucum, or
it will all explode in the ACNA's face. There can be no compromise or
third way here. Too much water has flowed under the bridge; too many
lives and ministries wrecked, millions spent on lawsuits, too many
priests inhibited and deposed and pensions shortchanged. The lack of
church discipline lies at the heart of the issue. We await with
anticipation what Bishop Guernsey will do.

*****

In Binghamton, New York, this past week, the Bishop of the Missionary
Diocese of CANA East told some 250 delegates to his Synod 2017 that he
will never ordain a woman to the priesthood, based on his
complementarian views regarding ordination.

"I believe that the concept of male-female complementarity can be seen
from Genesis through Revelation, and describes someone who ascribes to
the historic, biblical position that male and female are equal but
different," said Bishop Julian Dobbs.

He said the bishops of the Anglican Church in North America are still
wrestling with Scripture regarding Holy Orders and women in the
presbyterate, but his diocese, which is also linked jurisdictionally
with the Anglican Province of Nigeria, will only recognize women as
vocational deacons.

"Let me tell you what complementarianism does not mean:
It does not mean that women are inferior to men
It does not mean that women are prohibited from ministry in the local
church
It does not mean that women must never teach the Bible
It does not mean that men are to bark orders at women like a sergeant on
a parade ground."

"Complementarianism does mean that the extraordinary gifts and ministry
of women must be called forth, commissioned and valued in this diocese
and in each of our 36 congregations, but not as ordained presbyters. I
believe complementarianism is the most accurate and simple reading of
the Bible surrounding this issue," he said.

Dobbs noted that the Reformers went to the flames for their faithfulness
to the gospel, and today many Christians are being slaughtered in
countries like Nigeria. "More people have been killed by the Islamic
terrorist terror regime Boko Haran than died in the entire Ebola
epidemic."

He said the Anglican Diocese of Kafanchan in Nigeria has been subjected
to numerous horrific outbreaks of religious violence and acts of
terrorism. "Many hundreds of Christians have been killed, numerous
churches, associated buildings and Christian businesses have been
destroyed."

Featured guest speaker, ACNA Archbishop Foley Beach, told the assembled
delegates that the Anglican Church in North America is thriving, while
The Episcopal Church can no longer be considered "true Anglicanism."

Archbishop Beach said the ACNA was adding one new parish every week in
North America. The ACNA now has over 1,000 churches, 1,700 clergy, over
110,000 members, 30 dioceses and 51 bishops, he said. The recent
addition of the Diocese of South Carolina, now the largest diocese in
ACNA, gave the province a tremendous moral and psychological boost.

On his outlook for the future of the ACNA, Beach said he was witnessing
"creative ministries reaching invisible peoples. I have seen a healing
clinic outside a prison as well as the planting of a parish outside a
college campus."

The ACNA is clearly on an upswing with well over 100,00 active members.
By contrast, the Episcopal Church can boast only 600,411 average Sunday
attendance (ASA). The two churches are going in exactly opposite
directions.

Beach said that while the Archbishop of Canterbury did not recognize the
ACNA, its orders are recognized by the Church of England and therefore
historically valid. "We are in the midst of a reformation and it is
going to be messy for a while," he said.

*****

Beeson Divinity School announces new Anglican Intensives program.
Beginning in September 2017, the Institute of Anglican Studies at Beeson
Divinity School will offer a new program, "Anglican Intensives." This
program is designed for those who have already completed a master of
divinity or equivalent in a non-Anglican denomination and who now desire
to study Anglican theology and ministry.

"After we announced that Beeson's Institute for Anglican Studies was
accepted officially by the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) as a
place for training of future Anglican ministers within ACNA, we received
requests from people around the country who wanted to pursue various
levels of ordination within the Anglican Communion," said Gerald
McDermott, Anglican chair of divinity and director of the Anglican
institute. "They wanted to know where they could get their Anglican
training post-M.Div. So this is why we have started the Anglican
Intensives program: to teach Anglican theology and ministry to those who
are wanting to become Anglican priests and deacons."

Anglican Intensives is a two-year, noncredit program that will be
comprised of a directed study and two week-long on-campus residencies,
the first in May 2018. Those who complete the program will receive a
certificate. Cost for the program is $1,200/year plus travel, lodging,
and book expenses.

To request an application form or for other questions, contact Gerald
McDermott at gmcd...@samford.edu. Applications for the 2017-18 academic
year are due July 1, 2017.
For more information, please contact Kristen Padilla, Marketing and
Communications Coordinator at Beeson Divinity School, at
kpad...@samford.edu or 205-726-2398.

Beeson Divinity School of Samford University is an evangelical,
interdenominational, theological school, whose mission is to train
ministers of the gospel. For more information about Beeson Divinity,
visit www.beesondivinity.com.

*****

Islamic groups in Nigeria are copying Pentecostal worship style to stop
Muslims going to church and converting, Agence France Presse (AFP)
reported.

This appears to be the new battle cry by Muslim groups in Nigeria to try
and arrest the decline of their membership due to the success of
evangelical leaders in drawing people--even Muslims--to Christian
churches.

There used to be more Muslims than Christians in Nigeria. According to
the Pew Research Center, in 1953, 45.3 percent of Nigeria's population
was Muslim and only 21.4 percent Christian, with 33.3 percent belonging
to other religions.

But as of 2010, Nigeria has a population of 80.5 million Christians and
75.7 million Muslims, according to Pew data.

Nigeria now has the largest Christian population in Africa, which
includes nearly 60 million Protestants, about 20 million Catholics and
more than 750,000 other Christians.

Pew noted that all major Christian groups have grown in Nigeria since
the 1970s, with the biggest growth witnessed in Pentecostal churches.

Vibrant worship in churches is said to be one of the major reasons for
the massive success of Pentecostal Christianity in Nigeria.

*****

Conservative groups have mixed feelings about President Trump's
religious liberty executive order. Some claim socially liberal "Ivanka
and Jared won" because it's weaker than the original leaked draft, and
others have praised the order as a historic step in the right direction.

The left-wing American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says the order
doesn't contain much they need to worry about. The "executive order
signing was an elaborate photo-op with no discernible policy outcome,"
ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said in a statement.

"The directive to federal agencies to explore religious-based exceptions
to healthcare does cue up a potential future battle, but as of now, the
status quo has not changed," said Romero. "What President Trump did ...
was merely provide a faux sop to religious conservatives and kick the
can down the road on religious exemptions on reproductive healthcare
services."

The executive order, which is on "Promoting Free Speech and Religious
Liberty," grants churches more freedom to speak about political issues
and elections. It also tells federal agencies like the Department of
Health and Human Services to "consider issuing amended regulations,
consistent with applicable law, to address conscience-based objections
to the preventive-care mandate" that requires religious employers like
the Little Sisters of the Poor, to participate in the provision of
contraceptives.

Some Little Sisters of the Poor were present at the signing of the
executive order, as was Washington Cardinal, Donald Wuerl. The Little
Sisters of the Poor expressed hope that this may be the beginning of the
end of the government persecution they began to face under President
Obama.

"Today's action by the government confirms that the government never
needed to create this false conflict between women and religion," Sister
Loraine Marie Claire Maguire, Mother Provincial of the Little Sisters of
the Poor, said Thursday. "The government never needed the Little Sisters
of the Poor to provide these services. We are grateful for this positive
step. We Little Sisters look forward to the government finally ending
its unnecessary conflict so we can return our full attention to serving
the neediest in our society."

*****

New Sudanese Archbishop. The Archbishop of the Internal Province of
Sudan and Bishop of Khartoum, the Most Rev. Ezekiel Kumir Kondo, has
been appointed as the Primate of the newly created separate Province of
Sudan. The Anglican Communion announced the creation of the new Province
earlier this year and the Archbishop of Canterbury will travel to the
region for the inauguration at the end of July.

Speaking when the new Province was confirmed, Archbishop Kondo expressed
joy at the news: "I would like to say that the Christians and the entire
people of Sudan. The New Province of Sudan, will be the 39th province in
the Communion, which represents 39 Articles of faith of the Anglican
Church and the 39 books of the OT! It is my prayer and hope that the
occasion will strengthen the church in Sudan for God's glory and
extension of His Kingdom."

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011, which left the
Primate of Sudan and South Sudan, Archbishop Daniel Deng, with the
challenge of overseeing two countries. The four and a half million
members of the Episcopal Church are based mainly in South Sudan. In
2016, a formal application was made by the Primate to the Anglican
Consultative Council (ACC), for the internal province of Sudan to be
granted autonomy; in July 2016, a team led by the Secretary General,
visited the country on a fact-finding trip. Subjects that were reviewed
included staff numbers, financial viability and mission focus, as well
as the numbers of lay workers.

*****

There's an important new pro-family resource available on the health
hazards of homosexuality.

For the last twenty years, there's been a fatal gap in the "culture
wars" battles. Virtually nobody in the pro-family movement has been
willing (or able) to confront the medical and psychological health
problems surrounding LGBT behavior. In years of battles over "gay" clubs
in schools, draconian anti-discrimination mandates, the "gay marriage"
crusade, and now with the transgender agenda, the obvious truth has
simply been ignored -- and countless people have needlessly suffered.

Topics include:
*Why homosexuality is a public health issue, and not just a private
issue
* The politicized medical and mental health establishments
* The "born gay" myth: homosexuality is not innate
* How many identify as "gay", lesbian, or bisexual
* The mental health issues: depression, anxiety, suicidality, substance
use, partner abuse, and BDSM (bondage/sexual sadomasochism)
* The self-harming lifestyles and sexual practices of homosexual men and
lesbians
* The disproportionate disease incidence among "gays", lesbians, and
bisexuals
* Why homosexuals have shortened lifespans, chronic conditions, lower
quality of life
* How HIV/AIDS is re-emerging as an epidemic among homosexual men
* The "safer sex" lie and other mixed messages from the medical
establishment
* How the CDC is spreading false optimism on HIV drug treatments
* Bisexuals have the highest incidence of pathologies
* How lesbians and heterosexuals are imitating unsafe homosexual male
practices
* The psychological and medical issues of transgenderism
* Child abuse: interventions supporting "transgender" identities in
youth

This was the reason for compiling this new book:
The Health Hazards of Homosexuality: What the Medical and Psychological
Research Reveals
http://www.healthhazardsofhomosexuality.info/

*****

We are seeing a modest pickup in donations to VOL, but we are still way
behind where we ought to be. Please consider throwing a few bucks our
way to keep it all coming. Is it too much to ask the thousands of you
who come weekly to VOL's website or read these weekly digests to help
keep it flowing? We are not a charity, but we do offer you a charitable
deduction. We work hard to keep these massive digests coming weekly into
your e-mail.

Become a supporter. Please make a contribution. It is tax-deductible.
You can send your donation to VOL via PAYPAL at the link here:
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Or you can send a snail mail check to:

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We really could really use some financial support. Thank you.

David



------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:22:46 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Heather Cook denied parole for failure to be contrite
Message-ID:
<1494534166.4130831...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Heather Cook denied parole for failure to be contrite
Former bishop's only chance for parole slips through her fingers

By Mary Ann Mueller
VOL Special Correspondent
www.virtueonline.org
May 10, 2017

JESSUP, MARYLAND -- Former Episcopal Bishop Heather Cook's plea for
leniency fell on deaf ears Tuesday morning (May 9) when the Maryland
Parole Commission turned thumbs down on her request for early release
from the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women.

Cook, who is serving seven years behind bars for the December 27, 2014,
drunken hit and run accident which claimed the life of 41-year-old
Thomas Palermo, had hoped to be able to serve the rest of her imposed
sentence at home while on supervised parole. Maryland automatically
provides the opportunity for non-violent inmates to appear for a
one-time-only early release parole hearing after serving one quarter of
their original sentence. Maryland does not list vehicular manslaughter
as a violent crime.

In Cook's case, a seven-year sentence translates into 84 months. A
quarter of that is 21 months. She started her sentence in late October
2015, so July 2017 will be her 21st month behind bars.

However, Cook's open parole hearing did not go as she had hoped. Within
short order she learned that her request has been categorically denied
and she would have to spend at least another two or more years in the
Jessup women's prison before she would be released on a mandatory parole
to finish out her sentence under close parole supervision until October,
2023. The she faces another five years of probation.

Initially, Cook could have received upwards to 39 years in prison for
the drunken fatal hit and run accident. The Baltimore City State's
Attorney, Marilyn Mosby, wanted to make an example of the Episcopal
bishop suffragan.

On Jan. 9, 2015, one day after she was sworn in as the new state's
attorney, Mosby levied various charges against Cook including: vehicular
manslaughter, criminal negligent manslaughter, driving under the
influence resulting in a homicide, use of a text-messaging device while
driving, resulting in an accident, duty of the driver to remain at an
accident resulting in death, duty of the driver to remain at the scene
of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury, duty of the driver to
remain at an accident resulting in death, duty of the driver to remain
at the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury, and
driving under the influence of alcohol.

"This is a very tragic incident and I think that this is evident that we
are going to apply justice fairly and equality to everybody across the
board," Mosby said as she announced Cook's traffic and criminal charges
at a Jan. 9 press conference. "We are going to pursue justice and we
will treat Miss Heather Cook the same way we would anyone else ... no
one is above the law."

Eventually, through a plea bargain, the charges were whittled down to
four to which Cook admitted her guilt, including: automobile
manslaughter, leaving the scene of a fatal accident, driving while
intoxicated, and texting while driving. As a result, she was given 20
years behind bars, but 13 years of that sentence was suspended, leaving
seven years to be served -- five years for causing Palermo's death and
two years for leaving the scene of an accident. She also faces five
years of probation following the completion of her prison sentence.

Once Cook's case came to court in October, 2015, it was handled by
Assistant Baltimore City State's Attorney, Kurt Bjorklund, because
Mosley was caught up with the details of dealing with the explosive case
involving Freddie Gray, a young black man who died while in police
custody.

By noon on Tuesday, the denied parole story was breaking and disgraced
former bishop Heather Cook again became the subject of headlines and
sound bites.

"Heather Cook at her parole hearing: No remorse, no apology" (Baltimore
Brew); "Heather Cook, Drunk Driving Bishop Who Killed Cyclist, Denied
Parole" (NewsMax); "Bishop Who Killed Cyclist While Driving Drunk to
Remain in Prison" & "Group Opposes Parole for Ex-Bishop Who Killed
Cyclist" (WRC-TV 4); "Commission has denied Heather Cook parole"
(Episcopal Cafe); "No Parole For Bishop Who Killed Cyclist" (Patch);
"Former Baltimore Bishop Who Killed Cyclist Denied Early Release"
(WJZ-TV 13); "Former Bishop Denied Parole In Deadly Hit-And-Run" &
"Parole denied for Heather Cook" WBAL); and "Early parole rejected for
former Bishop Heather Cook" (Baltimore Sun).

Also: "Parole chairman: Former bishop called fatal crash a 'brutal
irony,' lacked remorse" (FOX Five News); "Driving drunk: Bishop who
killed cyclist is denied parole" (Associated Press); "Eligible for
parole after 18 months in prison: The builder, the bishop, and a most
violent crime" (Cycling Tips); "Opponents Line Up Against Parole for
Episcopal Bishop" (Delmarva Public Radio); "Former bishop convicted of
automobile manslaughter denied parole" (Episcopal News Service); "No
Parole for Heather Cook" (The Living Church); and "Former top female
Episcopal bishop who killed cyclist while drunk driving and texting two
days after Christmas is denied parole" (London Daily Mail).

However, this time the headlines swirling around Heather Cook will be
rather short lived. Within hours, the news which pushes her story off
the front page was that President Donald Trump has axed FBI Director
James Comey.

Cook's parole hearing was less than two hours long. Afterward it did not
take much time for the parole commissioners to reject the former
bishop's appeal for early release. Following the decision, Maryland
Parole Commission Chairman, David Blumberg, met with reporters on the
lawn outside of the large women's prison.

Heather Cook is incarcerated in the Maryland Correctional Institute for
Women. It is the only state prison for women in the state. It houses 800
women whose offenses range from white collar crime to murder. Some
women, who were jailed in their early 20s, are serving life sentences
without the possibility of parole. Even though it is a women's prison,
it can be a frightening, dangerous place.

"Today the Maryland Parole Commission refused outright Heather Cook's
parole ..." Blumberg said beneath a clear blue spring sky.

Blumberg, who was wearing a colorful lavender suit coat, with matching
shirt and tie, was standing against a backdrop of gray prison gates and
fences topped with shiny silver razor wire.

"... Meaning she will have to serve her sentence until her mandatory
release date," the head of the Parole Commission explained.

The Baltimore cycling community was not happy that Cook came up for
parole.
Now a white "ghost" bike is attached to a light pole at the 5700 block
of Roland Avenue in Baltimore as a silent reminder of where Thomas
Palermo was hit while riding his bicycle on a sunny post Christmas
Saturday morning in 2014.

Blumberg explained that the parole commissioners' rationale was that the
former bishop left the scene of the accident even after the bicyclist's
helmet was imbedded in her shattered windshield. Instead, she returned
home where she made two calls -- one to her "co-worker" Diocese of
Maryland's Canon to the Ordinary, Scott Slater, and another to her "boy
friend" presumably former Episcopal priest, Mark Hansen -- but made no
calls to 911 seeking help for the dying biker from emergency personnel.

During her sentencing court appearance, Baltimore City Prosecutor
Bjorklund noted that she also brought her dog home.

"She made sure her dog was okay, but she didn't care about another
human," Bjorklund said at the sentencing on Oct. 27, 2015.

Blumberg also mentioned that Cook has an earlier drunk driving
conviction in Caroline County, Maryland, and that she did not learn any
lesson from that previous experience.

"This was her second alcohol related case," he explained. "The first
time (September, 2010) as soon as she went off the interlock device, she
went back to drinking."

