For those who have not worked it out, I use the book of Common Prayer lectionary, in the English Standard Version. The ESV is a reasonably competent translation: it is as literalist as you can get moving from Greek to English. The Bible of James is beautiful, but there have been better jobs done over time. And worse ones.
This contains the crux of Christianity, and it is a hard sorting mechanism. You choose to be in the light — and show your dirty laundry — for you love the light. Or you hide in the darkness, and your evil is not seen by man.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
(John 3:16-21 ESV)
We see this with the entryists in the church. They will drum out those who protest their new rules, They will be legalistic: bruisingly so. The Orthosphere linked to this, and it is worth reading, for an orthodox, believing account of what is happening in the Anglicans.
GAFCON is an old-fashioned, evangelical group of Anglicans: TEC is the US Episcopalian Church.
The expectation was therefore, that since the GAFCON provinces had been mandated by their people not to sit at the same table as TEC – the American progressive or revisionist Anglican Church- that they would leave the meeting.
Justin Welby had resorted to calling it a ‘gathering’ since they were committed not to attend a meeting where TEC was invited.
One of the reasons for this was their outrage at the continuing persecution of clergy in American who held views formed by the Scripture and unbroken tradition by the Episcopal bishops, the details of which are another story; but Over 750 clergy had been stripped of their priestly orders, ‘deposed’, losing their income, pensions, homes and churches.
At the meeting in Canterbury, many of the Primates themselves had not got a full picture of what had happened either at previous meetings, or of the dynamic of manipulation and what has amounted to persecution by the pro-gay marriage lobby, who although they claim to be ‘inclusive’, are determined to exclude orthodox Christians wherever they can.
The last sentence is where we need to take heed. Christ said that those who are of evil will hate him. What these entryists will do is bar the door to the light. May they repent: God is merciful, they have not been taken to the next life yet, and they have a chance to repent. But I have little hope of this happening by the usual means of persuasion.
ACANZP is another ugly, modernist acronym. The Church of the Province of New Zealand and Melanesia renamed itself the Anglican Church of Aoteoroa New Zealand and the Pacific. Entryism shows itself in ugliness.
The Episcopal Church is and remains a member of the Anglican Communion. I would posit that in many ways ACANZP is more in communion with TEC than it is with other parts of the Anglican Communion. All bishops in ACANZP can preside, preach, and share in ordinations in TEC, while some of our bishops, because of their gender, cannot function as bishops in, for example Central Africa, Melanesia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, South East Asia, our neighbouring Sydney archdiocese, and even, until recently, in the mother Church of England itself. I am not aware that all Primates gathered at communion together last week.
Boscoe here is talking about women priests and Bishops. And here most NZ churches, including the Presbyterian Church where I pew sit, are in error. Elders should be male.
I have not quoted more from these two priests of the Anglican church. Read both their posts. And note what is funded, what is ignored. It seems that the term sin now refers to having any intolerance of sin.
The darkness wants to muffle the light. But the Church is not ours: it is not a creature of the synods, but Christ. And Christ calls us to him, and away from our covetousness and carnal lusts.
May this second reformation gain fruit and continue.