The fount of reformation. The English Reformation may be said to have begun in the White Horse Inn in Cambridge, where from 1519 a group met in secret to study the Greek Testament which Erasmus had published three years previously. It was this that Tyndale translated into English, determined (as he put it) that the ploughboy should know the Scriptures better than the Pope. And once the Bible was available to the people in the vernacular, the leaders of the Reformation urged the clergy to expound it to their people. So from the time of the second Prayer Book onwards (1552), the symbol of office presented to the newly ordained presbyter was no longer the chalice but the Bible. There can be no continuing reformation of the church without a return to the Bible. --- From Forward to "Masters of the English Reformation", by M. L. Loane

Contradiction, not interpretation. If the apostles were not deliberately using a mythical framework, but were rather intending to describe events which they believed to be both historically true and theologically significant (e.g. when they wrote about Jesus' birth of a virgin or resurrection from death), then we have no right to demythologize their testimony, attempting to preserve the theology while rejecting the history. For this would not be to reinterpret them, but to contradict them. --- From "The Authentic Jesus" John R.W. Stott

Dear Brothers and sisters,
www.virtueonline.org
4/19/2008

The myth of dialogue. The orthodox are constantly being asked to "listen" and "dialogue" with liberals over the nature of truth. The truth is that orthodox Anglicans cannot be in a constant state of dialogue and listening endlessly. It has not led to truth telling. It's as though a husband commits adultery, but then tells his wife that they need to dialogue about it without him ever admitting he did wrong or ever confessing it. At the same time, he insists that dialogue will somehow resolve it...if they talk endlessly and for her to listen to his "truth."

This is precisely what is happening in The Episcopal Church. We are told to "listen" to Lambeth Resolution 1.10, which we have done for 10 years. During that time, nothing has changed except for the Episcopal Church, which has simply barreled ahead with one sexual innovation after another, to the point that the whole Anglican Communion is divided over pansexuality. Graceful conversation and bonds of affection have eroded leading inevitably to an impaired communion. Now the whole communion is heading towards a crisis of massive proportions.

This is why we have two important gatherings this summer. The first is GAFCON, which is calling for orthodox Anglicans to come this summer to the Middle East. GAFCON is not a power shift, it is not a market driven idea. GAFCON runs across gender and racial divisions unlike The Episcopal Church which wants market share without accountability. It is also not about power, a concept used by Bishop Tom Wright. GAFCON is for biblical Christians who live under the authority of Scripture and can no longer "listen" indefinitely to Western Anglican pansexualists and revisionists who push sexual and theological innovations right over the falls expecting the vast majority of Anglicans to follow.

The second gathering, the Lambeth Conference is increasingly looking like a train wreck. At least 200 no show bishops and liberals are ready to feast on the carcass of a spent communion even as they represent fewer and fewer Episcopalians and Anglicans worldwide.

Despite public criticism GAFCON is not schismatic. It is simply asking, nay demanding, that the church be the church and affirm its historic creeds and historic stand on sexual morality. It is acknowledging a great divide that is in existence. They did not create it. The innovators did that and they want the orthodox to simply roll over and climb into bed with them. That is not going to happen, not now, not ever. They will not embrace homosexual behavior, same sex blessings, rites for same sex blessings and the inevitable push for transsexual behavior. GAFCON is not a new church, but a renewal movement that is calling people back to what they believe in order to move forward.

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Still confusion reigns. This week, Durham Bishop Tom Wright reported that Rowan Williams sent letters to bishops who do not support the Windsor Report and the Covenant requesting them to consider "absenting themselves" from Lambeth. Calling this a "most difficult and fraught moment," Wright, told a neo-conservative conference (Fulcrum) that letters were in the mail from the Archbishop of Canterbury to bishops who have been initially invited to Lambeth, but who have been identified as not supporting the Windsor Report and the Covenant.

Wright said, "When the Archbishop issued his invitations, he made it clear, as I said, that their basis was Windsor and the Covenant as the tools to shape our future common life. That invitation was issued only three months after the remarkable joint statement from the Primates issued in Tanzania in February 2007." The story floated around the world. When Ruth Gledhil, religion correspondent for the Times called Lambeth Palace, a spokesman flatly denied the ABC had sent, or was planning to send out any such letters.

So the question must be asked, what is Wright up to? Sources tell VOL that he is positioning himself as the next incumbent at Lambeth palace. He is furiously writing books, some with questionable theology, to position himself as the heir apparent to Rowan Williams.