Cutting to the crux of the Commission's denial, Blumberg said: "During
the hearing she did not accept responsibility. She lacked remorse. She
called it a 'brutal irony', and she did not apologize to the victim
(family) at any time."

She spoke about herself ... Her recollection of the accident ...Her
family ...Her issues ... Her needs ... Her treatments ...Her disease ...

Palermo's widow, Rachel, attended the open parole hearing, but remained
mute. The last time she saw Heather Cook was at the sentencing hearing.

At that time, Cook said in a statement: "I'm so sorry for the pain and
agony I have caused. This is my fault. I accept complete responsibility.
I wish there was something I could do or say to make things better. I
have often felt that I did not deserve to be alive."

"I believe the only thing for which you are sorry is getting caught,"
replied the victim's mother, Patricia Palermo.

"Today is really about Tom," the victim's widow -- the mother of his two
young children -- said at Tuesday's news conference. "I ask this: if you
still talk on your phone or text while driving, please put your phone
down. If you plan to go out and drink, please set up a ride before you
go. I want you to think of a six and an eight-year-old who wish their
Dad was still here. I want you to think of me and my pain. I want you to
think of Tom's parents and their loss. And I want you to think of your
own loved ones."

Blumberg also mentioned that Cook avoided answering some of the
commissioners' questions. As a result -- taking all the factors into
account, including "the nature and circumstances of the offense" -- the
commissioners' short deliberation resulting in their unanimous decision
that Heather Cook "was not worthy of a discretionary early release."

The parole commission is victim oriented as its website explains: "The
Maryland Parole Commission is charged with determining on a case-by-case
basis whether inmates serving sentences of six months or more in state
or local facilities are suitable for release into the community under
certain conditions or supervision by the Division of Parole and
Probation. The commission holds open parole hearings and has a strong
commitment to victim rights."

The parole commission's ruling is final with no other recourse
available. Cook will have to serve more than four years of her
seven-year sentence before her mandatory parole date comes up.

"This is something that is not appealable," Blumberg explained. "So
there is no court recourse for Miss Cook in this case."

Not only is the decision not appealable, Tuesday's hearing was Cook's
one and only opportunity to seek an early release. There will not be
another parole hearing held until she is released at her mandatory
release date which is tentatively set for March 23, 2020. But with time
off for good behavior, she could be released sometime in 2019, at which
point she would be 62.

However, her exact release date, is still to determined, in part, by a
complex formula involving time shaved off the sentence for good conduct
which is like a secular system of indulgences, where an inmate can
receive up to 20 days a month off for all around good behavior while in
prison and participating in educational classes, work programs as well
as special projects.

Many states allow prisoners to be released to early parole to help with
prison overcrowding. The United States Department of Justice's Bureau of
Justice Statistics says that 95% of all state prisoners are eventually
released and are not serving life sentences. And 80% are released to
parole before serving out their complete prison sentences. However,
discretionary parole is used less often than mandatory parole.

The Justice Policy Institute has determined that it takes Maryland more
than $33,000 a year to house, feed and guard an incarcerated prisoner,
where a mandatory or discretionary parolee only costs the state less
than $1,500 for a year's worth of supervision and paperwork.

Heather Cook has now served more time behind bars (18 months) than she
did as an Episcopal bishop (seven months). When she was consecrated in
2014 as the bishop suffragan for the Diocese of Maryland, she was the
21st woman bishop in The Episcopal Church. Since then, four others have
joined the stable of female bishops including: Audrey Scanlan (XI
Central Pennsylvania); DeDe Duncan-Probe (XI Central New York); Gretchen
Rehberg (XI Spokane); and most recently, Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows (
XI Indianapolis). In Texas, Jennifer Brooke-Davidson is slated to join
the Episcopal House of Bishops in July as bishop suffragan in the
Diocese of West Texas and Bishop Laura J. Ahrens (Bishop Suffragan -
Connecticut) has thrown her mitre in the ring, seeking to become the XI
Bishop of Delaware.

Cook's spot in the Diocese of Maryland was taken by Bishop Chilton
Knudsen (formerly the VIII Bishop of Maine), who became the assistant
bishop -- not bishop suffragan -- of Maryland.

The Diocese of Maryland has not issued a statement following Heather
Cook's parole hearing.

Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular
contributor to VirtueOnline



------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:23:00 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Episcopal Presiding Bishop's Faux Jesus Movement Evangelistic
Crusades
Message-ID:
<1494534180.4130874...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Episcopal Presiding Bishop's Faux Jesus Movement Evangelistic Crusades

By David W. Virtue, DD
www.virtueonline.org
May 9, 2017

When the new presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, Michael Curry,
announced his Jesus Movement agenda at his first press conference at the
last General Convention in Utah, his predecessor, Katharine Jefferts
Schori, looked bewildered. She had spent nine years pushing a
revisionist agenda that had taken the Church a thousand miles away from
Christ, spent millions of dollars fighting for properties and watched as
TEC publicly shrank before her eyes. She further declared that a
personal relationship with Jesus was a Western heresy likened to "work"
rather than the free grace of God and said Jesus was not the only way to
salvation.

Bishop Curry rode in on a horse called the Jesus Movement, and, with
much fanfare, announced a new day had dawned for the Episcopal Church.

It would no longer just be about social issues, but cultural issues
together with a schmeer of 'come-to-Jesus' evangelism that includes lots
of talk about racism, white privilege, love and social involvement that
would hopefully bring the masses back through TEC's red doors.

To date, Curry has held two "evangelistic" style crusades -- one in
Pittsburgh, the other in western Missouri. Both were accompanied by much
hype, hope and hallelujah.

In Pittsburgh, the good news was centered on reconciliation, crossing
racial and geographic boundaries, praying together and healing broken
communities. The gatherings tailored for that work took place in two
Episcopal churches in Pittsburgh and one in McKeesport and at Pittsburgh
Theological Seminary.

By any reading, Curry's understanding of evangelism falls far short of
authentic Biblical evangelism and no one apparently came forward because
there was no altar call and no mention of who Jesus is and what He came
into the world to do and die for, but everybody was made to feel better
about themselves, which is the exact opposite of evangelism's purpose.

(In the interests of full disclosure,) many decades ago, I worked as the
assistant pastor of a large Black Baptist church in Montclair, NJ. The
pastor was the Rev. Dr. Marvin A. McMickle, who later went on to pastor
a 4,000-member church in Shaker Heights, Ohio. He is now the president
of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School. He taught preaching at
Princeton seminary for a number of years, and if you ever heard him
preach, you would know why.

Unlike Curry, McMickle had a clear fix on the gospel, while being
socially relevant. Almost every Sunday he would preach strong biblically
based sermons ending with an altar call, urging his people to repent of
their sins, give their lives to Christ and follow him till they died.

Like most Black preachers, he did not dodge relevant social issues, but
he never compromised the nature and message of the gospel and the need
for people to be in a right relationship with God in Christ, the
recognition of man's self-centeredness, rebellion and sinfulness and
man's need for salvation.

He preached Christ crucified, words that you will not hear on the lips
of Bishop Michael Curry. He talked about sin -- all sin -- not just
racism, and yes, he did mention racism once or twice in his sermons. But
it was never the central thrust of his sermon. Never. (I was known
affectionately as a reverse Oreo cookie). I took it in the spirit it was
given.

Consider some of Curry's words in Pittsburgh recently:

"Episcopal Church, we need you to follow Jesus. We need you to be the
countercultural people of God who would love one another, who would care
when others could care less, who would give, not take."

High sounding words. These words presume that Episcopalians are not
following Jesus, which might be true, but it is hardly helpful. Yes,
Christians are a counter-cultural people called to love one another, to
care for the least of these --- all true, but these words could be said
by a Unitarian with a Jesus overlay. What is missing is any mention of
the cross, of our rebellion before a holy God, our need for repentance
and faith. Nothing. It is half a gospel at best and "another gospel" at
worst. It falls far short of real revival understood by a Jonathan
Edwards, the Wesley brothers, or closer to home, Billy Graham, or my
former pastor, Dr. Marvin McMickle.

His prayer for this and subsequent revivals, he said during one of his
four sermons, is that they will be the beginning of "a way of new life
for us as this wonderful Episcopal Church, bearing witness to the love
of God in Jesus in this culture and in this particular time in our
national history."

But one cannot talk about the "love of God" while overlooking (or
conveniently ignoring) the "wrath of God against all unrighteousness".
No such words drop from Curry's lips. Keep talking about love, love,
love, but that does a terrible injustice to the words of the Nicene
Creed which says..."and he shall JUDGE the living and the dead and of
his Kingdom there shall be no end." Judgement is not a word Episcopal
bishops like to talk about except to rail against the rich or a
president who stands for everything they don't.

Now, bearing in mind that the average age of an Episcopalian is now well
into the 60s, this kind of thinking will be new for Episcopalians.
Episcopal priests (whose average age is also in the 60s) are not used to
talking about evangelism let alone revivals, that's the language of
Pentecostals or rah rah evangelicals, unless of course one thinks that
the marriage of two men (or women) of the same sex is a revival moment.
The language of revival smacks more of Franklin Graham or Nicky
Gumbel...the kind of evangelism that makes Episcopalians decidedly
nervous.

The deeper issue is that if you don't have life in yourself, you can't
pass along what you yourself have not received, and 98% of Episcopalians
don't. How can you lead someone to Christ if that is not what you
believe yourself...and furthermore believe that baptism makes conversion
unnecessary!

And that is why Curry's "Jesus Movement" falls short and will ultimately
fail as have other "revival" ideas like doubling the church by 2020 and
TREC. Focusing on social concerns, racism and taking stands on
culturally relevant issues is not legitimate conversion. It's like
putting lipstick on a Bernie Sanders or a Barack Obama in the hope that
out will pop Tony Campolo. It's not going to happen. In fact, Campolo
could pull it off precisely because he is a left of center evangelical
who can speak to Episcopalians in a way Curry cannot. I watched when
Campolo spoke to the entire diocese of New Jersey. He wooed and wowed
them so well, the bishop practically made an altar call and then prayed
extemporaneously at the end!

In West Missouri, Curry billed all three events under the banner of
"Awakening the Spirit in West Missouri".

In Kansas City, Curry's evangelism director said, "Our great hope is
that these revivals both awaken the spirit within Episcopalians and with
the communities around us and that Episcopalians will grow in their love
for Jesus even as we welcome our neighbors into this loving,
life-giving, liberating way with Jesus and as we join together in the
Jesus Movement that changes us and changes society."

"Once the diocese has discerned what enacting the good news of Jesus
would look like in its communities, members of the church-wide staff
come to the diocese to help with organizational details and to begin
that work of capacity building. Moreover, they return to the dioceses
after the events to work with Episcopalians to cultivate leaders who
have new abilities, new relationships and a new common purpose to
further enact Jesus' love in their communities."

Based on this, nothing will change. Without genuine metanoia accompanied
by faith in Jesus with changed lives, Curry's "revival" notions will not
bring people back into Episcopal churches.

As one observer noted, Curry's "evangelical revivals" are not based upon
a biblical view of Christ crucified for our sins. Instead, they are
based upon cultural relativism and social concerns. ACNA and TEC are
promoting two different gospels with different outcomes and therefore
different results.

END



------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:23:16 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: BINGHAMTON, NY: CANA Bishop Says No to Women Priests at
Diocesan Convention
Message-ID:
<1494534196.4130844...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

BINGHAMTON, NY: CANA Bishop Says No to Women Priests at Diocesan
Convention
Complementarian view upholds women as vocational deacons. Only men may
serve as presbyters or priests, says Bishop Julian Dobbs at Reformation
500 Synod
The Episcopal Church is not true Anglicanism," said ACNA archbishop
Foley Beach

By David W. Virtue in Binghamton, NY
www.virtueonline.org
May 8, 2017

The Bishop of the Missionary Diocese of CANA East told some 250
delegates to his Synod 2017 that he will never ordain a woman to the
priesthood based on his complementarian views regarding ordination.

"I believe that the concept of male-female complementarity can be seen
from Genesis through Revelation, and describes someone who ascribes to
the historic, biblical position that male and female are equal but
different," said Bishop Julian Dobbs.

He said the bishops of the Anglican Church in North America are still
wrestling with Scripture regarding Holy Orders and women in the
presbyterate, but his diocese, which is also linked jurisdictionally
with the Anglican Province of Nigeria, will only recognize women as
vocational deacons.

"Let me tell you what complementarianism does not mean:
It does not mean that women are inferior to men
It does not mean that women are prohibited from ministry in the local
church
It does not mean that women must never teach the Bible
It does not mean that men are to bark orders at women like a sergeant on
a parade ground."

"Complementarianism does mean that the extraordinary gifts and ministry
of women must be called forth, commissioned and valued in this diocese
and in each of our 36 congregations, but not as ordained presbyters. I
believe complementarianism is the most accurate and simple reading of
the Bible surrounding this issue," he said.

"This diocese has some very gifted women offering exemplary leadership
in the local church. The God given gifts and ministries of women in this
diocese are highly valued by both your bishops. Bishop David Bena and I
observe first-hand the phenomenal and outstanding ministry, leadership
and service of so many remarkable women in CANA East."

Dobbs said Jesus himself confronted social taboos by mingling with tax
collectors, ate without washing his hands, redefined the Sabbath,
reinterpreted the Temple, condemned the Pharisees and even honored
women. The fact is that while he overturned some Jewish interpretations
(e.g., about divorce, lust, retribution, etc.), Jesus honored women in a
countercultural way without rejecting everything He inherited from his
Jewish-Old Testament background concerning the complementary roles of
men and women.

Dobbs said that Jesus' approach to women was nothing less than
revolutionary! "Out of a cultural background that maintained the dignity
of women and even depersonalized them, Jesus boldly affirmed their worth
and gladly benefited from their vital ministry. He made the unusual
practice of speaking freely to women, and in public no less. He also
frequently ministered to the needs of hurting women, like Peter's
mother-in-law, the woman bent over for 18 years, the bleeding woman and
the Syrophoenician woman. Jesus not only ministered to women, he allowed
women to minister to him. Women anointed Jesus and he warmly received
their service. Some women helped Jesus' ministry financially while
others offered hospitality. A number of women--Mary Magdalene, Joanna,
Susanna, Mary the mother of James and Joses, Salome, Mary and
Martha--are mentioned by name in the Gospels, indicating their important
place in Jesus's ministry. Many women were among Jesus's band of
disciples. Significantly, women were the first witnesses to the
resurrection. Jesus's revolutionary treatment of women was,
nevertheless, consistent with God's original design for role
distinctions. The most obvious example is his selection of an all-male
apostolic leadership. After all the revolutionary ways Jesus interacted
with women, our Lord's revolutionary attitude toward them stopped short
of including women in all forms of leadership."

PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS

Dobbs noted that the Reformers went to the flames for their faithfulness
to the gospel and today many Christians are being slaughtered in
countries like Nigeria. "More people have been killed by the Islamic
terrorist terror regime Boko Haran than died in the entire Ebola
epidemic."

He said the Anglican Diocese of Kafanchan in Nigeria has been subjected
to numerous horrific outbreaks of religious violence and acts of
terrorism. "Many hundreds of Christians have been killed, numerous
churches, associated buildings and Christian businesses have been
destroyed."

CONFIDENCE IN THE BIBLE IS KEY TO CHURCH GROWTH

Dobbs pointed to the Holy Scriptures as the theological foundation of
the diocese with its roots in reformational Anglicanism which, he said,
provided confidence to embrace the mission entrusted to us by God. The
gospel itself gives us this confidence, he said.

Dobbs said confidence to believe the Bible which leads to confidently
being impacted by the message of the Bible along with a confidence to
challenge and be challenged by the Bible is key. "Having confidence in
the Bible and the impact of the gospel on our neighborhoods is the
foundation that drives our CANA East church planters."

ACNA ARCHBISHOP SAYS TEC IS NOT ANGLICAN

Featured guest speaker ACNA Archbishop Foley Beach told the assembled
delegates that the Anglican Church in North America is thriving, while
The Episcopal Church can no longer be considered "true Anglicanism."

Archbishop Beach said the ACNA was adding one new parish every week in
North America. The ACNA now has over 1,000 churches, 1,700 clergy, over
110,000 members, 30 dioceses and 51 bishops, he said. The recent
addition of the Diocese of South Carolina, now the largest diocese in
ACNA gave the province a tremendous moral and psychological boost.

On his outlook for the future of the ACNA, Beach said he was witnessing
"creative ministries reaching invisible peoples. I have seen a healing
clinic outside a prison as well as the planting of a parish outside a
college campus."

The ACNA is clearly on an upswing with well over 100,00 active members.
By contrast the Episcopal Church can boast only 600,411 average Sunday
attendance (ASA). The two churches are going in exactly opposite
directions.

Beach said that while the Archbishop of Canterbury did not recognize the
ACNA, it's orders are recognized by the Church of England and therfore
historically valid.

"We are in the midst of a reformation and it is going to be messy for a
while," he said.

END



------------------------------

Message: 6
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:23:30 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: The Fictional World of Anglican Reconciliation: Truro and
Diocese of VA vs. Mid-Atlantic Diocese and ACNA
Message-ID:
<1494534210.4130981...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

The Fictional World of Anglican Reconciliation: Truro and Diocese of VA
vs. Mid-Atlantic Diocese and ACNA
The Rev. Tory Baucum's attempt at reconciliation is a dagger pointed at
the heart of the ACNA.
Compromise will be seen as a victory for TEC & ABC and a slap in the
face at ACNA

COMMENTARY

By David W. Virtue, DD
www.virtueonline.org
May 6, 2017

The compromise attempt by ACNA priest, Tory Baucum of Truro Anglican
Church, VA and TEC Virginia Bishop Shannon Johnston, to reach an
agreement through something called Peace and Reconciliation is nothing
more than a dagger pointed at the heart of the ACNA.

