In the turmoil of comment and reaction to the General Convention (which, I remind overseas readers, is reported on our NZ newspapers, and is noted by our church members, who engage their vicars with 'what's going on in this church to which I belong?' type questions), we can forget that TEC is an Anglican church with a creedal faith. One resolution at the Convention just finished is A074 which affirms that Jesus is Lord. I would like to be able to reproduce the resolution in full, but the link to it is broken (as I write; is there another one?).
UPDATE: the link is working. Read the resolution in full here. The relevant paragraph is this: "We affirm the foundational Gospel proclamation that "Jesus is Lord" (I Corinthians12:3 NRSV here and hereafter) , and therefore' Summary of God's Law: "love the Lord your God with all your hearts, with all your souls, and with all your minds, and to love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:29-31; BCP, Catechism, page 851). For this reason we reach out in love and genuine openness to know and to understand those of other religions." The confession is weakened, however, by a distinct failure in this resolution, when it speaks at some length about evangelism, to say anything about the imperative to win people from other faiths and no faith to Christ. END OF UPDATE.
However I have come across this post about the resolution which I share with you:
"Resolution A074 is from the General Convention Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue. This is a Committee of which I am a member and I also serve on the Standing Commission on Ecumenical and Interreligious which has worked on perfecting this document for over five years. It is still not perfect, but it is a superb document that seeks to articulate a rationale for the Episcopal Church to enter into interreligious dialog. It explores who we are as The Episcopal Church within the Anglican Communion and why we are interested in interreligious relationships. The core of the document begins with the words, “We affirm the foundational Gospel proclamation the “Jesus is Lord.” We are committed to share who and whose we are and to know all of God’s children. This document is for those in congregations and Diocesan Committees who want to have a theological and practical context in which to engage in interreligious dialog. One other aspect of the document is its understanding of sharing with each other. This work is important as the world we engage continues to become more pluralistic and we encounter more people who are not Christian. It is my hope that this is an area that we as a diocese will be able to engage more fully."
Have you read Albert Mohler's post on Bishop Schori's, "great Western heresy" remark?
ReplyDeleteHe writes,
[T]he Bishop identified as heresy what the church -- throughout all the centuries and in every major tradition -- has recognized as central to the Christian faith. The confession that "Jesus Christ is Lord" has been central to biblical Christianity from the New Testament onward.
He writes that she has spoken, "heresy -- true heresy -- in its most undisguised form."
Of course, Schori is only the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, not the whole church. But in order to reach her exalted position her views must have been approved by a majority of senior Episcopal Church leaders. So what are we to make of a resolution of leaders of that church that, "affirms that Jesus is Lord"? Maybe they're thinking of some "Jesus" of their own imagination. Maybe Matthew 7:21-23 applies.
Hi Janice
ReplyDeleteWhatever the presiding Bishop intended with her remarks re the faith of individuals, it was unsatisfactory in its actual expression because it has invited a lot of condemnatory comment!
The confession 'Jesus is Lord' is vital to Christianity, both in its personal and corporate expression. I would like to track down the full text of the resolution TEC's GC agreed to and consider it carefully.
'Jesus is Lord' means 'Yeshua is YHWH'.
ReplyDeleteIf it's properly understood, this quintessential 'creed' denotes (successively) Monotheism, Trinity, Incarnation, & Exaltation of the Crucified and Resurrected One.
How much of this does Schori really believe?
Anon1
Only Presiding Bishop Schori can answer that question ... only the Lord knows what any of us really and truly believe!
ReplyDelete