The Truth In Print Vol. 19 Issue 1, Feb. 2013
A Publication of the
Valley church of Christ,
2375 W. 8th Street,
Yuma, AZ 85364 (928-782-5058)
Website Address ~ http://yumavalleychurchofchrist.com
In The House of Public Issues
A Brief History of the Episcopal Church
“National Cathedral in D.C.
will host same-sex nuptials” was headlined in the news for 1-09-13 (AP). The Advocate.com also gave a brief history
stating that the Episcopal church is a “progressive”
church that has ordained gay and lesbian clergy since 1989, according to the
Human Rights Campaign. Moreover, it noted that the church’s first openly gay
bishop was ordained in 2003, and in July 2012 “the church provisionally approved
union rites for same-sex couples and a nondiscrimination policy that covers
transgender people” (Article by Sunnivie Brydum, Jan. 9). And now they will host same-sex nuptials!
She speaks of a church with a term used to describe our politicians.
About Human Councils
& Conventions
They accomplished this through
their human conventions. Here is a present example of the fallacy of human
conventions making man made laws and binding them on their church. For example
in July of 2012 delegates for the U.S. Episcopal church’s triennial convention
voted to approved a liturgy to bless same-sex unions, and that included gay
marriages in states where they were legal.
This followed Barak Obama’s approved of gay marriage in May of 2012.
In The House of Public
Issues
The U.S. Episcopal Church is
part of the world wide Anglican fellowship. And what is happening in the church of England? In November of last year the Church of
England General Synod voted against allowing women to become bishops. Immediately
the church of political correctness objected — one bishop even warned that the
church might become “a national embarrassment.” One author decried the vote
down as having swept away “centuries of entrenched sexism” by just six votes
from the laity not clergy. In the “house of public issues” the clergy passed
ordaining women bishops by a wide margin. Now the clergy laments that the Laity
is more correct than they are! In Dec. 2012 the Church of England lets it be
know they can abide Government plans to install gay marriage as long as the
church isn’t forced to perform them. And now in Jan. 2013 the news is bursting
with MPs putting the pressure on Bishops to reverse the vote down and get those
women Bishops installed! The MPs (Get it, MPs) are warning Bishops they can’t
go against public opinion and be taken seriously as religious leaders. Perish
the thought their church would want to go by the Bible. Why it appears that the
MPs are the religious leaders in Great Britain!
Carrying on according to true Human
Tradition, rather than the Truth of God’s word (cp. Matt. 15:8-9) — suddenly powerful Bishops say they have no
doubt that the church will indeed have women bishops soon. One MP warned that
they must get women bishops else the church might look like a “sect.” Try to
hold the laughter down! Evidently, it completely escapes notice of these
Bishops and MPs, or MPs and Bishops (hard to tell which is the more immoral)
that there is no such thing as women bishops in Christ’s church. The New
Testament qualifications for bishops (also called elders) are for men only (I
Tim. 3:1-7). A bishop it says must be the husband of one wife — not the lesbian
lover of one woman! The picture is quite clear in England. MPs want Bishops to
put pressure on the resistance in the church so they can have women
bishops. Even David Cameron their Prime
Minister got in on the pressuring —the church needed a sharp prod. As one MP
said, if the church of England is a national church
then Parliament is to make clear its views to the church.
Would one be so foolish to stand in the
face of the Almighty and change the definition that God gave for acceptable
marriage? President Obama here did unimaginable harm in doing so!
The Church of England is running parallel
with the U.S. Episcopal. The official position of the Church of England in
their 1991 statement on “Issues in Human Sexuality” demands celibacy from gay
clergy, but permits the laity to have same sex partners. They can’t even be a
“corrector of the foolish” (Rom. 2: 19-22).
God Gave Local Church
Organization
In the New Testament each local church has
a Head (Christ, Eph. 5:23). Each church has a Law (the New Testament, Jude 3).
That Law states the common work of the local church. Each local church has it own oversight: local “bishops” also called “elders”
(Phil. 1:1, 2 Pet. 5:1-3, Acts 14:23 — men not women, I Tim. 2:11-12, I Tim.