If it should succeed, it will make a mockery of the very existence of
the ACNA, which fought a long and bitter spiritual and property battle
involving millions of dollars, tens of thousands of former
Episcopalians, hundreds of priests and dozens of bishops. It will say to
the Anglican world that breaking away from TEC was wrong and it can all
now be patched up with a new-fangled peace and reconciliation agreement.

John Guernsey As part of the P & R, it stipulates that from now on,
while Bishop John Guernsey has access to the congregation, ACNA
Archbishop Foley Beach must obtain permission of TEC Virginia Bishop
Shannon Johnston to officiate at Truro Anglican Church.

"That is not going to happen," Archbishop Beach told VOL in an email. "I
would not seek permission, but I would not want to put the
congregation's legal status in jeopardy. I assume that if I was ever
invited by bishop Guernsey to a parish in his diocese, that he and the
congregation would have whatever needed to be worked out taken care of."

Posters at VOL's previous stories on this ongoing drama said that Bishop
Guernsey was privy to the Truro leases in 2012 and 2017 and approved of
them.

Not true, a spokesperson told VOL. "Bishop Guernsey was not shown the
lease of 2012 or the lease of 2017. Other than agreeing to the 2012
provision about his visits to the property, he was not asked to approve
the terms of either lease and did not do so."

However, sources close to the situation, told VOL that Guernsey has
known for over five years that Baucum could be a problem and should have
been disciplined back then but did not. "He was a friend of Baucum and
not his bishop. A bishop must act differently and Guernsey dropped the
ball."

Now it is all going to blow up in his face. If Guernsey inhibits and
deposes Baucum (and he has no option but to do that) a third of the
parish will up and leave, they will not stay with Baucum if he agrees to
go back to, and come under, VA Bishop Johnston and TEC.

There is absolutely nothing in this P & R agreement that is a win-win
for Bishop Guernsey. Nothing.

1. Guernsey will have his authority compromised (and thus
compromise the ACNA) if accedes anything to Virginia TEC Bishop
Johnston, a man who invited John Shelby Spong to preach an Easter sermon
denying the resurrection of our Lord at the cathedral in Richmond.

2. It nullifies the belief by ACNA bishops that a bishop like
Johnston is not an apostate bishop who has torn the fabric of the
Anglican Communion. By accepting this agreement, it would effectively
say he is not. Archbishop Foley Beach is on record arguing that nothing
has changed and TEC has not repented or changed its position on human
sexuality and that marriage is only between a man and a woman.

3. Any signal of acceptance sends a compromise message that the
Rev. John Yates blew off his $40 million property at Falls Church, (just
down the road,) unnecessarily, when he could have a cut a deal with
Johnston to stay and keep his property. He chose not to. Truth is way
too important to compromise.

4. This agreement says that (homo)sexual sin is now okay (a second
order issue) and we should not make a big deal out of it. Really.
Scripture says that the eternal destiny of souls is at stake for those
who practice sodomy. Can that now be brushed off, downplayed or ignored?

5. Such an agreement like this P & R is the thin end of the wedge
for Archbishop Justin Welby to exploit. He will announce to the world
that his ideas of reconciliation have taken hold in the US and folk
should either return or engage in "good disagreement", but above all
stay together. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry will also exploit this.

6. If that is the case, GAFCON should withdraw its offer to place a
bishop in England; ACNA should say it was wrong to leave TEC and crawl
back and ask for forgiveness.

7. Where and when has compromise ever worked? Is TEC now prepared
to end its property battles with the Dioceses of Ft. Worth and South
Carolina? Don't hold your breath. It won't happen.

8. Bishop Guernsey has only one option. He must inhibit and depose
Tory Baucom immediately. To delay is to lead people to believe that
compromises are somehow being worked out, when they cannot be. If he
does not, the dagger pointed at the heart of the ACNA will ultimately
destroy the Mid-Atlantic diocese and the ACNA itself will be deeply
compromised.

The whole notion of reconciliation which came from the ABC and mediated
through his "Adviser for Reconciliation," Canon David Porter, is little
more than a political attempt to patch over deep theological issues that
won't go away regardless of how many theologians like Bishop Graham
Kings, Welby hires to try and make it work.

It is not going to happen. All the money in the world scrapped together
with the Lambeth Partners, the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and Compass
Rose to make reconciliation possible, will not work.

Welby is hoping for a miracle to bring the GAFCON primates to Lambeth in
2020, but that is not going to happen. Meantime an ecclesiastical mess
in Truro, VA, awaits fixing, and anyway it goes, it will not go well for
the parish, Tory Baucum and Bishop John Guernsey who himself must answer
to ACNA Archbishop Foley Beach.

END



------------------------------

Message: 7
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:23:43 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: GAFCON UK responds positively to Primates' Communique
Message-ID:
<1494534223.4131051...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

GAFCON UK responds positively to Primates' Communique
They warmly welcome missionary bishop to UK
Scottish Episcopal Church Primus says action is "regrettable"

By David W. Virtue, DD
www.virtueonline.org
May 3, 2017

GAFCON UK thanked the GAFCON Primates for their courageous spiritual
leadership, consisting of clear re-statement of the essentials of the
faith, and practical action to take forward the mission of global
Anglicanism in the 21st century, in the recent GAFCON communique.

"We appreciate the way in which the Communique both looks back -- to the
witness of those who brought about the Reformation of the Church in the
16th century; and looks forward -- to the exciting vision of
multicultural and united Anglicanism which will be celebrated at the
third GAFCON conference in Jerusalem, 2018," said the GAFCON-UK leaders.

"The statement also reminds us of the serious suffering experienced in
many parts of the world, where Anglicans minister sacrificially with
only a fraction of the necessary resources, yet they remain faithful,
trusting in God to provide. As affluent Westerners, we repent of our
complacency and lack of compassion, and commit ourselves to partnering
more intentionally to support the church where it serves in contexts of
desperate need.

The Primates go on to talk about the challenges in the Global North,
"the increasing influence of materialism, secularism, and the loss of
moral foundations" which are "spiritually dangerous". We recognize the
need to repent of our participation in a weak version of the Christian
faith which has too often failed to point out these dangers or even made
accommodation with them.

"This accommodation and 'cultural captivity' is seen in the failure by
many Anglican leaders in the UK to hold to the key principles of Holy
Scripture as speaking clearly to God's will for human flourishing, and
of requiring unequivocal obedience whatever the cost. It is shown, for
example, in unwillingness to be clear about the uniqueness of Jesus and
the authority of the Bible, and rejection of clear biblical teaching
God's gift of sex and marriage, and of celibate singleness.

"This has contributed to the increasing concern that many faithful
clergy and lay people in the Church of England, the Scottish Episcopal
Church and the Church in Wales feel about the revisionist trajectory of
these churches. As the Communique points out clearly, some Anglicans are
already outside of these structures and need Episcopal oversight; others
may do so soon.

"We warmly welcome the decision of the Primates to consecrate a
missionary Bishop who will fulfil this function. We appreciate the way
GAFCON has recognized that this intervention is giving global support to
one of a number of initiatives being taken by biblically orthodox
Anglicans in Britain; others include the work being done to strengthen
the Free Church of England. Meanwhile the Primates have generously
expressed respect for and continued warm fellowship with those who for
the moment are choosing to remain within the official structures and
contend for orthodox biblical faith there, while warning that inaction
in the face of revisionist pressure is not a faithful option.

We understand that more will be revealed about the plans for the
consecration in due course. We commit ourselves to prayer about this and
invite all who hold to the historic and trustworthy teaching of our
faith to join us.

SCOTTISH EPISCOPAL CHURCH

By contrast, The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Most Rev.
David Chillingworth, said the actions of the GAFCON primates was
"regrettable" and said the action lacked respect for the territorial
integrity of each province. "This move is a breach of that
understanding."

"In June, the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church will reach
the final stage of consideration of changes which would make possible
same-sex marriage in our churches," he wrote in response to the GAFCON
primates.

The news that GAFCON intends to send a missionary bishop to Britain is
regrettable, he said.

"The outcome of the synodical process which will take place in June is
not a foregone conclusion. The voices of clergy and lay people from
across Scotland will be heard both in debate and in the voting process.
The Scottish Episcopal Church is working closely with those who find
this proposal difficult to accept. Whatever the outcome may be, it is
our intention to be and to remain a church which honors diversity."

Chillingworth repeated that commitment to honoring diversity and
difference in an interview with the BBC's Good Morning Scotland program,
in which he declared himself saddened, but not surprised, by the GAFCON
announcement. He said that he hoped the appointment of a missionary
bishop would not sharpen divisions within Scottish church.

END



------------------------------

Message: 8
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:23:55 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Blueprint for Church schism revealed as conservative
Christian leaders plot separate Anglican structure
Message-ID:
<1494534235.4131129...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Blueprint for Church schism revealed as conservative Christian leaders
plot separate Anglican structure

By Harry Farley
https://www.christiantoday.com/
May 10, 2017

A blueprint for schism seen by Christian Today reveals extensive plans
by conservative evangelicals to form a rival Anglican structure to the
Church of England in the UK.

The proposals, born out of concerns about liberal teachings on
homosexuality, include suggestions for a new synod, new liturgy, an
appointments system for new bishops, new church canons and new
statements of belief.

First mooted at ReNew, a conference of traditionalist church leaders
last autumn, the 15-page discussion document outlines how the new
faction could take shape and establish credibility as an alternative
Anglican church.

'Widespread credible bishops serving conservative evangelicals here in
England today seems an unlikely dream,' the document notes before going
on to outline how traditionalists concerned about a liberal drift on
issues like sexuality could appoint their own bishops.

Entitled Credible Bishops, the document defends the role of bishops to
ordain 'biblically faithful' church leaders and says this is not always
possible within the CofE.

'But that does not mean we should give up on having bishops altogether.
It may mean that credible bishops have to be consecrated by other means,
with the support of the wider Anglican Communion.'

It goes on to outline plans 'to consider irregular ordination' and
'irregular options for oversight' outside the CofE for conservative
churches.

The document was leaked to Christian Today after one conservative church
in Newcastle went ahead and made one of its clergy a bishop.

Rev Jonathan Pryke, of Jesmond Parish Church, was consecrated by the
presiding bishop of a renegade Anglican faction in South Africa outside
the authority of the Church of England.

Pryke, 57, was ordained as a 'bishop in the Church of God', a statement
from his church confirmed, and will now oversee the ordination and
planting of new Anglican churches conservative on the issue of
homosexuality.

Peter Ould, an Anglican priest from Canterbury, told Christian Today the
split had come after evangelicals felt marginalised within the CofE.

'This consecration in Jesmond raises some serious questions for the
leadership of the Church of England,' he said. 'On the whole the
conservative Anglicans I have spoken to have seen it as a schismatic
move that they don't support.

'At the same time there is serious concern that those who share their
theological convictions are not being appointed to similar senior roles
within the institutional Church. The debacle over the appointment of
Philip North and the fact that there is still only one Bishop who is a
conservative evangelical [Rod Thomas] and that he is not in a Diocese
but has a roaming brief means that the sense of marginalisation and
rejection grows steadily.

'This needs to be addressed, and be addressed urgently.'

But the proposals discussed at the annual ReNew conference reveal a much
larger scale rebellion against the established Church.

The move could lead the hundreds of churches associated with the
conference to break away from the official CofE to form a conservative
alternative Anglican body.

The level of detail includes suggestions for 'proactive and social media
savvy' publicity as well costing for the new bishops offices and staff.

'Much more needs to be done to achieve this credibility than merely
appoint a few people as titular bishops,' the document reads.

'There must be a draft system for appointments to episcopal ministry to
avoid the charge of cronyism or short-termism. There must be plans for
canons and statements of belief to shape our ministries in ways that
exhibit humble submission to Anglican doctrine.

'There must be plans for some kind of synodical meetings as without
these there is a deficit of congregational feedback to episcopal
leadership.

'There must be credibly funded support structures to release bishops to
do their ministry of pastoral care and oversight.

'There must be safeguarding procedures of the highest standards to
protect the reputations of churches served by bishops.

'Drafting new liturgies for ordinations of presbyters affords us the
opportunity to reform the liturgy in ways that will increase the
credibility of our bishops with evangelicals -- for example by including
a revised vow of submission and providing for bishops to reaffirm their
own vows.

'Combined with a transparent and publically available set of canons and
disciplinary procedures for bishops this will do much to increase the
credibility of episcopacy with evangelicals who have not seen the polity
implemented well.'

It comes after GAFCON, a grouping of conservative Anglicans around the
world, announced plans for a 'missionary bishop' to oversee parishes in
the UK discontent with their more liberal local bishop.

Linked to GAFCON is Anglican Mission in England (AMiE), a group of
Anglican churches already established as rivals to the CofE. AMiE
sponsor the ReNew conference alongside Reform and Church Society -- two
other conservative evangelical groupings -- and it is likely they will
be at the heart of plans for new bishops and a fully separate Anglican
structure.

END



------------------------------

Message: 9
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:24:12 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Irish synod votes not to apologise and give public prayer for
gay couples
Message-ID:
<1494534252.4131262...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Irish synod votes not to apologise and give public prayer for gay
couples

By Tola Mbakwe
http://www.premier.org.uk/
May 8, 2017

The Church of Ireland's General Synod has voted not to apologise to gay
couples who didn't receive support when celebrating their marriage.

A motion at its recent meeting asked the synod to "acknowledge the
injury felt by members of the Church who enter into loving, committed
and legally-recognised, same-sex relationships, due to the absence of
provision for them to mark that key moment in their lives publicly and
prayerfully in Church."

The second part of the motion requested "the House of Bishops to
investigate a means to develop sensitive, local pastoral arrangements
for public prayer and thanksgiving with same-sex couples at these key
moments in their lives, and to present their ideas to General Synod
2018, with a view to making proposals at General Synod 2019."

When Dr Leo Kilroy proposed the motion on Friday, he spoke of the chance
to bring unity to the church.

He said: "Advances in civic society in recent years have seen LGBT
people achieve many rights and legal protections, including, frameworks
for legal union. But many lesbian and gay people continue feel gravely
hurt by the Church.

"They have been injured by the lack of compassion shown by some, who
cling to a small number of disparate and disputed verses that exist in
pockets of the Bible, and claim a divine rejection of gay people".

Dr Kilroy also discussed his experience as a gay man and his struggle
with rejection by Christians and lack of support during his union.

He continued: "This motion is not asking for marriage in the Church. I
understand that many of you hold the Church's definition of marriage
dearly.

"This motion is careful to protect Canon 31. It is simply calling for
permission to develop ways to publicly and pastorally support and
celebrate lesbian and gay people at important times in their lives."

Those who opposed the motion described it as impossible because it would
bring division in the church and would discriminate against those who
experience same-sex attraction but don't act on it.

They also said the motion was against Canon 31, which upholds
traditional teachings on marriage in the Church of Ireland.

A yes vote would have sent the motion to the House of Bishops for a
final vote. However, 72 clergy opposed, 56 supported. Of the laity 104
opposed and 90 were in support.

END



------------------------------

Message: 10
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:24:40 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Church of Ireland delegates defeat motion on public service
for same-sex couples
Message-ID:
<1494534280.4131295...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Church of Ireland delegates defeat motion on public service for same-sex
couples
General Synod debate on proposal to develop public thanksgiving service
for legally married same-sex couples

By Patsy McGarry in Limerick
http://www.irishtimes.com/
May 6, 2017

A motion that Church of Ireland bishops investigate developing a public
thanksgiving service for legally married same-sex couples was defeated
at the church's General Synod on Friday night.

It followed a debate where speakers divided along North-South lines,
with all speakers from the South in favour and almost all Northern
speakers opposed.

Proposing the motion Dr Leo Kilroy of Glendalough diocese said: "many
lesbian and gay people continue to feel gravely hurt by this church.
They have been injured by the lack of compassion shown by some, who
cling to a small number of disparate and disputed verses that exist in
pockets of the Bible, and claim a divine rejection of gay people."

He said: "while there is no evidence in the gospels that Jesus Christ
said anything one way or another about gay people, there are however,
plenty of examples of how Jesus modelled for us the need to include all.
In the Bible we see his loathing for stigmatisation".

Lesbian and gay people were among today's examples of people on the
fringes, he said.

'Impossible' motion

Speaking of his own experience as a gay man, he said he struggled to
accept his sexual orientation. "Much of that struggle was down to the
rejection and stigmatisation of other Christians. I tried to suppress my
sexuality, which only resulted in hurt both to me and to other people in
my life."

Ten years ago he met his partner and "six years ago, we entered into a
civil partnership and last year a civil marriage". Both were "committed
Christians" and "it was a matter of great upset and sadness to us that
pastoral support was not available to us in our church. Across the
church, I know of a great many other couples who have felt similar hurt
and disappointment," he said.

Rev Trevor Johnston of Connor diocese thought the motion "impossible" as
"inbuilt into it is discrimination against those who didn't act on their
same sex attraction".

Canon Maurice Elliott of Down and Dromore diocese and director of the
Church of Ireland Theological Institute believed passing the motion
would be "immensely detrimental" to partnerships with other churches in
the Anglican communion.

Also opposing the motion, Rev Alison Calvin of Kilmore diocese said at
times "I feel I am being bullied. It's not fair that my deeply held
convictions are portrayed as those of a narrow-minded bigot".

Teachings on marriage

Rev Barry Forde of Connor diocese said "there is a theological issue at
stake" and that the motion "impinges on Canon 31" concerning the
church's traditional teaching on marriage.

Supporting the motion Elaine Murray from Cork diocese said "the question
comes down to love, not gender".

Rev Brendan McCarthy of Kilmore diocese said he had come to believe he
had been wrong concerning LGBT people and that he had been in part a
cause of their pain, "unintended but real".

Dean of Waterford Maria Jansson said: "I support this motion because as
a priest I am answerable to God. That alone matters."

Rev Gillian Wharton of Dublin diocese said the same arguments which had
been used to oppose women priests were now being used on same sex issues
within the church.