His rip against GAFCON, calling them a gathering of "super apostles", is a case in point. This reference from the Book of Corinthians, is in fact, a reference to apostate apostles not orthodox ones. Wrote Charles Ravens, "Unfortunately, the problem with this representation of GAFCON and its leadership goes deeper than simply lack of charity. The 'super–apostles' of 2 Corinthians are not just arrogant, they are false apostles. Tom Wright can hardly have overlooked Paul's description of these leaders in chapter 11 - they are preaching another gospel and a different Jesus (11:4); they are 'false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ' (11:13). In fact they are 'servants of Satan' (v15). To identify those leading and supporting GAFCON with those who propagate a false gospel is a very serious distortion of reality." Read Ravens commentary in today's digest or click here: http://tinyurl.com/5tb2uj

Recently, Wright opined that "soul sleep", a sort of suspended animation, might better understand the state of Christians after they die and are resurrected at the Last Judgment. This is not exactly new news. This writer heard this theory presented some 40 years ago. It was discarded then for the more Biblical notion that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, something simpler folk might find more appealing. You can read more about all this in today's digest.

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Word has it that the BISHOP OF ROCHESTER, the Rt. Rev Michael Nazir Ali was on an official visit to the Vatican a few weeks ago on behalf of Lambeth Palace and accompanied by a Lambeth Palace official to do with inter-religious dialogue.

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On the domestic front, it was another week of rip and tear at orthodox priests and their parish properties.

Three priests found themselves embroiled in parish power grabs that have the potential to become first- rate legal disputes. In the DIOCESE OF CONNECTICUT, Bishop Drew Smith told Fr. Ron Gauss, rector of Bishop Seabury Church in Groton, Ct. that he was out and had been replaced by a priest in charge. Not true, cried Gauss. When the supply priest came a calling, he was politely shown the door and told that 100% of the congregation and vestry were behind the Jewish born evangelical incumbent. This fight has only just begun. I know Fr. Gauss. He is no pushover. He has nerves of steel, is a fine preacher and theologian. Smith will have a major league fight on his hands if he tries to take the parish property. Should he win, the victory will be entirely pyrrhic. The bishop will find an empty and locked church, the legacy of a bankrupt bishop who believes Gene Robinson's consecration is more important than the gospel of Jesus Christ.

BREAKING NEWS... the Rt. Rev. James E. Curry sent the following resolution to Fr. Gauss. RESOLVED: that by unanimous vote of ALL the Members of the Standing Committee, the Standing Committee finds sufficient evidence and consents to the findings that the Rev. Ronald S. Gauss has abandoned the Communion of the Episcopal Church pursuant to Canon IV.1-.1

This "finding" Gauss told VOL means that on May 1 he will be formally inhibited and unless he accepts the sentence or renounces his vows he will be deposed six months later. "I will have no correspondence with Curry," Gauss told VOL.

The DIOCESE OF CENTRAL NEW YORK, through its Bishop, Gladstone "Skip" Adams has filed a lawsuit against the Church of the Good Shepherd in Binghamton, New York, seeking the seizure of the church building, the parish hall, and the rectory. This is the third church Adams has moved to seize since 2006, and the second church he has actually sued. The priest at Good Shepherd Fr. Matt Kennedy, a wannabe journalist and Internet blogger, is on the way out. Unless his lawyer can keep the property, Kennedy is history.

In the DIOCESE OF CENTRAL FLORIDA, the Rev. Lorne Coyle's parish Trinity Church at Vero Beach is under fire from Bishop John W. Howe. He has told them to vacate the property by May 1, but Trinity Church leaders in Vero say they won't vacate. They plan to disobey the bishop. "The call for us to vacate is spurious, at best," said Ron Joaquim, spokesman for the leadership that wants to break with the national Episcopal Church, citing theological differences.

This is a sticky one. Both the priest and bishop are evangelicals. Howe told newsmen that he has a lot of sympathy for Coyle's position vis-a-vis his parish which is parting company over the Episcopal Church's sexual innovations. However, the bishop is under pressure not to let the property go. Don't look for a peaceful resolution and know that Mrs. Jefferts Schori attorney David Booth Beers is behind the legal maneuvering.

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In my story on the deposition of 22 priests by Bishop John Howard of the DIOCESE OF FLORIDA, a VOL reader wrote to say that the Rev. Harald "Whitey" Haugan and Rev. George Hall who both retired suddenly had their health insurance benefits given to all retired priests from the Diocese of Florida, stopped. I suppose the argument goes, inhibit and depose them and then cut off their lifeline. There's a special Hell for Howard. He will be made to spend eternity looking at portraits of the 47 priests he has deposed.

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And in Tomball, Texas, the Rev. Stan Gerber preached his last sermon at the Church of the Good Shepherd. On Sunday, the Episcopal priest, most of his staff and an expected majority of some 400 churchgoers will worship in a local junior high school. Their departure is the latest casualty in the ongoing crisis in the Episcopal Church and the doctrinal debate between conservatives and liberals over sexuality and biblical interpretation. You can read the full story in today's digest.

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This week alone the departure math at the four congregations totals about 2,000 Episcopalians. Mrs. Jefferts Schori told a reporter in Salt Lake City, Utah about fleeing parishes, "It's a very, very small part of this church, less than 1 percent, that sees this of sufficient concern to want to leave over it. Our job is to bless their going and reassure them our door is always open and that we'll keep the light on for them." Mrs. Jefferts Schori is dead wrong. The number of parishes might be few but the number of Episcopalians leaving is HUGE. It has gone from 1,000 a week to 2,000 a week with no signs of it abating.

