In fact, the emphasis on numerical growth is felt to be such a priority that the purpose of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church of God on earth is often defined primarily in terms of its duty to evangelize, that is to make converts quickly and efficiently and to grow in numbers.
Read moreInstead, all he could talk about was a bestselling paperback. Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code may have sold 40 million copies around the world with its bizarre plot about Christ marrying Mary Magdalene and having a baby; it may have been smeared with suntan cream, dropped in the bath and passed around friends, but that does not make it a great threat to the Church. It's a blockbuster novel, about as true to Christian beliefs as Ian Fleming's James Bond is to MI6.
Read moreFurther, the aggressive approach against the local churches is frightening to all people who belong and support the churches. It is not Diocesan money that comes out of thin air that builds and supports these physical facilities. These parishioners should have a voice in what they want to do and how they want to worship within the bounds of the Episcopal doctrine.
Read more"But the view I take of them - and they know this - is that they are very, very muddled. They would probably return the compliment.
"Marcus Borg really does not believe Jesus Christ was bodily raised from the dead. But I know Marcus well: he loves Jesus and believes in him passionately. The philosophical and cultural world he has lived in has made it very, very difficult for him to believe in the bodily resurrection.
Read moreAt the same time, however, I am remembering the Covenant Statement of the House of Bishops, from the House of Bishops' Spring Meeting, Camp Allen, Texas, March 15, 2005. That statement says, "The Windsor Report has invited the Episcopal Church 'to effect a moratorium on the election and consent to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate who is living in a same gender union until some new consensus in the Anglican Communion emerges' (Windsor Report, para.
Read moreIn the mystery of that moment, all the powers of heaven and earth and hell are shaken. The sun withholds its light, and the whole creation, which longs for its redemption, utters its astounded cry, as the earth quakes, and the rocks are rent. In that moment, all the hopes and expectations of religion are confounded, and the veil of the Temple is rent in twain from the top unto the bottom. Many bodies of the saints arise and go about the city.
Read moreIf we were to judge by the relentlessly chipper news-and-features contained in Episcopal Life, life has never been better for Episcopalians. We are engaged in soul-satisfying work relieving hunger and oppression, spreading good cheer, hugely enjoying each other, and listening to the untroubled words of wisdom dropping from priests, diocesan bishops, and the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.
Read moreThe quotation of Jesus from this gospel, "You will be greater than all the others, Judas. You will sacrifice the roan that clothes me," is a clear indication of the Gnostic alternative to Christianity. According to this gospel, Jesus' "body" is sacrificed, but his spiritual self is unscathed. This belief builds on an earlier heresy, Docetism, that taught that Jesus did not really suffer on the cross but only seemed to suffer and seemed to die.
Read more(Photo from Mike Efford's Environmental Catastrophe posting here. For interesting comment, see Wednesday's Times leader here.)
Read moreI. Freedom in the Body of Christ
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