Clergy and laity voted separately with 72 clergy opposing, 56 in support
and nine abstaining. Of the laity 104 opposed, 90 were in support, and
15 abstained. The House of Bishops did not take part in the debate or
vote as the motion was directed towards them.

Before that debate, and after four years of discussion without
resolution, the church's select committee on human sexuality recommended
"that the bishops further examine the unresolved theological differences
as represented in the select committee, with a view to making a proposal
to facilitate a way forward".



------------------------------

Message: 11
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:24:26 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: UK: Jesmond curate's breakaway consecration surprises both
diocese and conservative Evangelicals
Message-ID:
<1494534266.4131262...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

UK: Jesmond curate's breakaway consecration surprises both diocese and
conservative Evangelicals

By Tim Wyatt
http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/
May 8, 2017

THE authorities in Newcastle diocese still seem to be in the dark after
an assistant curate of a conservative Evangelical parish church in the
diocese was reportedly consecrated bishop through the action of a
breakaway Church in South Africa.

Jonathan Pryke The curate, the Revd Jonathan Pryke, has served at
Jesmond Parish Church since 1988. He was consecrated by bishops from the
Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa (REACH-SA) at a
service in Newcastle earlier this month, several sources told the Church
Times.

But a spokesman for the diocese simply said today: "The Bishop of
Newcastle is aware of reports concerning this matter and is seeking
clarification."

The Church Times has repeatedly attempted to contact both Bishop Pryke
and his Vicar, the Revd David Holloway, but neither has responded.

The news also appears to have surprised GAFCON UK and the Anglican
Mission in England (AMiE), who agreed last week to appoint their own
missionary bishop for conservative Evangelical parishes in Britain
(News, 5 May), even though the new bishop is a member of AMiE's
executive committee.

In a statement put out this evening, AMiE said: "We can confirm that the
consecration of the Revd Jonathan Pryke was a gospel decision taken
independently of AMiE. His consecration was never discussed at our
Executive meetings.

"Jonathan is a valued member of the AMiE Exec and we are thankful to God
for his abundant gifts and wisdom. We will be praying for him in this
new season of his ministry.

"The AMiE Executive Committee recently requested that the GAFCON
Primates support the consecration of a Missionary Bishop. We were
overjoyed when they agreed to do this for the sake of gospel growth."

It was unclear whether Jonathan Pryke, who was ordained priest in 1986,
had formally left the Church of England. He is still listed on the
Jesmond Parish Church website as a "senior minister" in the parish.

REACH-SA, formerly known as the Church of England in South Africa, split
from the Anglican Church of the Province of Southern Africa soon after
its founding, in opposition to the Anglo-Catholic Archbishop of Cape
Town.

In 2008, Jesmond Parish Church was listed as in impaired communion or
seeking alternative episcopal oversight, by the Revd Rod Thomas, the
then chairman of the conservative Evangelical network Reform.

The "impaired communion" was in fact first declared by the church in
1997 just before the Rt Revd Martin Wharton became Bishop of Newcastle,
because of disagreements over homosexuality. Jesmond Parish Church was
also accused of breaking canon law in 1998 when it appointed an
unlicensed assistant priest to its staff.

*****

GAFCON UK: Statement on the consecration at Jesmond Parish Church

May 8, 2017

Gafcon UK are aware that Jesmond Parish Church have for some years been
in a form of impaired communion with the Bishop of Newcastle, and have
developed a special relationship with REACH-SA (formerly CESA).

Over the past few years, several clergy have been ordained by REACH
Bishops to serve in the Jesmond church network and in one other part of
England.

The leadership of Jesmond church have for some time been speaking
publicly about the need for new missionary Bishops in Western nations
who can oversee new Anglican ministries in the Celtic model. The
reasoning can be found in the statement from the 2017 Jesmond
Conference, here.

Gafcon UK have been informed of the latest developments but cannot
comment further at this stage.

*****

NEW STYLE ENGLISH BISHOP

Jesmond Parish Church Press Release
May 8, 2017

On St Athanasius' Day, 2 May 2017, Jonathan Pryke, the senior minister,
under its vicar, of Jesmond Parish Church, Newcastle upon Tyne, was
consecrated a "bishop in the Church of God". This was by the Presiding
Bishop of REACH SA (the Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South
Africa), formerly known as CESA (the Church of England in South Africa)
and whose orders of bishop, priest/presbyter and deacon are recognized
by the Church of England. But like the new ACNA (the Anglican Church in
North America) whose orders are also recognized, it is not in communion
with the Church of England. Officially the Church of England is in
Communion with the heterodox ACSA (the Anglican Church of South Africa),
and with the heterodox TEC (The Episcopal Church [of America]). But, in
practice, many orthodox English and Global Anglicans are in communion
with both REACH SA and ACNA.

The service took place neither in a Church of England "place of worship"
nor an unconsecrated place of worship designated under s.43 of the
Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011. It did not take place in Jesmond
Parish Church. The ceremony was according to the REACH SA consecration
Holy Communion service with only REACH SA bishops taking part. The
declaration, however, was to the Church of England's Canon A5 which
says:

"The doctrine of the Church of England is grounded in the Holy
Scriptures, and in such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of
the Church as are agreeable to the said Scriptures. In particular such
doctrine is to be found in the 39 Articles of Religion, the Book of
Common Prayer and the Ordinal."

The oath was of "all due reverence and obedience" not to the Presiding
Bishop of REACH SA but to "bishops and other chief ministers" under whom
Jonathan is set. So he has a dispersed responsibility and duty: in
things temporal to the Bishop of Newcastle, with whom, sadly, in things
spiritual, Jesmond Parish Church along with other churches in the
diocese are in impaired communion; in terms of Jesmond Parish Church, to
the vicar of Jesmond and where there is united agreement, to the Jesmond
PCC; and, pastorally, to one of the participating REACH SA bishops. This
bishop particularly understands the English situation and does not want
to see bishops "parachuted in" to form a new "orthodox church" or
"province". He sees the role of REACH SA simply as helping English
people have the courage to take responsibility for reforming the Church
of England to be in line with Canon A5, to evangelize and to see growth.
This consecration took place after considerable discussion and
encouragement from leaders in the Church of England, and with the
Presiding Bishop of REACH SA convinced it right to proceed after
discussion with the Secretary of GAFCON.

"In the light of the vicar's fourth talk at the Jesmond Conference and
the REFORM Covenant that expresses 'the need radically to reform the
present shape of episcopacy and pastoral discipline to enable local
churches to evangelize more effectively' the PCC supports planning for
Jonathan Pryke to be consecrated for an alternative form of episcopal
oversight."

Of course, two questions need to be answered. First, is it possible to
have responsibilities in a Church of England parish while at the same
time having episcopal responsibilities? Yes, certainly. For one of the
Panel of UK GAFCON bishops before retirement was a priest in charge of a
parish in the Church of England while at the same time a bishop of the
Church of Rwanda, where he spent a month or two each year. Secondly,
will this new role make a great deal of difference to Jonathan's work at
Jesmond? No! He will spend 80% of his time in helping Jesmond Parish
Church fulfil its mission of being faithful to its founder's 19th
century vision of being "a central point for the maintenance and
promulgation of sound scriptural and evangelical truth" and its
20th/21st century vision of "Godly Living, Church Growth and Changing
Britain". And 20% of his time in helping establish new churches. This
follows the model of episcopacy in REACH SA where everyone except the
Presiding Bishop is in a charge of a congregation.

Jonathan already is a member of the AMiE executive and so committed to
planting 25 new churches by 2025 (essential, under God, for evangelism
and growth) and 250 new churches by 2050. The main thing that is
significantly different now as far as Jonathan is concerned is that
Jonathan can ordain men for the ministry, whereas other
presbyter/priests of us involved in evangelism cannot. Some leaders
obviously need this "power" (as the 16th century Richard Hooker would
say) as more men are trained for ministry and to be faithful to Canon
A5. Also they need it to help planted churches corporately keep faithful
to Canon A5. At the Jesmond Conference a group of senior leaders
including one REACH SA bishop and one English GAFCON Bishop, agreed that
three bishops were needed, one being consecrated with REACH SA orders;
one being consecrated as a result of an initiative by the GAFCON
Primates; and one other.

It is hoped that the GAFCON Primates will secure the consecration of a
man in such a way that will enable the reform of the Church of England,
with him responsible to English Christians rather than a distant
Primate. In this 500th anniversary year of the 16th century Reformation
it needs to be remembered that the independence of the local Province
was a major concern of the English Reformation as well as the primacy of
the Bible and Justification by Faith.

END



------------------------------

Message: 12
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:24:54 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Clergy accuse Archbishops of backing Tories in election
letter
Message-ID:
<1494534294.4131341...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Clergy accuse Archbishops of backing Tories in election letter

By Marcus Jones
http://www.premier.org.uk/
May 8, 2017

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York are facing backlash following the
pastoral letter they released over the weekend.

Most Rev Justin Welby and Dr John Sentamu's note ahead of the election
said faith has a central role to play in politics.

It called on Christians to set aside "apathy and cynicism" and draw new
inspiration from the ancient Christian virtues of "love, trust and
hope".

It also asked believers to pray for political leaders and for those who
will be elected.

But it was the use of the word "stability" which raised concern from
dozens of clergy and other Christians.

In an open letter to the Archbishops, penned by Rev Al Barrett, the
clergy say it's term which has become synonymous with the Conservative
leader Theresa May.

"It is impossible to eescape the fact that the leader of one of the
major political parties competing in this General Election has used the
phrase 'strong and stable' almost as a mantra throughout the election
campaign thus far.

"For your pastoral letter to focus so positively on such a politically
freighted word seems to us, at best, as a case of desperate political
naivety, and at worst, an implicit endorsement of one party in this
election."

END



------------------------------

Message: 13
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:25:08 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Archbishop Welby should check his facts before uttering
inanities
Message-ID:
<1494534308.4131340...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Archbishop Welby should check his facts before uttering inanities

By Jules Gomes
http://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/
May 6, 2017

Mazel Tov, Justin Welby! You've done it again. I don't mean the picture
of you against the Western Wall in Jerusalem with Chief Rabbi Mirvis.
Your Twitter groupies are killing themselves trying to string together
140 characters and come up with a slogan for a picture worthy of a
caption competition!

Okay, they have had their fun. Now it is time to get serious. Your
Grace, let me wish you another Mazel Tov for yet another Welbyism.
Here's what you said in your speech at Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust
Museum: 'Within European culture, the root of all racism, I think, is
found in anti-Semitism.'

I spent ten days doing an advanced course on the Holocaust and
anti-Semitism at Yad Vashem. We had some of the world's best academics
lecturing us in Hebrew, French and English. There was one lesson they
were constantly trying to drill into our thick heads: Don't compare
anti-Semitism to other forms of racism.

But that's just what Welby has done. He takes a priceless Faberge egg,
places it on a heap of hen, duck and ostrich eggs. Then he turns to the
media and proclaims: "Faberge eggs are at the root of all other eggs!" I
can't think of an Archbishop of Canterbury in living memory who knows so
little but talks such a lot. Welby has a whole squadron of spin doctors.
Why can't he appoint one good research assistant? Why does he not check
his facts before uttering his inanities?

Jews are not a race! Hasn't Welby read his Old Testament? 'Thus says the
Lord God to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the
Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite'
(Ezekiel 16: 3). Ruth, one of Judaism's most revered women, is a
Moabite! Israel's origins lie in the Exodus, and this great movement in
the history of freedom is comprised of 'a mixed multitude' who 'went up
with them' (Exodus 12: 38). Using sociological theories, scholars like
Norman Gottwald explain how local Canaanites banded together with the
Hebrews and rebelled against the 'statist' regime of Canaan in favour of
a more 'egalitarian' people that would become the nation of Israel and,
after the exile, the Jewish people.

I spent another ten days as a volunteer with the Israeli Defence Forces
at the Kerem Shalom army base on the Israeli-Gaza-Egypt border. I've yet
to find such a dazzling array of Jewish race, language, or skin colour.
I was able to chat in Marathi (my wife's mother-tongue) with female
Jewish soldiers whose parents had made aliyah from Mumbai! Of course,
they also spoke fluent Hebrew. The officer with me in my task--building
a fence on the Egyptian border--was a fun-loving, dark-skinned Ethiopian
Jew--just as the Bible might describe him!

I was warned that the food at Kerem Shalom was 'basic army food' and
that I should escape and seek out a good Irish pub in Tel Aviv on
Shabbat! Guess what? The food was a multicultural feast gone mad--with
eye-watering spices from Yemen waltzing alongside Ashkenazi Bublitchki
to pacify the palate of Russian and Ukrainian Jews in the camp. What
unites Jews is a common religion and common loyalty to the land of
Israel--not a single race. Welby's fantasy about Jews being a race
probably comes from watching Fiddler on the Roof five hundred times!

Welby's speech does grave injustice to campaigners against
anti-Semitism. It damages the Faberge egg. I'm not saying other eggs are
not valuable. I'm saying you can't break a Faberge egg and hen, duck and
ostrich eggs and tell the world you're going to make a Faberge omelette.
Anti-Semitism, European, Leftist or Islamic, is Sui generis.

'Until that (anti-Semitism) is expelled from our culture there will be a
root, a tap root, for all racism, all discrimination, all cruelty,
because of the nature of the human being in our culture', pontificates
Welby. Please, not more left wing drivel, Your Grace! You can eliminate
all racism, discrimination, cruelty from a culture, but still hate Jews.
European and American leftists are stoutly against racism,
discrimination and cruelty. Yet, leftism remains diabolically
anti-Semitic. Islam is racially inclusive. Islam, although dominated by
Arabs, is not a race-based religion but welcomes people of all races.
Sadly this has not restrained Islam from its ferocious
anti-Semitism--somewhat debunking the Archbishop of Canterbury's
confused contention that anti-Semitism is the root of racism. In fact,
the Koran say that Allah turned Jews into apes and swine! These were
most likely Arab Jews who opposed Muhammad when he went to Medina. They
were not Ashkenazi Jews!

Oh, and by the way, can Welby offer empirical evidence for his claim
that anti-Semitism is the root of all racism? Indians can often be
horribly racist. African students at Indian universities complain of
appalling racism--because they are black. The matrimonial columns in
Indian newspapers are full of ads soliciting brides of 'fair
complexion.' But India was one of the few countries to welcome Jews when
Europe was hounding them out. Israeli-Jewish soldiers who have completed
national service flock to India for their gap-year and are very well
treated! You can be racist and philo-Semitic or anti-racist and
anti-Semitic. Or you can be both.

'It is also clear that anti-Semitism is not ethnic or racial prejudice,
though it obviously shares certain features with them. Anti-Semites
persecuted Jews for the same reasons Romans persecuted Christians, Nazis
tortured members of the Resistance, and Soviets imprison dissidents. In
each instance, the group is persecuted because its different beliefs
represent a threat to the persecuting group. This hatred must be
understood as being very different from a prejudice.'

Anti-Semites hate Jews because Jews are Jewish. Antisemitism is an
inevitable consequence of Jewishness.

The quote above is from one of the best analyses of anti-Semitism in a
book called Why the Jews: The Reason for Antisemitism by Dennis Prager
and Joseph Telushkin (the latter is an Orthodox rabbi). Please, Justin.
Do give your spin doctors a day off, grab a bottle and a pipe, curl up
in your hammock and read this book before you write your next speech on
anti-Semitism. Meanwhile, try cooking a yummy Anglican omelette minus
the Faberge egg.

The Rev'd Dr Jules Gomes is pastor of St Augustine's Church, Douglas, on
the Isle of Man.



------------------------------

Message: 14
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:25:55 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE
Message-ID:
<1494534355.4131488...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE

BY ROBERT OSCAR LOPEZ
http://englishmanif.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-truth-shall-set-you-free.html?m=1
May 8, 2017

In the eighth chapter of the Book of John, Jesus Christ makes two
statements in rapid succession. They encapsulate in a few phrases wisdom
to cure many Christians of the anxieties that afflict the conservative
movement. In 8:31, Jesus says, "If you continue in My word, you really
are My disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you
free." A few lines latter, Jesus adds, "Everyone who commits sin is a
slave of sin."

An Update

My Twitter feed has exploded in recent weeks, with plentiful panic about
the pitiable state of free speech on college campuses. Big cases--big
because they both worsen and reveal the deep structural wounds caused by
the purge of Christian and conservative professors--played out this
week: John McAdams, Anthony Esolen, Rebecca Tuvel, Paul McHugh, Carol
Swain, Keith Fink, and Paul Griffiths.

I know of other professors, and of people who know of still others, who
are in similar purges but who have to stay silent because of
confidentiality gags. Then you must account for all the adjuncts like
Mary Grabar who never got tenure-track jobs, earlier exiles like John
Zmirak who got out of the academy for better lives, and the many
conservatives in grad school who sold their souls to liberals, ran out
of the hallowed halls screaming, or were chased out by the usual mobs of
screeching race hucksters, homofascists, feminazis, climate-change
cabalists, and Marxophonies before they could get their doctorates.

When the dust settles on this sandstorm, there will be many, many, many,
many academics on the list of casualties. Seven in one week are but the
tip of a big iceberg untouched by global warming.

Okay, the Time to Stay Calm is Over, Conservatives!

We don't know how many conservatives the liberal academy is surgically
removing in what can no longer be denied or ignored for what it is--a
concerted putsch. This is the big political story of our era: money,
propaganda, conspiracies, corruption, fraud, sex, lies, and hidden
bodies.

This is bigger than McCarthyism, and way more expensive. It has involved
financial corruption, tuition-based price-gauging, nepotism, and
conspiracy to use publicly funded charities (universities) to advance
one political party and stifle dissent. Besides persecuting political
opponents, academia has corrupted research, knowingly spread profligate
falsehoods (especially about sex, gender, and race), and defrauded
millions of college graduates who went into debt for an overpriced
education that left them dysfunctional, unemployable, mentally unstable,
and brainwashed.