3:1-7). Each works out of its own treasury (Acts 2-4). Unlike the Church of
England this not a “national” church; it is not concerned in least about going
against public opinion! God gave local church organization only. He did not
give District, Regional, National, International or World Wide organization for
his saints.
About the Disgraceful National
Church in D.C. & Gay Marriage In General
1. The Washington National Cathedral had been ready to embrace same-sex
marriage for some time (AP
article,
Bret Zongker 1-09-2013).
2. In July 2012
the Episcopal Church approved a ceremony for same-sex unions at its general
convention (AP).
3. In
Nov. 2012 Maryland approved legislation for gay marriage to be effective Jan.
1, 2013.
4. These follow our President’s endorsement of gay marriage in May of
2012.
5. The great
Washington National Cathedral is said to have gotten the right man at the right
time — the so called Very Rev. Gary Hall as the cathedral’s dean in Oct. He is a long time advocate of same-sex
marriage (AP).
6. In terms that
would parallel England’s praise of Westminster Abby I read “Conversations began
even before he arrived to clear the way for the ceremonies at the church that
so often serves as a symbolic house of prayer for national celebrations and
tragedies” (AP).
7. The
real leader is a woman Bishop over a diocese: “The Episcopal bishop of
Washington, the Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, authorized use of the new marriage rite in December.
Each priest then decides whether to marry same-sex couples” (AP). She decided before Hall
decided. There are no woman bishops in Christ’s church (I Tim. 2:11-2, 3:1-7).
There are no bishops over dioceses in Christ’s church (See prior heading).
8. One article stated that the cathedral’s congregation and leadership
include many gays and lesbians. Practicing homosexuals and lesbians are to
withdrawn from in Christ’s church (I Cor. 5:11, 6:9). A careful reading of Rom.
1:26-32 is in order.
9. “Budde said Hall was a catalyst for change in the church’s
marriage tradition” (AP). I read nothing about what Christ said is
acceptable in Matt. 19:9!
10. “As the nations most prominent church, the cathedral has long
hosted presidential inaugural services and funerals for Ronald Reagan and
Gerald Ford. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his last sermon there in
1968. It draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year” (AP).
I’m sure I see a great desire here to please and honor man not God!
11. The move is also a
chance to influence the nation, beyond the Episcopal Church. "As a kind of
tall-steeple, public church in the nation's capital, by saying we're going to
bless same-sex marriages, conduct same-sex marriages, we are really trying to
take the next step for marriage equality in the nation and in the
culture," Hall said (AP).
12. “Observers
noted the powerful symbolism the massive Gothic cathedral carries in American
religious life from one of the highest points in the nation’s capital. The
change comes just before the Supreme Court will hear debate in two cases
involving gay marriage in March” (AP). Imagine that!
13. “What I think religious groups do best is they put people in proximity
with one another. My sense is that it’s much more difficult to condemn
homosexuality if you know that the son of your best friend in church or someone
who worships in the next pew from you is gay” said Randall Balmer, chairman of Dartmouth College's department of
religion and himself an Episcopal priest (AP). Now that can’t be respect of sinful persons
can it!
14. Gay weddings
will be allowed immediately, but it will some time until marriages are
performed due to scheduling and pre-marital counseling requirements (AP). You can’t counsel two same-sex on how to be a husband (man) and wife (woman), Eph.
5:15-33!
15. “The cathedral has a long history of taking stands on
public issues. Most recently it began calling for stricter gun control
following the Connecticut school shooting,” is followed with Hall’s comment
that he “sees marriage as human issue, not a political issue” (AP).
16. Hall says “For us to be able to say we embrace
same-sex marriage as a tool for faithful people to live their lives as
Christian people, for us to be able to say that at a moment when so many other
barriers toward full equality and full inclusion for gay and lesbian people are
falling, I think it is an important symbolic moment” (AP).
This is symbolic
alright. It is symbolic of how corrupt the churches really are!
By
Bob Lovelace
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