The Bishops of the Anglican Church of Australia met this week in Melbourne to discuss the growing crisis in the national church precipitated by the decision of the synods of Wangaratta and Newcastle to legislate for a liturgy of blessing for those in same-sex marriage. At the conclusion of their meeting they issued the following communiqué:
The “one-and-a-half-day conference” is more than likely to be superseded by another “special session” of General Synod called by conservatives members in order to not just discuss questions of human sexuality but to pass motions.
davidould.net has been told tonight (but not yet confirmed) that the Standing Committee of the General Synod, which originally called a “special session” to deal only with legislation around child protection (thereby avoiding motions on human sexuality), has decided to rescind that decision and revert to a general session. We will confirm that decision if we can.
Hey Aussies: this letter demonstrates you have already lost the battle. “We are going to have a conference 7 months for now to figure out how we can all co-exist together with our different versions of the Gospel”. Wow, what a call to arms, what a thundering endorsement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that you bishops are supposed to defend.
If this is your plan, you have already lost, but you apparently don’t know it yet.
Well….so much for Australia.
To translate the paragraph beginning “The bishops identified….” into actual English….
Move the goalposts (“discerning boundaries of unity”- the boundaries as determined by God and conveyed in Scripture are apparently inadequate)
Check with LGBTIQA+ lobbying groups to see if the boundaries are moved far enough (“responding to LGBTIQA+”)
Adopt some TEC gay marriage language and a non-gendered “god” (“further theological work on the doctrine of marriage and blessing”)
Check again with LGBTIQA+ on acceptability (not explicit, but why do the previous two unless you meet the requirement?)
Declare “unity” in hopes that traditional Christians keep giving millions of dollars and
hope that all bishops keep coming to the annual bishops’ golf outing (“building trust….”)
It doesn’t appear that what Synod does or doesn’t do will have any impact- the bishops have already made up their mind. No Synod, canon, doctrine or HoB decision of the past (or words of Jesus, or 10 Commandments, or pastoral epistle, etc, etc) is stopping anybody, and the bishops seem to be clear in this missive that they have no intention of upholding their duty to remove the heretical bishops. Indeed, they obviously intend to “discern” new “boundaries”.
A very disappointing letter.
“…possible ways forward for the Church with the expressed intention of this being a safe place for people…” just what does that mean in the Christian community?
Colossians 3:1-3 says, “Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ” there is no place safer than that. All people who come to Christ in repentance and faith are assured of that.
“…Responding to LGBTIQA+ and their needs” ?? Is that what we do now? Adjust our doctrine to accommodate the world and it’s needs?
The best response from the Church is Biblical. Our identity is found in Christ (eternal), not in our sexual identity (temporal).
A lot of virtue-signalling and equivocation going on there. The problem with ‘the bishops’ is that in spite of their prayers for ‘those affected by bushfire and drought’ (or perhaps because of them) they are held in contempt by the average Australian citizen, who really does not care what they pray or think – and most of the small remaining Christian population of the country is probably not far behind. The fact that the church is suddenly facing “issues” related to the rampant sexual immorality with which it is infected, and which it is vainly seeking to sanctify, does not matter to anyone except the tiny conservative minority within the Anglican fold. They would be well-advised, in light of this kind of gutless prevarication, to seek other, more courageous shepherds in a fold elsewhere. The wolves are already inside this one.