We have witnessed a criminal transfer of wealth from hard-working poor
and middle-class families to fund managers and university administrators
swimming in a deluxe swamp of untaxed endowments that are not being used
to advance the common good.

Save the Evidence-Because It's Really Bad for the Left

The left perpetrated this and must be held accountable, not only through
shaming and a thorough accounting for the history books, but also,
through some kind of massive restitution. The liberal corruption of
academia coincided with enormous increases in tuition and student debt
(discussed in my book).

Some estimates of student loan debt range between one and two trillion
dollars, but this does not count all the money funneled into university
tax shelters, which are not being taxed, and all the payments to
colleges for tuition, books, fees, and other expenses, in exchange for a
faulty product people were forced to buy through false advertising and a
crooked credentialing system. A massive part of the nation's
economy--and of countless families' budgets--went into a black hole of
waste, creating a drag on our country's economic growth and
productivity, which nobody has yet fully theorized. And the people who
did this were insufferably smug and completely wrong about everything,
on top of all that. (Who will do a study on this when all the economists
are paid by or scared of universities?)

Several months ago, when I came out with a book on higher education
called "Wackos Thugs & Perverts," people thought the title was
outrageous. Now, as Berkeley has seen three riots and three guest
speakers blocked by politically correct outrages, the harsh title seems
almost too gentle. Isn't there something deeper going on?

Everything is getting worse every day. Remember when it was only
conservatives who saw their freedom crushed and they were generally
deemed deserving of such treatment? I remember. I remember when even
conservative watchdogs thought lots of us who came forward with stories
were just loonies because why else would so many people in the academy
think we were crazy?

At last, some who caviled are now realizing what is afoot. The AAUP
responded to my SOS calls in 2014 with unworried emails, saying there
was no tenure or academic-freedom issue there. They had the usual
routine down, which they use, presumably, when being forced to deal with
a kook: "My job is to make you go away, here's a cookie; this gentleman
with the holstered Taser and a security badge will see you out the back
way. Good afternoon, Sir." Now the AAUP is actually starting to sweat
(too late to help me, of course--I left that job.)

But Conservatives Need to Get Serious

We can't get it twisted, though; large numbers of conservatives were
either complicit with the racket or contributed to it by their own
foolishness. In 2015, I remember trekking to Capitol Hill to meet with
Republican lawmakers about academic freedom, with the explicit aim of
alerting them to the Higher Education Act and provisions therein, which
would enable them to intervene in persecution cases like mine.

After months of trying to get appointments, my friend and I arrived to
be told no lawmakers could meet with us, but instead two charming
twentysomethings would greet us in their dungarees and flats, with mugs
of coffee and yellow legal pads, the pages of which I am sure did not
survive five minutes after my departure. These were interns or clerks or
something--I wasn't quite sure.

They told me they were concerned and keeping watch over academic
freedom, mostly by reading stories about Laura Kipnis. Prof. Kipnis was
a liberal Northwestern professor who wrote a column defending the
practice of professors sleeping with students, and alluding to an
ongoing rape investigation with dismissive comments about the (unnamed)
accusers. As a result of this, the individuals who had raised the rape
charges filed a Title IX retaliation charge against Prof. Kipnis, which
resulted in her being investigated for two months and then cleared of
all charges. I asked the Hill interns, "are you aware of other cases,
for instance conservatives opposed to homosexuality, where people were
actually investigated for years and then lost their jobs?"

They replied something to the effect of, "I am sure such cases exist."

My friend stepped in to say, "It would be a very sad thing if you guys
diddled around talking about academic freedom while Dr. Lopez, who's
been under investigation for 9 months already, had to leave his job in
California, and nothing got done about this. Think of all the others who
will lose their jobs."

The writing could not have been darker on the wall than it was on that
day. But the Hill interns said I should email them with any updates (I
did, with no response) and they would keep an eye on things and let the
appropriate lawmakers know they met with me. My friend and I got phone
calls with various staffers over the next year, with nothing other than
repetitive references to the case of Laura Kipnis. "We sent a letter to
Northwestern about Laura Kipnis's case," one told me. I responded, with
growing unease, "great! She seems a great lady! But she was cleared of
all charges and has a job. Do you think you might send a letter to my
college?"

"We don't want to make things worse," they said.

"You need hearings!" I was screaming like a crazy person screaming,
"soylent green is people!" My dean, who would be named the head of the
Clinton Global Initiative on campus and got elected to be president of
the National Council of Deans of Arts and Sciences (which is interesting
since she is dean of neither arts nor sciences), methodically loaded up
my personnel file with reprimand letters and procedural annoyances until
at last I decided the only fate worse than losing tenure at Cal State
Northridge would be having tenure at Cal State Northridge. But as I was
on my way out, I had some consolation that finally Congress was going to
hold hearings about academic freedom.

The "hearings"

Professor Robert George, distinguished with his grey locks and gleaming
spectacles, appeared before Congress alongside a bunch of his students
and a leftist who was told he could not hang up Bernie Sanders posters
at Georgetown.

They spoke about the importance of free thought and exchange of ideas,
etc., etc., etc., while I proceeded to pull out most of my hair
screaming at the wall, "this is it? These are your hearings? These
people aren't about to be fired. When will we talk about defunding the
colleges and subpoenaing all the creepy Medusa figures in the
administration who keep landing millions of dollars in grants and
harassing conservative Christians until they leave?"

Get ready for the death toll-but stop diddling

On many campuses that pushed out conservatives, the routine was
frighteningly similar. Well aware of FIRE and other groups devoted to
academic freedom, the administrators had learned, by a few years ago,
that they could not attack conservatives by openly repudiating their
conservatism. They either frame them for some unrelated procedural
violation (falsifying files if they have to), or else drag them into a
complicated investigation that they know will not survive an
academic-freedom challenge, but will likely lead to the victim breaking
a rule like confidentiality, notification, disclosure, or
non-retaliation.

Because this was how the system worked and still works, countless people
live now under investigation, facing certain ousters. They are hostages
but we do not know where they are, since they are cowed by
confidentiality rules, gag orders, and the observation that courts are
siding with liberal oppressors.

Reality Check

If you want to save academic freedom, be aware of some hurtful truths.

First, conservatives dropped the ball. Nothing they've done worked and
if they don't try new approaches, this will become even worse.

Second, no painless strategy can fix this. You love homecoming,
reunions, the football games, and the friends you made in college. You
may have nostalgia for all you learned and the warm professors who
guided you into adulthood. But those charms chain you to an oppressive
system that threatens our democracy.

Universities are utterly hostile to your values and to God--even the
vast majority of religious colleges. They got this bad because they rely
on a steady stream of money that has never slowed or stopped, no matter
how outraged the nation became. The only strategy that will work will be
financial. The federal government must cease all public funding for
colleges and universities, save for trade or vocational programs and
seminaries (which are vocational). Our nation's debt matches, roughly,
the enormous amounts of cash that this corrupt system has funneled out
of the functioning economy into their twisted Wonderland of emotional
torture, sexual depravity, and fiscal recklessness.

People you love in the university system will experience pain if this
system is to be fixed. Grants, backing of student loans, and tax
exemptions on donations must all cease. Forget the conservative refrain
of local and state control--the federal government got thoroughly
entangled in all this and must take the lead. These are not non-profit
charities so that loophole smacked of fraud from the beginning. In the
case of most Catholic colleges, the non-profit status actually
constituted charities fraud since the church has not yet reversed its
stance on chastity yet these Catholic colleges not only fund homosexual
social groups but even persecute people who defend Biblical sexuality on
their own campuses.

Were such a strategy pursued, we would see massive job losses, the
abolition of tenure, the closing of many struggling colleges, and cuts
in pay. The wasteful and parasitic administrative class would have to
go, causing painful unemployment to possibly millions of people who have
made their living off the fat of this monstrous system. So many good
people with good intentions would be hurt in the process. For that we
must grieve.

But I left my job and quit tenure. It can be done. The universities and
their workers brought this infernal crisis on themselves. They had
adequate warnings and have no excuse for why they let the situation get
this far.

Let go of "academic freedom"

Lastly, you must realize that this is not about academic freedom in the
way we have discussed it thus far.

If you are truly conservative, your end goal is not a state of academic
freedom, which would imply a situation in which all ideas are expressed
and allowed on campus forums, and nobody is blocked from or suffers
retaliation for their statements. Such a world would lack all
discernment. It would be without virtue, without distinctions,
constantly doubting its morals, and incapacitating the triumph of any
position over others even in matters of grave importance. It would be
demonic.

If you are conservative, and especially if you are Christian, what you
seek is the Truth. The Truth is from God and exists as wisdom
un-darkened by confusion and sinful thoughts. The Truth is not only what
is, but what is right. With our imperfect minds, we cannot rush to
decide what Truth is. We cannot censor competing views, except when we
can show certainty. But academic freedom within such a system is a means
to an end, a tool to build our monument to the Truth. In debates
eventually we must acknowledge Truth where it lies, not remain
uncommitted.

The left became horrendous because the left was wrong. Their
prescriptions about improving race relations did not work because they
were wrong. They were wrong about homosexuality and now we see the
falsehoods of the LGBT movement growing more arrogant and multiplying as
people who were celebrated for their errors now see further false
affirmations as their entitlement, and Truth as an attack on their
fragile sense of self.

The Truth is on our side. Now as we see all of higher education declare
war on Truth, and on us because we championed it, we have nothing to
lose. Do not hide behind caveats of academic freedom, as if all we want
is to be given a chance to speak, a slush fund to bring Ann Coulter for
a speech, a seat on a panel beside people peddling lies--that is not
what we want. We want the left to stop lying. We want to proclaim the
Truth so people see it, and stop listening to the left, and start
listening to God. If this means that academia crashes and turns into
ruins of a lost past, do not be mournful. Rejoice, for God has given us
victory. Do not worry for tenure or being published somewhere
prestigious or stuffing your resume with awards and grants. God gave you
legs to walk and a tongue to shout His Word from the rooftops.

Academia is lost. We will never get our desks and library carrels back.
Harvard will not ask us to speak what we know from behind a podium with
a brilliant seal while the future leaders of America applause and smile.
We have won our freedom. Enjoy it.

Robert Oscar Lopez (born 1971) is an American academic. He is Associate
Professor of English and Classics at California State University,
Northridge in Los Angeles, California.



------------------------------

Message: 15
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:27:41 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: A manifesto for the persecuted church
Message-ID:
<1494534461.4132081...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

A manifesto for the persecuted church

By George Carey
GLOBAL CHRISTIAN NEWS
http://www.globalchristiannews.org/article/a-manifesto-for-the-persecuted-church/
May 8, 2017

As the persecuted church agency Barnabas Fund presses British
politicians to include religious freedom in their election campaign
pledges the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey makes a plea to
the next UK government.

I recently saw images of the hauntingly empty Iraqi town of Qaraqosh,
near Mosul, which was taken by ISIS in 2014. It had a population of
50,000 mostly Assyrian Christians, but is now totally abandoned. The
militants have used every means to erase the town of its Christian
identity defiling and destroying its beautiful church buildings.

In August 2014, the militants swept through towns around Mosul and
forced thousands to flee. Qaraqosh's Christians abandoned their homes
and have still not returned, even though the town has now been liberated
from IS.

I have always felt a particular connection with Iraq having spent my
national service as a wireless operator in Basra and when I was there
the Christian community was a sizeable proportion of the population --
living happily and peacefully alongside Shia and Sunni Muslims. But
successive waves of persecution and violence are threatening to
'cleanse' Christianity not just from its heartlands in Iraq, Lebanon,
Syria but from the whole of the Middle East.

It is only just over 100 years since the often forgotten Armenian
genocide by the Ottomans wiped out millions of Middle-Eastern
Christians. The world has been standing by while it happens again at the
hands of ISIS and other groups linked to Al-Qaeda. The situation is
similarly parlous in Northern Nigeria where Boko Haram -- notorious for
abducting 296 Chibok schoolgirls -- has been conducting a systematic
reign of terror and killing of Christian communities.

The persecuted church charity, Barnabas Fund, is urging politicians to
put policies in their manifestos which will halt the genocide and
violence against Christians worldwide.

"There is a very real danger," they point out that "Christian
communities will have ceased to exist in large parts of the Middle East
by the time of the next general election in 2022."

The next UK government's policy is hugely important. Politicians have
promised much for years but have consistently failed to speak up and
take action when Christians and churches have been attacked as they have
in places as diverse as India, Eritrea, and Pakistan.

In fact, in some cases UK government policy discriminates against
persecuted Christians. Just under 51 of the 2,592 refugees accepted for
asylum in Britain between September 2015 and June 2016 were Christians
-- less than two per cent of the total. The proportion dropped to just
one per cent for the latest figures. Yet the pre-war Christian
population of Syria was 10 per cent.

The government blatantly denies that its policies are biased against
Christians, yet it has failed to give any satisfactory reason for why
there is such a discrepancy in the numbers.

What is the reason for this shamefully slow response to Christian
persecution? Christian minorities are the victims of our feelings of
post-colonial guilt. We are so used to digesting a version of history
which sits in judgement on the 'Christian Imperialism' of Europe during
the past 500 years that we cannot accept a reverse narrative.

In turn the Christian communities in post-colonial Africa are often seen
as the agents of that historic colonialism and wrongly resented for the
sins of the past. In reality the imperialisms of history have been
replaced by many other injustices and 'imperialisms'. For most of the
last century atheistic communism was the major driving force behind
global persecution of Christians. This still explains current
persecution in China, and Laos for example, and accounts partly for the
authoritarianism of Eritrea and North Korea.

But now radical Islam and the spread of sharia law and blasphemy law, is
the driving force behind the persecution. So what can we do?

UK politicians should follow the policy advocated by groups like
Barnabas Fund and get the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to do its job
and start reporting to Parliament on what it believes to be the main
causes of religious persecution and how to address them.

But I believe the next UK government should go further and cut its aid
to countries where the persecution of Christians is aided and abetted by
civil authorities.

The British government cannot stop religious persecution on its own, but
it can provide leadership to the world by using the fullest extent of
its diplomatic and economic power.

If, as the polls suggest, the Conservatives are likely to get a huge
majority, I urge Theresa May to transcend the parochialism of narrow
politics and regain a broad compassionate vision of working for
minorities in parts of the world where radical Islam is so destructive.
Brexit is, of course, important and getting the right deal is rightly
the Prime Minister's central concern. But Britain has always been a
wonderfully caring and generous nation and it is my hope that this will
never change.

The Most Rev. George Carey is the former Archbishop of Canterbury



------------------------------

Message: 16
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:30:14 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Rebutting the Transgender Myths: Walt Heyer
Message-ID:
<1494534614.4132870...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Rebutting the Transgender Myths: Walt Heyer

By Bill Muehlenberg
https://billmuehlenberg.com/2017/04/28/rebutting-transgender-myths-walt-heyer/
Apr 28, 2017

One very effective way of dismantling the many myths and lies of an
ideological agenda is to have someone who has been there and done that
make his case. Walt Heyer knows all about the transgender agenda, having
had two sex changes. His story has now been told often in books,
articles and websites. And it is quite a story to tell.

He was born a male in California in 1931. He married in 1962 and had two
children, but nagging doubts since the age of five about being trapped
in the wrong body tormented him for some time. He later divorced, and he
'became a woman' at age 42 and stayed that way for eight years as Laura
Jenson.

As part of the transformation he had his genitals removed, received
breast implants, and was on a course of estrogen hormones for the whole
time. While elated at first, he soon realised that nothing had really
changed. He still struggled with all sorts of psychological and
emotional problems, and he realised that the physical changes did
nothing to change him on the inside.

One report on his story says this:
At first, Heyer was bewildered: He had done everything the experts had
recommended. Why was he still troubled? Familiar companions--depression,
distress, and unrest--crawled back. He had blown $50,000 on multiple
surgeries--and in the process, lost his 17-year-long marriage, a
high-paying career, and irreplaceable organs. That he had lost
everything to a gross, permanent mistake horrified him: Oh God, what had
he done?...

He slid back into drinking, and each night, he cried himself to sleep,
deeply depressed, suicidal, and isolated.

All the surgery and cosmetic changes did not deal with his real
problems, so he reverted back to being a man after eight years.
Christian counselling helped to turn his life round, and in 1997 he
married another woman. He then became involved in telling his story and
helping others who are in a similar position. But deep regret remains:

But some things cannot be restored. Even now, Heyer breaks down into
tears when he remembers his family. "I was so selfish to my ex-wife and
kids," he said, then paused to control his spilling tears. "I would give
... I would give anything. Anything to change that."

As he said elsewhere, this was among the worst aspects of this entire
time:

The relationship with his ex-wife remained civil but his daughter, 15 at
the time, and son, 12, were less understanding. Walt said: 'My daughter
was very, very upset. And my son said it would be easier if you were to
die, because then at least I could talk to people about what you were
going through.

'When a father does that, you're betraying your children and what came
to my mind later on was I saw myself as much more important than my
kids. That is probably the most self-centred, narcissistic thing a
person can do -- it's just nonsense to place yourself over a couple of
kids, who needed someone to be there for them.'

Now Heyer is well placed to comment on the escalating trans agenda
everywhere being played out in the West. Consider just one famous case
of this:

Heyer watched the public fawning over Bruce Jenner's transition to
Caitlyn with horror and grief: "The media is lying through their teeth,
glorifying it, glamorizing it. Not one word of caution, not one word
about the prevalence of suicide among transgenders!" He knew from
experience how such publicity can affect young minds.

Heyer knows we really are in an ideological and political war here,
wherein the activists are routinely trashing science, biology and
reality. As he writes in his 2011 book, Paper Genders:

"It is unfortunate -- if someone in the medical field scientifically
tries to explore the idea that some psychological disorders may exist in
transgenders, the GLBT activists become almost militant and view it as
an attack on their sexual orientation or on their right to switch
genders. Scientific research is, in effect, influenced and even censored
by a political faction. As a result this patient group is not getting
the same level of care as the general population."

