Your Graces
We write to express our anger and disappointment regarding the recent House of Bishops ‘Pastoral Statement’ concerning Same Sex and Opposite Sex Civil Partnerships.
Since the public defeat of your ‘Marriage and Same Sex Relationships‘ report to General Synod in 2017, we have waited for you to deliver on your promise of ‘a radical new Christian inclusion’. We have been patient believing that nothing further would be said regarding sexuality and relationships until after the publication of the Living in Love and Faith report. It seems our trust has been misplaced and we feel badly let down.
The pastoral statement makes clear there has been no desire to listen or learn from those of us who spoke to explain how offensive we found the tone of the House of Bishops’ previous document. Indeed, this statement is anything but ‘pastoral’ – it is cold, defensive, and uncaring of its impact on the millions of people it affects.
The Church of England has this week become a laughingstock to a nation that believes it is obsessed with sex. More importantly this statement has significantly damaged the mission of the Church and it has broken the trust of those it seeks to serve.
We ask you to consider how we can, together, build a truly radically inclusive Christian Church.
Yours sincerely
Christina Baron, Member of General Synod, Bath & Wells
Revd Andrew Foreshew-Cain, Chaplain to Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford
Ven Peter Leonard, Archdeacon of the Isle of Wight, Member of General Synod, Portsmouth
Jayne Ozanne, Member of General Synod, Oxford
I am continually surprised by those in the Church who believe that Christian doctrine can be put to a simple vote. To begin with many who vote are not qualified to vote due to a lack of knowledge. We certainly would not have the general population vote on how to perform a surgical procedure. Yet without studying Holy Scripture, knowing the background, how things fit together and even the views of the patristic fathers they claim to be experts. As an example one Synod delegate in Canada said once regarding same sex marriage, the Parliament of Canada passed a bill allowing same sex marriage so the church should also. (I didn’t realize that the proceedings of the Government of Canada were Holy Texts). They as we all need to do is take our eyes off who we believe we are and want to be and take up our cross, follow Jesus and become the person God intends and wants us to be. As William Temple said in Christianity and the Social Order, “I am not the center of the world, or the standard of reference between good and bad; I am not, and God is.”
It’s a shame that these people do not realise that a Christians mission is to help all people to meet Jesus & thereby be saved from hell. There mission seems to be to ignore the Holy Bible & in saying a sin is not a sin reduce the chances of all of us sinners not being saved. Do they really believe they are working for Jesus.
The matter if sex has only become a regular topic since these people have determined to overturn the Holy Bible & historical teaching on sex.
“We ask you to consider how we can, together, build a truly radically inclusive Christian Church.”
A truly radically inclusive Christian Church would be made up of men, women, boys and girls who had received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.
That is what Christianity is all about; sinners being reconciled to God the Father through the Son and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Any other kind of Christian Church is an Apostate Church. If that is what you all desire you should leave the Church of England and establish one..
I was wondering how long it would be before Miss Oyzanne and co felt the need to express their displeasure…
….”Indeed, this statement is anything but ‘pastoral’ – it is cold, defensive, and uncaring of its impact on the millions of people it affects.”
Do the signatories of this letter really believe that millions are going to turned away from the truth of the Gospel by this pronouncement alone? Of course, the secular world will scoff, as it is already doing, but the Church’s job is to call out sin of any sort for what it is. If it fails to do that, then it really has lost sight of its mission and betrayed the trust of those who faithfully seek to live according to the purposes of God.
The bullying tone of the letter speaks volumes. By playing the “offence” card they seek to close down orthodox views and show that their motivation is self-serving rather than genuinely missional.
This is all based upon the concept that faithful Christians are homophobic and follows the claim by the Bishop of Newcastle that faithful, traditional Christians are “judgmental”, “prejudiced” etc. It is amazing to have such hateful words said by a Bishop when Christians are NOT homophobic at all and to pretend so is actually dishonest.
Any Bishop, any Christian of the CofE should be clearly stating against the media that Christians are NOT homophobic at all, but instead the Bishop of Newcastle seems to go along with the dishonest narrative of mainstream media instead of stating the reality that Christians are actually accepting. It is a shame that it is being left to lay people in the CofE to point out that being a Christian is NOT homophobic at all.
Was that the Bishop of Newcastle in England or Newcastle in Australia who said that?
I know that you’re talking about the Bishop of Newcastle (England), but the one in Australia would be just as willing to put his name to that statement.
Dear Andrew
The Bishop of Newcastle is the Rt Revd Christine Hardman of Newcastle in England (i.e. not that of Australia)
The link to LGBTQI is made by the Rt Revd Christine Hardman at 0:57 into the video and stating 6 “evils” is made at 1:11 into the same video.
The video is at https://youtu.be/FIP0R44y6FI
I’m sorry for my tardy reply.
As I said in my tongue-in-cheek comment, I’m aware that you were talking about the Bishop of Newcastle (in England). But as I also pointed out, her counterpart in Australia would be just as likely to make the same statement.
Thanks for the video reference.
So sad, that to hear this, anyway, I have written to the Archbishop of the Canterbury after reading the communique of the Jordan Primates Meeting; one of the truth I spoke about was the need to reunite the Communion through strict obedience to the Holy scriptures; of recent I read a post that they have amended their marriage law but that is actually a sham!! Playing around words and not bold to call a spade a spade. The word of God is very straight and cannot be manipulated by man. The only remedy is to say no to same sex marriage and stand by it.
I think actually there is this battle raging to abolish Bible based Christianity and replace it with a touchy feely non judgmental, socially acceptable to Liberals, “Christianitylite.” It is gaining ground in the UK Methodist Church, in the shape of “God in love unites us”, and something similar is happening in the Church of England, which has already embraced the choice gifts of Freemasonry. But good Christian people are beginning to realise that unless they get properly booted and spurred,and prepared to fight; there won’t be anywhere to go on a Sunday morning. Regardless of our denominational affiliations we must stand up for the faith, and in love proclaim our loyalty to our God and His Word.
Rebellion both inside and outside the Church is an inexorable reality of the End Times we live in. I do not believe we can stop it, other than by prayer and fasting; but God expects us to call it out for what it is.
One of the signatories to this letter is a trustee of the Gay Christian Movement (now called OneBodyOneFaith) sic. You can see the organisation’s apostate views about sexual intercourse on their web site. When quoting from the Bible, ‘Christians’ who promote anti-Biblical views about sexuality seem to deliberately confuse eros love with agape love.
God alone can bring us all back to belief in His unchangeable Holy Word and to the foot of the Cross for forgiveness. I for one seek forgiveness and pray for apostate shepherds of the flock daily.
[…] Open Letter to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York […]
You know you’ve got it right when you offend all the right people.
The proponents of a “radically inclusive church” have been trying to justify their positions for decades – it just can’t be done, and the scraping of Biblical text (Ruth and Naomi, David and Jonathan, God didn’t *really* mean that), have fallen by the wayside, as all dishonest efforts will. Come to the table with a Biblical justification for same-sex sexual relationships (which isn’t there), and people might listen.
They have given up on that, and are now just taking the grade-school stance that everyone else is just a big fat meanie.
Most cultures don’t celebrate gay sex with or without the Bible. At best, it is ignored. The best way to shut up the inclusive white women from TEC is quickly stating that you don’t agree with their ‘affirmation and adulation of anal intercourse’ of which they too can participate. Many of these women have husbands who would do cart wheels to get an occasional affectionate pat on the arm and here they are talking about nasty sex. Go figure.