Denial is the order of the day. The transgenders themselves are
encouraged to deny even the possibility that any secondary psychological
disorders could co-exist with gender issues. But changing genders can be
a symptom of some form of depression. Untreated, depression often
results in alcoholism, drug addiction, anger and yes, even suicide....

The objective research suggests that:
1) transgenders are not born that way,
2) secondary issues do exist, and
3) the transgender population is at risk for regret and suicide.

But political activism trumps objective research. Political activism may
actually shut down objective research that dares to explore any of these
soon-to-become politically-incorrect areas of study. In the name of
political correctness, differing views are silenced, even views based on
objective evidence. By insisting on political correctness, the activists
enjoy unchecked freedom to promote any myth they want.

As a 76-year-old male now living in Los Angeles, he still continues his
very important mission of telling the truth about the trans agenda. In
one of his most recent articles, "Bravo to the Truth: What's Wrong with
Transgender Ideology," he pulls no punches. Let me share portions of it
here:

What Makes a Person Trans?

The accepted LGBTQ standard for being a "real" trans-woman or trans-man
is simply that a person desires to self-identify as the opposite of his
or her biological sex and to be socially accepted as such. If a person
feels distressed about his or her birth gender, then the politically
correct action is for everyone to affirm the new and "authentic" gender
identity--the one that exists only in the trans person's feelings....

When people feel that their biological sex doesn't match their internal
sense of gender, they are typically diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
This is defined as "discomfort or distress that is caused by a
discrepancy between a person's gender identity and that person's sex
assigned at birth." In other words, the medical diagnostician simply
listens to and affirms the patient's own verbal self-identification and
self-diagnosis.

No objective tests can prove that the transgender condition exists. No
physical examination, blood test, bone marrow test, chromosome test, or
brain test will show that a person has gender dysphoria. It is a
condition revealed solely by the patient's feelings. Yet the recommended
treatment is extreme--cross-gender hormones and sex-reassigning surgery.

Don't be duped when trans-activists conflate the unrelated condition of
intersexuality with transgenderism to gain sympathy for a trans-agenda.
People with intersex conditions are not the same as self-identified
transgender people. Being intersex is verifiable in the physical body;
being transgender is not. People who identify as transgender usually
have typical male or female anatomies.

He concludes:
The problem with basing a diagnosis and irreversible treatment on
people's feelings, no matter how sincerely held, is that feelings can
change. My message attempts to help others avoid regret, yet the warning
is not welcome to the advocates whose voice for transgender rights rings
strong and loud. Some will find my words offensive, but then the truth
can be offensive.

Personally, I cannot think of anything more offensive than men
diminishing the wonder and uniqueness of biological women by suggesting
women are nothing more than men who have been pumped with hormones and
may or may not have undergone cosmetic surgery. Cheers and bravo to the
offensive truth. Let's reclaim the beautiful reality of male and female
sexual difference and reject transgender ideology.

www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2017/04/19080/
The story of Walt Heyer, and others like him, deserve to be told. But
they are mostly being silenced, suppressed and attacked by the activists
and much of the mainstream media. Thus it is our job to do all we can to
help get such stories out far and wide.

For further information -- articles about his life story:
world.wng.org/2017/03/walt_s_story
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2921528/The-man-s-TWO-sex-changes-Incredible-story-Walt-Laura-REVERSED-operation-believes-surgeons-quick-operate.html

For further information -- books:

Walt Heyer, Perfected with Love, 2009.
Walt Heyer, Paper Genders, 2011.
Walt Heyer, Gender, Lies and Suicide: A Whistleblower Speaks Out, 2013.
Walt Heyer, A Transgender's Faith, 2015.
For further information -- websites:

www.sexchangeregret.com/
waltheyer.com/



------------------------------

Message: 17
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:30:31 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Civilisation sleeps while a Christian Holocaust takes shape
Message-ID:
<1494534631.4132858...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Civilisation sleeps while a Christian Holocaust takes shape

By Jules Gomes
http://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/r
May 7, 2017

The horrors of the Holocaust haunt us 70 years after Auschwitz. The
smell of incinerated Jewish flesh remains a stench in our nostrils. The
Nazis had dehumanised, brutalised and cremated six million Jews. No one
knew the full horrors of the gas chambers until Allied forces went in to
liberate the camps and the first shocking pictures flashed across the
world. The Nazis had blinded humanity to the finality of the Final
Solution.

The Nazis weren't uncivilised savages. Germany was the epitome of high
culture. The Nazis promoted the works of Bach, Beethoven, Bruckner and
Wagner while silencing the music of Mendelssohn and Mahler. The National
Socialists weren't illiterate aborigines. Germany was the embodiment of
higher education. Of the 16 signatories to the Final Solution at the
Wannsee Conference, eight had PhDs.

But the world slept like Rip Van Winkle, blinkered by the disbelief that
the most cultured and educated elite could stoop to the most barbaric
behaviour known to mankind. You could count the Davids who dared to
challenge the Goliath of the Third Reich on the fingers of one hand. It
was slingshots against Panzers and the Luftwaffe. It was Lutheran
pastors Niem?ller and Bonh?effer against Hitler and G?ring. The
established church of Deutschland clicked its heels in a smart Sieg Heil
and sang Das Horst-Wessel-Lied in a loyal fortissimo.

Seventy years later the "civilised" world is snoozing, boozing,
clubbing, tweeting, and signalling its virtue by clicking "Like" on
Facebook, while jihadists are perpetrating genocide against Christians.
This time, we cannot say that we do not know the reality of the Jihadi
Final Solution. When jihadis behead Christians, they upload the gory
scenes on YouTube. When Boko Haram captures Nigerian Christian girls and
sells them in slavery, a spokesman trumpets it to the media by releasing
a video.

In Nazi Germany, Martin Niem?ller's manifesto was crying out for
attention: First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak
out--because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the trade
unionists, and I did not speak out--because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--because I was not
a Jew. Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me.
St Theresa May-Or-May-Not of Downing Street, vicar's daughter,
Conservative Party leader, churchgoing Anglican, and former Home
Secretary, ramps up the rhetoric but remains inert.

Now she must translate words into action. Today Barnabas Fund
https://barnabasfund.org/ releases its pre-election manifesto and is
rousing political Rip Van Winkles from their slumber of political
appeasement. The message of the manifesto thunders across political
parties: The next UK government should recognise that without specific
urgent action now there is a very real danger that Christian communities
will have ceased to exist in large parts of the Middle East by the time
of the next general election in 2022.

The seven-point policy document, A Manifesto for Persecuted Christians,
is commended by former shadow Solicitor General Lord Anderson of
Swansea, Baroness Cox, Lord Curry of Kirkharle, Lord Mackay of Clashfern
and the Marquess of Reading, joined by public theologians like Drs
Graham Nicholls, Vinay Samuel and Chris Sugden.

Barnabas Fund is warning the West of the 'very real threat that entire
Christian communities, which have existed in large areas of the Middle
East since the first century of Christianity, will quite literally have
been eliminated by the time of the next UK general election in 2022.' In
Iraq alone, the number of deaths could possibly be in the tens of
thousands. 'There is no question that these deaths constitute evidence
of destruction for purposes of the Genocide Convention,' a research
paper in the Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law, one of
the world's oldest and most prestigious international law journals,
emphatically states. The truth that no one wants to know is that the
persecution facing Christians is the largest 'human rights' violation
issue in today's world.

But it is not only Christians in the Middle East who are at risk. Here,
in England where the Church of England is still the religion
'established by law,' a new test of ideological orthodoxy is being
rammed down the throats of conscientious objectors. What an irony! Once
upon a time the UK led the world in abolishing the various "Test Acts"
that required anyone holding public office to assent to a particular set
of beliefs. The manifesto cites the following examples:
* 1719 Repeal of the Schism Act--teachers were no longer required
to assent to a specific set of beliefs.
* 1791 Catholic Relief Act--allowed Catholics to become lawyers.
* 1828 Repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts--allowed those
holding non-Anglican beliefs to become mayors and councillors.
* 1829 Catholic Emancipation Acts--Catholics allowed to become
MPs.
* 1871 Repeal of the University Tests Act--abolished the
requirement for professors at Oxford and Cambridge to hold specific
beliefs.
* 1888 Oaths Act--allowed atheists to become MPs.

Today, however, politicians like Tim Farron and Conservative MP Andrew
Turner, who was forced to resign last week by his party, are required to
pass the "test" of the prevailing orthodoxy of identity, gender and
sexuality politics--even at the risk of compromising their deeply held
Christian beliefs.
The twin tyrannies of Jihadism and leftism are mounting a war on
Christians--in the Islamic world and in the UK. In the light of the
liberating trajectories of the above acts, the Barnabas Fund manifesto
calls upon the next UK government to 'pass a law stating that no one
holding or standing for public office should be required to hold
particular beliefs.' So far, freedom of religion was understood as
freedom to practise a religion, worship, build places of worship, choose
or change a belief system, and persuade or evangelise others.

As Christians holding public office are humiliated in Stalinist show
trials and burnt at the media stake for holding traditional views on sex
and marriage, the Barnabas Fund manifesto is insisting that freedom of
religion should include 'the absence of any requirement for people to
assent to a particular worldview or set of beliefs to hold public
office.'

The situation in the Middle East is dire. The next UK government should
recognise that as well as Islamic State other jihadi groups are
targeting Christians and other minorities. Citing the 2013 attack on the
Christian town of Maaloula in Syria, the manifesto alerts the government
to terrorist groups like Ahrar al Sham who carried out the attack and
who have not been placed on the Home Office list of banned terrorist
organisations.

While leaders of seven Anglican mission societies recently signed a
statement opposing Trump's recent executive orders giving priority to
Christians fleeing persecution, the Barnabas Fund manifesto does
precisely the opposite. It calls for the next UK government to act
decisively and address the disproportionate under-representation of
Syrian Christians among refugees referred for resettlement in the UK by
the UNHCR. Last year, of 4,175 Syrian refugees resettled in the UK, only
64 were Christians and 18 Yazidis, even though Syrian Christians are
singled out for persecution by IS and other jihadi groups.

Most worrying for the civilised world is the threat to free speech.
While Tim Farron will lose votes and Andrew Turner lost his seat,
Pakistani Christians accused of blasphemy are losing their lives. The
Pakistan government wants to introduce a 'global Islamic blasphemy law'
that prohibits any criticism of Islam on social media. Facebook has
agreed to co-operate with this draconian law. It is wooing 27 Muslim
majority countries to get international agreement to prosecute anyone
who posts online any material deemed to be blasphemous.

The manifesto urges the next UK government to take active steps to
combat the global spread of Islamic blasphemy laws and other laws or
practices that have similar effects in muzzling free expression.

The Holocaust was the nadir of Western civilisation. When the Jews
suffocated to death in the gas chambers of Auschwitz, freedom of
thought, speech and religion died. It took years, and the fall of the
Berlin Wall, for Europe to begin to recover.

The Reformation was the zenith of Western Civilisation. When Martin
Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of church in Wittenberg, the
first hammer blows he struck in favour of freedom of thought, speech and
religion echoed throughout Europe.

Now, once again, that hard-earned freedom is being 'incrementally
eroded,' and in the year of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation the
Niem?llers and Bonh?effers of Barnabas Fund are nailing their manifesto
to the doors of the House of Commons. Wachet auf, Europe! Wake up,
Britain! One day they will come for you and--and there will be no one
left to speak for you.

Barnabas Fund Manifesto:
http://us11.campaign-archive2.com/?e=&u=a9b3e4fe35187581ec007413e&id=437cb680b3




------------------------------

Message: 18
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:30:46 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Trump's Executive Order On Religious Liberty Is A Big
Disappointment
Message-ID:
<1494534646.4132858...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Trump's Executive Order On Religious Liberty Is A Big Disappointment

By David Harsanyi
THE FEDERALIST
http://thefederalist.com/2017/05/04/trumps-executive-order-on-religious-liberty-is-a-big-disappointment/
May 4, 2017

"The first priority of my administration will be to preserve and protect
our religious liberty," the candidate Donald Trump claimed in a speech
before the Iowa Faith and Family Coalition early in his campaign. Like
many other promises we heard, this didn't turn out to be true.

Trump's instincts, history, and lifestyle made him, to say the very
least, an unlikely champion of social conservative causes. So it was
obviously a priority for the candidate to scatter his speeches with
promises of religious liberty protections to woo evangelicals, who were
obviously vital in helping him win the GOP primaries and the presidency.

When a draft of the religious freedom executive order leaked to the
press earlier this year, it looked like the administration might provide
comprehensive relief, not only protecting churches but Americans who
sincerely operate on faith-based principles. The kind of people who lose
their businesses when unelected authoritarians who sit on so-called
Civil Rights Commissions persecute Americans for thought crimes.

In the order itself, however, the administration seems to have backed
away from broader protections. This is reportedly the text. It focuses
on three symbolic moves.

One, the administration promises to "vigorously promote religious
liberty"; which, after years of the executive branch vigorously
undermining it, is nice. But in practical terms it means little.
President Obama also maintained that his administration, which did more
to corrode protections in the First Amendment than any in memory, was a
guardian of religious liberty.

Second, as the administration explained in its press release, it will
direct the Internal Revenue Service "to exercise maximum enforcement
discretion to alleviate the burden of the Johnson Amendment, which
prohibits religious leaders from speaking about politics and candidates
on the pulpit."

Trump had previously promised to get "rid of and totally destroy the
Johnson Amendment." From my ideological perspective, that would be just
fine. The Johnson Amendment -- a law forbidding religious organizations
from engaging in political activities without losing their tax-exemption
status -- is an attack on free expression that singles out people of
faith. There is no rational reason for paying taxes to be a prerequisite
to engage in political speech. The law was specifically created to
inhibit debate by forcing churches to choose between expression and
faith.

In practical terms, however, the law is almost never enforced and
religious leaders have never been particularly worried about it. In
fact, it's likely that most faith leaders are content avoiding political
rhetoric in the pulpit, and having a legal excuse to do so insulates
them from pressure. Those who want to politicize speech already ignore
the law.

An executive order merely puts bureaucrats at the IRS in charge of
dispensing justice at their pleasure. When a new administration comes
along, it will be free to take the law as seriously as it wants. If you
truly have a desire to get rid of the Johnson Amendment, it will take a
legislative solution. Without a change to the law itself, any
administration can come in and abuse this power in the future.

Third, the administration promises to provide "regulatory relief for
religious objectors to Obamacare's burdensome preventative services
mandate, a position supported by the Supreme Court's decision in Hobby
Lobby."

It's about time those who have been sucked into Obamacare's
unconstitutional requirements on contraception, the Little Sisters of
the Poor, and so on are helped. That's something. But it does not repeal
the HHS mandate. Why would Trump provide regulatory relief when he could
offer a solid, comprehensive exemption that protects all Americans who
run faith-based businesses? While the media will almost surely frame
this as an anti-gay law, perhaps someone with access can ask the
administration why it decided to abandon exemptions that were carved out
in the draft -- and that the president consistently promised to the
American people?

Then again, it's not all on Trump. Republicans were often critical of
Obama for running a government through executive orders. The drawbacks
of that kind of governance don't change simply because they won the
presidency. For one, it can be an abuse of power. Mostly, though, it's
ineffective, symbolic governance. Which is what we have here. Trump's
executive order does little, and what little it does can be easily
overturned.

*****

Trump's Religious Liberty Order Doesn't Answer Most Evangelicals'
Prayers
Prayer breakfast pledge to 'totally destroy' Johnson Amendment comes up
shy; conscience exemptions from LGBT anti-discrimination rules missing.

By KATE SHELLNUTT
http://www.christianitytoday.com
MAY 4, 2017

In his biggest religious liberty push since taking office, President
Donald Trump officially laid out in an executive order some of the
protections he has promised faithful supporters for months. The move
came on the same day that evangelical leaders gathered in Washington for
the annual National Day of Prayer.

One problem: This is not the executive order many evangelicals had been
praying for.

Gone are the exemptions for religious groups faced with accommodating
LGBT antidiscrimination regulations that conflict with their faith
convictions. Instead, the order--titled "Promoting Free Speech and
Religious Liberty"--extends political speech protections for pastors and
religious organizations, aiming to let them to talk about politics
without penalty. It also requests "regulatory relief" for religious
groups, including evangelical universities, caught in a court battle
over the Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate.

"I am signing today an executive order to defend the freedom of religion
and speech in America, the freedoms that we wanted, the freedoms that
you fought for so long," the president said in a Rose Garden ceremony.
"The federal government will never ever penalize any person for their
protected religious beliefs."

Trump spoke most about the implications for the Johnson
Amendment--legislation that has regulated nonprofits' political activity
for six decades. "This financial threat against the faith community is
over," he said "You're now in a position to say what you want to say.
... No one should be censoring sermons or targeting pastors."

While the White House's broad vision to "protect and vigorously promote
religious liberty" holds promise for people of faith, it lacks some of
the specific conscience safeguards many conservative Christians wanted
to see.

"Religious conservatives will take comfort from the generally positive
attitude toward their religious liberty claims. But in its operative
effects, this nowhere goes out on a limb for them," said Thomas Berg, a
professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis.
"The issues concerning LGBT/religious-liberty conflicts remain, and this
gives little indication Trump will go out on a limb on those."

Trump's promise to repeal the Johnson Amendment excited some of his
closest evangelical allies like Liberty University president Jerry
Falwell Jr. and Family Research Council president Tony Perkins. Yet,
according to surveys, the majority of evangelicals do not see this issue
as a priority, or even on their agenda. Most have major concerns about
bringing more politics into their churches.

Earlier this year, the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE)
reported in its monthly Evangelical Leaders Survey that 90 percent of
its board of directors, including the leaders of major denominations and
ministries, oppose using the pulpit for political endorsements. Other
surveys show that nearly 3 in 4 evangelicals are also against it.

"When it comes to challenges to religious liberty, the Johnson Amendment
is just about the least important issue I can think of," said John
Inazu, a professor at Washington University School of Law.

"More important than whether pastors can speak politics is whether
everyone can live their convictions in [the] public square," tweeted
John Stonestreet, president of the Colson Center for Christian
Worldview.

An earlier draft of a religious liberty order, leaked in January,
focused on balancing religious convictions with LGBT protections. By
directing the attorney general to ensure all federal agencies comply
with religious liberty protections, the order represents a promising
move for evangelicals, said Johnnie Moore, an evangelical adviser and
consultant.

"This is the single most important religious liberty action taken by the
White House in a very long time," said Moore, who spent hours with Trump
and his fellow faith advisers the night the order was drafted. Under the
order, "conservative people of faith will feel very, very free that they
won't have to set their conscience aside and be fearful of the law."

For Trump supporters waiting for the Johnson Amendment to be repealed,
it's a well-timed victory. His executive order coincides with a
congressional committee meeting on the amendment as well as his
participation in the National Day of Prayer.

A strong majority of white evangelicals are pleased with Trump's
performance as president so far, and dozens of evangelical leaders,
including advisers Robert Jeffress and Paula White, gathered at the
White House for a dinner with Trump and vice president Mike Pence
Wednesday night. The ceremony at the White House featured a welcome by
White; prayer by Jack Graham, Cardinal Donald Wuerl; and Rabbi Marvin
Hier; and music by singer Steven Curtis Chapman. (Both Pence and White
quoted 2 Chronicles 7:14, which was the most-tweeted verse of Trump's
election.)

Trump pledged to "totally destroy" the Johnson Amendment when he spoke
at another annual prayer gathering, the National Prayer Breakfast, in
February. And during the campaign, he framed the move as a significant
part of his religious liberty agenda, saying:

... My greatest contribution to Christianity--and other religions--is to
allow you, when you talk religious liberty, to go and speak openly, and
if you like somebody or want somebody to represent you, you should have
the right to do it.

But the victory may be mostly symbolic. Legal experts question the
impact of Trump's order, which falls short of the promised repeal. It
doesn't specifically allow for pastor endorsements, as the president
implied. The order requests the Treasury Department not deny any "tax
deduction, exemption, credit, or benefit" to groups and leaders for
speaking about "moral or political issues from a religious perspective."

You can read the full story here: http://tinyurl.com/kwffgaj



------------------------------

Message: 19
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:31:00 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: "How on Earth do you forgive like this?"
Message-ID:
<1494534660.4132950...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

"How on Earth do you forgive like this?"

By Jeff Walton
https://juicyecumenism.com/2017/05/10/mouneer-anis/
May 10, 2017

Anglican Archbishop Mouneer Anis was an Egyptian citizen like any other
until soon after the Muslim Brotherhood took power in his home country
of Egypt. A trained physician, Anis oversees a growing province of the
Anglican Communion with hospitals, schools and numerous community
centers serving Muslims and Christians alike. But for two years, his
status as a Christian began to be viewed differently than others in the
majority-Muslim nation.

"I never felt like I was a second-class citizen except between 2011 and
2013," the President Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and The
Middle East recalled. Relief from encroaching political oppression came
in July of 2013 "when the people removed this Islamization of Egypt,"
Anis, who also serves as diocesan bishop for Egypt, described. But it
was the beginning of a different kind of difficulty as 60 churches were
burned by angered supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood following the
removal of President Mohammed Morsi from power. While one Anglican
church building in Suez was damaged, many Coptic Egyptian church
buildings were completely destroyed in attacks on the country's sizeable
but vulnerable Christian minority.

Anis spoke May 8 at an Anglican Relief and Development Fund (ARDF)
dinner at the Falls Church Anglican in Falls Church, Virginia,
discussing both the plight of Christians in the Middle East and newfound
opportunities for ministry in a tumultuous region.

Attacks on churches have continued, with twin suicide bombings at St.
George's Church in the city of Tanta on the Nile delta, and Saint Mark's
Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Alexandria, seat of Coptic Pope Tawadros
II. At least 45 people were reported killed and 126 injured in the Palm
Sunday attacks, for which the Islamic State claimed responsibility.

Islamic State also claimed responsibility for a December 2016 bombing at
St. Peter and St. Paul's Church in Cairo, which killed 29 people and
injured 47 others.

"They were Coptic Orthodox, but we are one Christian family," the
Anglican Archbishop declared. "One of the amazing things that happened
is the forgiveness within the church -- forgiveness towards the people
who exploded themselves -- was a great witness."

Anis recalled one witness pondering aloud "from what substance are these
Christians made? How on Earth do you forgive like this?"

"It was moving to many people," Anis reported. During the funeral for
Christians who died in the Palm Sunday attacks, the Coptic bishop who
led the service prayed for the assailants.

"This was in all the newspapers, that the bishop prayed for the
terrorists, that is amazing," Anis noted, contrasting with a presumed
response of revenge.

While the government has implemented "very strict security" for churches
in the days following the attacks, Anis expressed concern for neighbors
also affected by the threat of violence.

Twin challenges of rising food prices and a drop in the value of the
Egyptian pound have exacerbated difficulties for the population of 91
million Egyptians, with Anis reporting that 16.7 million Egyptian
children live in poverty. Additionally, nearly half a million refugees
from the Syrian Civil War are living in Egypt.

Anis, who serves as a Global Trustee for ARDF, explained that the
organization's mission has led his own Diocese of Egypt and North Africa
to fund projects at Anglican churches in Tanzania, Rwanda and Sudan.

"ARDF is very inspiring to us in Egypt, because God has blessed us so
much in Egypt that we have decided to start a Diocese of Egypt Relief
and Development Fund," Anis announced. "We have to give as well."

Within Egypt, ARDF has supported refugees from Sudan, as well as a
development project in the Province of Sudan itself.

"We're not putting Band-Aids on situations: we're focusing on projects
that have the possibility of being self-sufficient," explained Anglican
Church in North America Archbishop Foley Beach, who serves as Global
President and Chairman of ARDF.

"The cathedral alone in Cairo has cared for 35,000 refugees," Anis
reported. "We started a school for these refugees since they are not
accepted into [enrollment in] the Egyptian schools."

Projects to teach literacy, micro-lending and assistance to those
detained in prison for overstaying visas have been done in partnership
with Egyptian Muslims. But the cooperation has not led to compromising
the Christian faith, according to Anis, who reported that his diocese
has recently begun seven different church plants, an unexpectedly large
number in such a short span of time and relative difficulty.

The Egyptian Archbishop explained how Christians realized during the
period of Muslim Brotherhood rule that "we have to engage more with the
Muslims." This led to encouraging Muslim and Christian clerics to meet
and work towards community development together.

Dialogue limited to the religious leaders' level is insufficient, Anis
explained.

"We have to bring it down" to projects among school children, such as at
cultural centers in Cairo and Alexandria to work past misconceptions of
one another.

"This is so encouraging to me personally," Anis shared, describing
Muslim women and girls who come to the church to ask questions and
interact as part of the projects. "It is something we are keen to do, to
engage."

"If Jesus came to Cairo, he probably wouldn't sit in the bishop's chair
at the Cathedral -- he'd likely be talking with Muslims," Anis proposed.
"People are hungry to hear the word of God."



------------------------------

Message: 20
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:31:18 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: IRELAND: Some reflections on General Synod 2017 - Human
Sexuality Debate/Motion 12
Message-ID:
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Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

IRELAND: Some reflections on General Synod 2017 - Human Sexuality
Debate/Motion 12

By Alan McCann
Special to Virtueonline
www.virtueonline.org
May 9, 2017

Whilst orthodox Anglicans within the Church of Ireland are thankful that
Motion 12 was defeated at General Synod 2017 they have nothing to be
complacent about. Prior to the debate and vote on Motion 12 the synod
debated, and accepted, the Select Committee on Human Sexuality in the
Context of Christian Belief.

The report met with some favorable comments and was accepted
overwhelmingly. However, I feel the reason it was not debated in any
detail nor its 'recommendation' challenged was because people thought
Motion 12 was the 'big issue.' However, the Human Sexuality report
specifically recommended "that the Bishops further examine the
unresolved theological differences as represented in the Select
Committee, with a view to making proposals to facilitate a way forward."
Not very far away from what Motion 12 was asking the House of Bishops to
do. I fear some were blindsided by Motion 12 and did not read the text
of the Human Sexuality Report closely enough.

Looking at the present make-up of the House of Bishops I am not sure
where they would lead us on this issue. This is purely a personal
reflection but I reckon there are four possibly five who are
theologically opposed to any revision of the Church's teaching and
practice on this issue. Of the other seven or eight, depending on the
previous comment, I reckon at least all but one, maybe two, are clearly
in favor of blessing same-sex relationships and even conducting same-sex
marriages in the Church of Ireland. Of the one or possibly two I would
be uncertain if they would abstain or go with the majority. The latter
being the most likely in my opinion. Therefore, I would not be holding
out any great hope for the present House of Bishops to lead us other
than in the liberal revisionist direction on this issue.

If it comes to such a change the general synod would be required to vote
by orders and a two thirds majority would be needed in the house of
laity, clergy and bishops before such a 'doctrinal' and or 'liturgical'
change could be made. However, after the vote in Limerick I would not be
confident that such a vote would be won by the orthodox??? The comment
has been made on the orthodox side "if we can win it in Limerick we can
win it Armagh." Behind this comment lies the false thinking that fewer
people, especially from the northern province, were present in Limerick
due to the distance to travel to be present. However, looking at the
preliminary figures shows that there were only 30 or so fewer synod
members present on Friday in Limerick compared to the Friday session of
general synod in Armagh in 2016. A sobering thought.

The reality is, to use a well-known political phrase on this island,
speaking of the liberal revisionists: "we haven't gone away you know!"
Having had this issue now debated and brought to the floor of general
synod i suspect we will see it return, in one form or another, for the
foreseeable future.

Further, Motion 12 asked for the bishops to bring proposals for public
prayers for those who had entered in to civil partnerships or same-sex
marriages. The word 'public' was an interesting insertion. The
implication, at least in my mind, is that such 'prayers' are already
being offered in 'private.' The rumor mill, if it can be believed, and
that is a big 'if', would have me believe that such 'private prayers'
have happened in both the southern and northern provinces of the Church
of Ireland, However, as I have written that is only the rumor mill.

I envisage that the House of Bishops will struggle to bring anything
other than 'we are a work in progress' report to general synod in 2018.
I suspect we may have another private members bill, especially if
same-sex marriage enters the statue books in Northern Ireland. I also
envisage, as with other liturgical innovations in the past, the rules
will be broken and may even be challenged publicly by a cleric or more
likely clerics, in a coordinated challenge to the synod's vote on the
grounds of 'rights' and 'pastoral response,' offering public prayers for
same-sex couples.

The Church of Ireland is in for a very turbulent time and there is no
sign that the storm will abate any time soon. In fact, the very opposite
is true. The liberal revisionists are emboldened by the closeness of the
vote. Orthodox Anglicans within the Church of Ireland cannot rest at all
as the vote showed there is no 'middle ground' on this issue in the
Church of Ireland. General Synod 2017 will, I fear, come to be seen as a
watershed, especially when compared to the overwhelming vote in 2012
which restated, and which is still our official position, that marriage
is between one man and one women. The orthodox can no longer remain
silent and we desperately need a clearer lead from the orthodox bishops
or we need to start to look elsewhere, and I suggest GAFCON, for that
leadership.

The Rev. Dr. Alan McCann, rector of Holy Trinity Woodburn, Diocese of
Connor. Ordained in 1993 he has spent his ordained ministry in
Carrickfergus leading Holy Trinity, a church plant in 1992 by St
Nicholas (built 1180AD) Carrickfergus to parish status in 2000. The
views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. McCann speaking
and reflecting in a personal capacity and not on behalf of anyone else
or any organization or body within the Church of Ireland.



------------------------------

Message: 21
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:31:35 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: FOR OUR REDEMPTION: The Scope of the Atonement
Message-ID:
<1494534695.4132948...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
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FOR OUR REDEMPTION: The Scope of the Atonement

By Roger Salter
Special to VIRTUEONLINE
www.virtueonline.org
May 8, 2017

It is a Reformation Anglican dictum that the meaning of the Cranmerian
liturgy (BCP1662) is to be interpreted by the doctrine of the
Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion. Liturgy adapts theology to praise and
worship. It enunciates divine truth as something beyond profession of
the lips to possession in the heart. Both acts, theological endeavor and
the veneration of God, are doxological. They explore and express the
glory of of the Lord. Both engage the full powers of the mind and heart
(awareness and affection). Each is determined in its character by
revealed truth. The Word of God informs both theology and worship with
sense and sentiment that are orthodox, with thought and understanding in
accord with the mind of God, and with reality as it is disclosed and
discovered in Him. Theology is not made up. It is gleaned and gathered
from Scripture. Praise is not hyped up by human imagination and
excitement. It is prompted by the Holy Spirit in meditation upon God.

"It is impossible to honor God as we ought, unless we know him as he is"
(Stephen Charnock). We know God from the Bible. It is imperative that
our doctrine and devotion should be biblical.

Theology pursues accuracy. In that accuracy liturgy assumes charitable
supposition towards all participants, greeting them as honest partakers
of Christ and his benefits, and warning all that only sincere faith
gains the blessings of the means of grace as they are administered (not
everyone in attendance receives the word of God, not all who are
baptized are children of God, not all communicants feed inwardly upon
Christ). The language of liturgy is of necessity general and
provisionally inclusive. It addresses a company of people of whom the
spiritual state of each individual cannot be infallibly known. To be
effective to the true believer, or convictive to the unconverted,
liturgy must express itself in terms of the ideal i.e. all are present
for the right reason, all are open actually or prospectively to the
influences of grace.

The explanation of charitable supposition eases some of the concerns
raised by Anglican liturgy in the minds of those not familiar with its
use. The net of the liturgy and sacrament is seemingly more extensive
than the actual size of the catch hauled in by the effective grace of
God (For many are called but few are chosen. Matthew 22:14). The mystery
of election to the human mind requires a certain flexibility on our part
as to the presence of grace in certain instances. Ultimate judgment is
God's (The Lord knows who are his, 2 Timothy 2:19). We are to guard the
integrity of ministry but where the facts concerning certain persons in
a congregation are not entirely clear we are not to be over scrupulous.
Consciences must be addressed, but a judgmental tendency must be
suppressed. In the end people are accountable to God in their own
approach to him.

It is a pity that Puritanism, by and large, was a little over zealous in
its assessment of the BCP. Precisionism as a movement was too precise.
Puritan-minded men such as Grindal, Ussher, Hall, Preston, Trapp, and
Gurnell had no problem in their attachment to Anglicanism, nor should
any Reformed believer aware of the myriad subtle nuances of the
Reformation and Puritan eras. Soteriology trumps all other concerns in
the matter of achieving unity (John Bunyan as a Baptist showed the way
with his open pastoral policy on baptism, and Paul Helm cultivates
mutual respect between paedo-Baptists and credo-Baptists in his
examination of both points of view).

There are just some issues where it is not wise to be too insistent when
there is large agreement on matters of major importance for the
proclamation of the kingdom and the wooing of souls. The finer points of
ecclesiology and denominational preference are not to be
over-emphasized, because to some degree they are inferential and even
speculative and they blossom into sour prejudice.

Anglicanism in its authentic and constitutional guise is Reformed
catholicism, comprehending the Christian wisdom and orthodoxy of the
centuries since the apostolic era. It heeds the Fathers but not
slavishly. Cranmer, Jewel, Ussher, Toplady, (and the Baptist John Gill)
were among the great scholars of the Patristic period and conserved its
best ideas. The creeds (Apostles, Nicene, Athanasian) and earlier church
councils are fundamental to Anglicanism. Great voices down the ages
still echo in the beliefs and proclamation of Anglicans (Augustine,
Fulgentius, Anselm, Thomas, Bernard, Ratramnus (via Ridley), Gregory of
Rimini (via Peter Martyr). The Reformation restored and established
soteriological clarity. The Anglican Church is in essence a Reformed
Church and a member of the Reformed fraternity, and it would be
manifestly so if boldly true to its heritage. But Anglicanism also has
its own charm in its pastoral tone, its inoffensive and amusing English
temper wherever it flourishes, and its innocent aesthetics. Some of its
embellishments are attractive adornments to a winsome Christian witness
(truth and taste). It is not, in intention, philistine or legalistic. It
is the product, in its Refomational stance, of Euro-Anglo collaboration
and the seed-bed of a godly ecumenism.

William Hastie, erstwhile Professor of Divinity in the University of
Glasgow, and hence a Presbyterian, opines: . . . the great achievement
of the English Church in thus far (1904) maintaining its form of
Christianity among the bulk of the people and the higher classes, the
accurate learning of its scholars, the valuable contributions of its
theologians to apologetics, biblical criticism, and exegetical,
historical, and homiletical theology, not withstanding the vacillation
and weakness of its doctrinal development (2017) are all frankly
recognized and appreciated by the other branches of the Reformed Church.
The ecclesiastical ideal of its reformers was to make the Church of
England the living centre and rallying point of all the Reformed
Churches; and if its leaders and guides were to take up this splendid
conception again and endeavor to realize it, they might be blessed in
doing the greatest work for the Reformed Protestantism that the world
has seen since the age of the Reformation (Theology of the Reformed
Church, T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1904, Pages 97-98).

A recurrent reservation concerning Anglicanism's credentials as a
Reformed Church arises from the following asseveration found in the
Prayer of Consecration for the Communion Service 1662 and some
revisions: Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who of thy tender mercy
didst give thine only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the cross
for our redemption; who made there (by his one oblation of himself once
offered) a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and
satisfaction for the sins of the whole world;

For many Reformed and non-Reformed believers the conclusion is drawn
that Anglicanism advocates a doctrine of universal redemption. It is
therefore alleged that the statement in the Communion Liturgy is
conspicuously divergent from the teaching of Article XVII that outlines
the church's Confessional position on Predestination. Consistent
Calvinism, it is said, must subscribe to the principle of Definite
Redemption (often misleadingly and unfortunately termed as "limited
atonement"). Conscientious contemporary Christians of a Reformed
persuasion often point to a compromised stand on doctrine that they
deplore somewhat harshly or to which they cannot reconcile themselves
for full allegiance to the Anglican Communion.

In the early stages of the Reformation this particular issue was not a
point of specific discussion let alone contention. Briefly, it became
prominent through the influence of Theodore Beza, for one, and
resolution was sought through the deliberations of the Synod of Dort at
which several Anglican delegates were present whose contributions were
highly influential and perhaps moderating in emphasis at certain points.

The appointed representatives from England were Joseph Hall, Dean of
Worcester at the time and afterwards Bishop of Norwich (who had to
depart prematurely due to illness), John Davenant, Professor of Divinity
in the University of Cambridge and subsequently Bishop of Salisbury (who
ordained George Herbert to his parish ministry at Bemerton), Samuel
Ward, Archdeacon of Taunton, and also Theological Professor in the
University of Cambridge, and George Carleton, Bishop of Llandaff. Walter
Balcanequal of Scotland represented the Established Church of North
Britain. Each of these men upheld the conclusions of the Synod very
firmly thereafter. The correspondence exchanged between Hall and
Davenant expresses unequivocally their united conviction that the
Articles of Dort were in full agreement with the convictions of
Anglicanism. (Thomas Goad, Hall's replacement at the Synod, changed his
views from Calvinist to Arminian).

At the Synod each of the delegates from the Church of England earnestly
ensured that the universal offer of the gospel was included in the final
declarations of Dort and this most certainly is the case: "But as many
as are invited by the gospel, are invited sincerely (or in earnest,
serio). For sincerely and most truly God shows in his word, what is
pleasing to him; namely, that they who are called should come to him.
And he sincerely promises to all who come to him, and believe, the peace
of their souls and eternal life."

As to the death of Christ the findings of Dort state: "This death of the
Son of God is a single and most perfect sacrifice and satisfaction for
sins; of infinite value and price, abundantly sufficient to expiate the
sins of the whole world."

Sufficiency is the precise point established in the BCP Prayer of
Consecration. "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world"
(John 1:29). There recognized, is the the infinite worth of the precious
blood of the Lord Jesus. Here again, the unlimited value of Christ's
sacrifice is stated by the apostle: "And he himself is the propitiation
for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world" (1John
2:2). The liturgical statement of the BCP merely repeats the words of
Holy Scripture. It may then be debated as to whether the language of the
Bible includes every human individual ever born, or all classes and
types from every nation and race. John Baptist for example, was
addressing a Jewish audience when he identified Jesus as the Lamb, and
perhaps that was the gist of what he said - universalism in an
international and world-wide sense rather than mercy to Israel almost
exclusively with a sprinkling of Gentiles. It is possible, and it often
happens, that the term "world" does not embrace each and every
individual in the world. It refers to the "spread" of population without
absolute specificity or total inclusiveness.

The concern of the Anglican delegates to Dort was that particularism
should not prevent the preaching of the gospel to every creature. The
heaven-wrought success of the gospel magnifies the grace of God in the
sweet allurement and conversion of souls. The earthly refusal of the
gospel reveals the sinful hostility and hardness of the human heart left
to its own devices. The preached word facilitates the mercy and judgment
of God in their ultimate and absolute expression on the final day. The
gospel exalts the gracious gift of faith enabled by effectual calling.
It also lays bear the obduracy of natural man and his rebel heart. "So
shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to
me void, but shall accomplish what I please, and shall prosper in the
thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11).

The gospel is universal. Everyone is assured that in coming to Christ
they will be saved - whosoever will. The grace and gift of salvation is
particular, for all human beings, in their natural state, will
unfailingly cast it aside and spurn it as unnecessary or undesirable.
The love of God in election is an overplus of his goodness and mercy
which is efficient in its wooing and drawing of the chosen to himself.

"Moreover, the promise of the gospel is, that whoso ever believeth in
Christ crucified, shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Which
promise ought to be announced and proposed, promiscuously and
indiscriminately, to all nations and men to who God, in his good
pleasure hath sent the gospel, with the command to repent and believe.
But because many who are called by the gospel do not repent, nor believe
in Christ, but perish in unbelief; this doth not arise from defect or
insufficiency of the sacrifice offered by Christ on the cross, but from
their own fault (John 3:19-20, 5::44, Hebrew 3:5). But as many as truly
believe, and through the death of Christ are delivered and saved from
sin and condemnation, this benefit comes from the sole grace of God,
which he owes to no man, given them in Christ from eternity".

Confessionally and liturgically, Anglicanism is free of any fault in the
manner in which it construes the doctrine of the atonement but some
insist on alleging that it is tainted with Amyraldianism. It is true
that there are open and self-confessed Amyraldians within the Anglican
communion but this in no way indicates that Hypothetical Universalism in
any of its forms is integral to Anglican theology.

Moses Amyrald (Amyraut) (1596-1664) was a French Calvinist theologian
who proposed a particular notion of Hypothetical Universalism which
propounds the view that God decrees the salvation of all men and sent
his Son into the world to die exactly to that end. Ideally Christ was
sacrificed for all. But divine recognition of the fact that all would
inevitably scorn the compassion of God determined his following
resolution to establish faith as the appropriate way of grasping
salvation and to ensure that an elect number, granted the gift of faith,
would be the definite beneficiaries of the atonement wrought by Christ.

Such a sentiment maintaining that there is a universal disposition in
God for the salvation for all is not alien to orthodox Calvinism. Such
luminaries as Prosper, Baxter, Dabney, and Spurgeon, among many others,
have posited the perspective that God prefers the wellbeing of all, but
these authorities carefully differentiate between God's will of desire
and his will of decree. It is asserted that with loftier purposes in
mind than the total reclamation of mankind the Lord distinguishes
between those who will be favored in Christ as head of the elect and
those who will be passed by and left in their antipathy to God and
preference for sin for the display of his justice.

Amyrald's sensibilities were close to those of many in the traditional
Reformed fold. The problem consists in the fact that they are are
expressed in decretal mode as a revised intention of God.

The established order of the "divine decrees" commences with the
recognition of the absolute helplessness of sinful man and therefore
proceeds to an unconditional election of undeserving sinners sovereignly
selected for salvation (the alternatives being Supra - or
Infra-lapsarian). The scheme of Amyraldianism begins with a divine
decree to save all through the redemption wrought by Jesus Christ. This
is an unstable view of the mind of God who seemingly is forced to amend
his salvific plan due to the stubbornness of mankind's fallen will. It
suggests that the "first" intent of God is eventually defeated.
Universal salvation is not attained by the death of Christ and the
Father has, in fact, to "re-decree" the efficacy of the sacrifice of the
Son to the elect.

Great caution has to exercised in analyzing and ordering the decrees of
God, for in reality there is only one single decree in the mind of God
that the acumen of man cannot successfully fathom and finds it necessary
to separate into a semblance of rational progression. Amyraut
inadvertently falls foul of probing the infinite and unsearchable, just
as the debate between supra-lapsarians and infra-lapsarians ought to be
more moderate or laid to rest. There is no valuable moral merit in
pushing particularism to the limit simply for its own sake. From all
practical, preaching, and pastoral considerations God, his pastors, and
all who serve the kingdom are dealing with mankind as victims of the
fall not as speculators in theology. "Does it save" is the rule for
Christian ministry and outreach (William Cunningham).

Whatever the verdict on Amyraut it is beyond doubt that he was a true
Augustinian and worthy servant of the Lord. Distinguished Anglicans were
close to him in mood but not one with him in doctrine. The majority
could heartily subscribe the Canons of Dort as did the original
delegates. Ussher, Davenant, Preston, Hall maintained a generous
understanding of the blood shedding, each with their varying subtle
shades of emphasis.

The popular simplification of the matter, barring perplexities and
inconsistencies in individual presentation, seems satisfactory. The
belief of Reformational Anglicanism according to its formularies is that
the redemption wrought by Christ is sufficient for all, applied to all
who sincerely come, and efficient in the elect. The sovereignty and
honor of God, and the responsibility of man, are maintained.

If I a reprobate must be.
The blame, O Lord, lies with me.
If I refuse to hear your voice
I am the maker of that choice

And warrant my eternal hurt
With stubborn failure to convert.
You do not wish to do me ill.
Hell's pains are due to my free will.

But by your grace may I aspire
To count you as my chief desire.
Grant me the gift of true belief
and by your gospel bring relief.

To seek you, Lord, I cannot start
Unless you prepare my helpless heart.
I have no capacity to commence,
You must quicken my torpid sense.

Lord have mercy is my plea,
These words alone allowed to me.
There is no worthy argument
Save your gospel call well meant.

The Rev. Roger Salter is an ordained Church of England minister where he
had parishes in the dioceses of Bristol and Portsmouth before coming to
Birmingham, Alabama to serve as Rector of St. Matthew's Anglican Church.



------------------------------

Message: 22
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:31:49 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: 400 radical Muslims embrace Jesus as their Saviour in Nigeria
Message-ID:
<1494534709.4133025...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

400 radical Muslims embrace Jesus as their Saviour in Nigeria

By Jay Gotera
CHRISTIAN TODAY
https://www.christiantoday.com
May 8, 2017

They're worse than the members of the Boko Haram terrorist group, as far
as Nigerian authorities are concerned.

These are the radical Fulani Islamic herdsmen who have killed more
people in Nigeria than any other terrorist and insurgent groups in the
African country, according to a Lagos-based intelligence consulting firm
in 2014.

Considering the atrocious record of this Islamist group, it came as a
big surprise when more than 400 Fulanis in Nigeria recently converted to
Christianity and vowed to promote peace in their country.

Among the Fulanis who embraced Jesus, seven were even ordained, the
Daily Post reported.

The Rev. Copper Sebok, who leads COCIN Church Panyam in Plateau State,
made the announcement on April 30 during a meeting attended by the
Fulani converts.

Addressing the new followers of Christ, Sebok called on them to preach
the gospel of peace to their fellow Fulanis to stem the spate of
violence in the country.

Sebok said the Fulanis' conversion debunked the notion that the members
of the ethnic group "can't be reached with the gospel of Christ.''

In his sermon, the cleric called for compassion to "the unsaved to draw
them to Christ for eternal salvation."

Speaking for the converts, the Rev. Hassan Mohammed expressed gratitude
to God for giving them a new lease of life as Christians.

He said armed with their new faith, they would go out and proclaim the
gospel not only to their fellow Fulanis but to all other people.

According to Quartz, the nomadic Fulani herdsmen have become an even
greater threat to Nigeria's security than the Boko Haram terrorist
group. The news outlet attributed the upsurge of violence to the effects
of climate change, including rapid desertification of grazing land and
lower rainfall, which make cattle rearing more difficult in the
herdsmen's northern Nigeria base.

As the herdsmen seek fertile grazing land for their cattle in the south,
they inevitably come into violent conflicts with farmers and other
herdsmen in that region.

In the last few months of 2016, radical Fulani herdsmen reportedly
killed over 800 Christians and moderate Muslims, and destroyed at least
16 churches, as CP earlier reported.

In January this year, the Fulani terrorists reportedly raided a
predominantly Christian village in Nigeria, killing 10 people,
destroying homes, and leaving victims wondering why they were attacked.

Watchdog groups such as Release International said the widespread
violence carried out by the Fulani militants has intensified the
suffering of Christians in Nigeria.

In 2014, the Fulanis killed more than 1,200 people, according to the
Global Terrorism Index, making the Fulanis during that year the world's
fourth deadliest militant group, the BBC reported.

END



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Message: 23
Date: Thu, 11 May 2017 16:32:08 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: What Does Our Resurrection Body Look Like? - 1 Corinthians
15:35-49
Message-ID:
<1494534728.4133054...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

What Does Our Resurrection Body Look Like? - 1 Corinthians 15:35-49

By Ted Schroder
www.tedschroder.com
May 14, 2017

"There is nothing that is more at variance with human reason than this
article of faith. For who but God alone could persuade us that bodies,
which are now liable to corruption, will, after having rotted away, or
after they have been consumed by fire, or torn in pieces by wild beasts,
will not merely be restored entire, but in a greatly better condition.
Do not all our apprehensions of things straightway reject this as a
thing fabulous, nay, most absurd." (John Calvin, 1 Cor.15:35)

Far from backing away from his proclamation of the resurrection of the
body of each individual believer in Jesus Christ, St. Paul calls the
skeptic a fool for his questioning. Rationally and logically he
patiently explains how this seeming absurdity is possible. He uses two
analogies: from nature and from the spirit.

First, the analogy from nature. A plant has to die before it can be
reborn. It lives out its normal cycle and withers and perishes but its
seed enters the earth and produces new life. The seed contains that
genetic structure of its parent which it reproduces. There is no
physical resemblance between the plant and the seed but when the seed
dissolves in the ground it produces a continuity with its past. Jesus
used the same analogy about his own death and resurrection. "Unless a
kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single
seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds" (John 12:24). Death is
only an appearance of lifelessness. The seed contains the essence of
life which, when quickened by its environment, sprouts and flourishes.
It perpetuates the identity of its origin. So it is with our own bodies.
There is no visual likeness between the seed and the plant that grows
from it. There may be no visual likeness between our lifeless body that
is buried and our resurrection body, but God preserves within it a sort
of life germ which provides continuity and our personal identity. Sea
oats are symbols of the resurrection (see our chapel doors). They sprout
again after hurricanes.

It may be objected that continuity cannot be preserved when ashes are
scattered or the body destroyed in an accident or in war. We need to
remember that God created us as atoms, and joined us together to produce
us as living beings from the dust of the earth and human generation.
God, who constructed us in the beginning from the minutest particle can
reconstruct us in eternity. A little seed that does not weigh the
hundredth part of an ounce falls into the earth and springs up and
produces a forest tree that weighs two tons. And yet the tree is
positively identical with the seed. It is the same thing. The cells in
our bodies change every ten years or so. We are not the same body we
were twenty years ago. Yet we are the same person.

Yet, there is individuality. We do not have the same DNA. God gives each
of us a body as he has determined. All creatures have different kinds of
bodies. Whatever diversity we see in nature is a confirmation of the
possibility of resurrection, because God clearly shows, that it is no
difficult thing with him to renew our bodies since he can create all
kinds of bodies. As the celestial bodies of the sun, moon, stars and
planets differ from one another in their glory we will also.

The contrast between the dead body and the resurrection body is stark.
"The body that is sown in perishable, it is raised imperishable." In
this life there is decay and corruption. Our fragile bodies are prone to
all kinds of illnesses and diseases. Outwardly we are wasting away. But
in the resurrection we will be liberated from bondage to decay and there
will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order
of things has passed away. The body is sown in dishonor, it is raised in
glory. Our present bodily emotions and passions that can dishonor us
will be replaced with the purity of service to God and others which will
bring glory to God. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. The
limitations of this life which prevent us from being and doing all that
we would want will be replaced by the strength that God supplies in
Christ. The natural analogy is that of metamorphosis: the transformation
of the caterpillar, through incubation in a chrysalis, to become a
beautiful butterfly.

Secondly, it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. Our
natural, physical body comes from the dust of the earth as in the story
of Adam. Our spiritual, resurrection body comes from heaven as in
Christ. "And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so
we shall bear the likeness of the man from heaven." There are some who
would say that Jesus Christ modelled for us what the resurrection body
would resemble. He was the same as in his earthly life and yet he was
different. His body was not confined within the limits of our space-time
world. Bars and bolts could not shut him out of rooms. It was not an
earthbound body. It was something that bore a developmental relationship
to an earthly human body, but it was not identical with it. There was
clearly a continuity of life between the body of Jesus and the body of
the resurrected Jesus, but in the time between his death and
resurrection it had undergone a very fundamental change.

Donald Mackay, one of the foremost experts in the communication systems
of the human brain, describes what resurrection means. "It is not as
disembodied spirits that God promises us eternal life, but as
personalities expressed in a new kind of body -- what the apostle Paul
call a 'spiritual body.' Just as a message is still the same message,
whether it is spoken in words or flashed in morse code [or by text or
semaphore], so, according to the Bible, we shall be the same persons,
whatever the material form in which our personalities may be expressed."
Resurrection necessitates a suitable body in which to live. We shall be
perfectly designed to live in a spiritual environment in the new earth
that is to come. It will be infinitely more glorious than this life.

Addressing questions about premature deaths St. Augustine speculates,
"All shall rise in the stature they either had attained or would have
attained had they lived to their prime....in the resurrection of the
flesh the body shall be of that size which it either had attained or
should have attained in the flower of its youth, and shall enjoy the
beauty that arises from preserving symmetry and proportion in all its
members....there be no deformity, no infirmity, no languor, no
corruption -- nothing of any kind which would ill become that kingdom in
which the children of the resurrection and of the promise shall be equal
to the angels of God, if not in body and age, at least in
happiness....not a hair of its head shall perish. The flesh shall then
be spiritual, and subject to the spirit, but still flesh, not spirit as
the spirit itself, when subject to the flesh, was fleshly, but still
spirit and not flesh....But what this spiritual body shall be, and how
great its grace, I fear it were be rash to pronounce, seeing that we
have as yet no experience of it." (The City of God)

Our bodies are holy. "The body is meant for the Lord and the Lord for
the body. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will
raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ
himself? Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit,
who is in you, whom you have received from God. You are not your own;
you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body"1
Cor.6:13-20).

END



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