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REPRIEVE FOR DUNCAN. The House of Bishops will not meet in May. Apparently a poll taken by the National Church showed little interest in stringing up yet another orthodox bishop. It's off. "There was no clear sense from the House at that time that such a meeting would be necessary," said a spokesperson from TEC HQ. However there will be a post-Lambeth meeting in September in Salt Lake City. Apparently the bishops were not quite ready to guillotine Bishop Duncan on Madam Jefferts Schori's cue just ahead of Lambeth. Furthermore, Duncan and his attorney have made it clear that the godly orthodox bishop will not accept the decision of Mrs. Schori and David Booth Beers to violate the canons in their campaign to eliminate orthodox bishops.

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THE POPE is in America this week. He didn't have very nice things to say about the Episcopal Church, statements not reported in the mainstream media. The pope in some of his comments said he was concerned about the Anglican Communion and its troubled relations with the U.S. Episcopal Church and some dioceses in Canada.

The Anglican Communion is attempting to find ways to strengthen its structures for ensuring that one national member does not take actions that make other members of the communion uncomfortable. At times, bishops have been named to oversee pastoral care of members who do not go along with the changes.

Pope Benedict said it was unfortunate that some church communities have given up "the attempt to act as a unified body, choosing instead to function according to the idea of 'local options.'" You can read the full story here or in today's digest http://tinyurl.com/3oxztm

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In the DIOCESE OF WEST VIRGINIA, a VOL reader wrote to say that the Word of God is alive and well. Former Episcopalians from several Episcopal parishes have formed All Saints Anglican Church. The church met initially in the Hampton Inn in Barboursville. They then moved to current facilities at the convent chapel at St Mary's Hospital thanks to the generous hospitality of the Sisters of Mercy. The parish is growing and will soon align itself with one of the Common Cause Partners. The two priests, Frs. Andrew Counts and Mark Goodman, are both members of The Company of Jesus and Fr. Andrew Counts is the Abbot General of that order. "We are proud to stand firm in our faith and as witness to our faith. We fled the heresy and apostasy of The Episcopal Church to return to Biblical Orthodoxy Anglicanism."

****

If you want to know why the Episcopal Church is in decline, consider what they are teaching at their seminaries. The summer school program at EPISCOPAL DIVINITY SCHOOL in Cambridge, Mass . offers a course in Third World Feminist Theology. It purports to offer a critical study of the challenges and the contributions of Third World feminist theology to the theological discipline. When you have taken that course, which ironically does not include anyone from the Province of Nigeria the largest Anglican province in the Communion, you can follow it up with a course in Queer Incarnation. This is what the blurb says. "The incarnation is sometimes presented as an arithmetic problem: What do you get when you add some divinity to a human body? But thinking about incarnation has to start much further back, in the realization that accounts of Jesus show us how little we understand about either divinity or bodies, much less about how bodies can show, act, and becomes divine. Just here and theology of the incarnation can learn from works of queer theory and the writings of queer thinkers. The body of Jesus - despised, de-sexed, and yet miraculously distributed - invites us to an exchange of bodies along the margins of human power and its certainties. We will think about the queerness of Jesus...and much more recent work on gender performance, bodily transition or transformation, and the rituals of camp." Now that should have people taking to the hills.

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From the recently retired Archbishop Bernard Malango of CENTRAL AFRICA comes this word. "It is sad that the Diocese of Upper Shire has failed to elect my successor as a Bishop of that Diocese. The Elective Assembly that met on February 16 this year could not reach the required two-thirds majority. The Episcopal Synod met on March 26 and again they could not do anything because there was an injunction not to appoint a bishop. It is a shame because I worked so hard to train and update the clergy in the Diocese. Lake Malawi Diocese is in limbo at the moment. I am happy that I am no more in the system." Word has it that Nickie Henderson, the pro-gay London cleric, still wants the job and is pushing hard behind the scenes to get it.

*****

The Episcopal Church is in a state of apostasy and yet "conservative" public figures continue to attend. Past president of the NRA, Charleton Heston, 84, who died recently faithfully attended an Episcopal Church. The first President Bush and Gerald Ford attended the Episcopal Church throughout their presidencies. John McCain attended the Episcopal High School in Alexandria and is an Episcopalian. Perhaps it speaks to the ability of local episcopal priests and their parish to gloss over or ignore or refute the pansexual heresies that obsess the national church. Heston's funeral service was held at the Episcopal Parish of St. Matthews, a church in a wooded canyon above Pacific Palisades. "Charlton sat every Sunday morning right there," said Rev. Michael Scott Seiler, pointing to a front pew in the modernist wooden church shaped with seats arranged in a half moon. Perhaps it also tells us that public figures are not that discriminating as to their church affiliations.

****

Found in Washington Monthly: JOHN McCAIN, SEMI-BAPTIST....The latest weirdness from the Republican presidential campaign is McCain's sudden assertion that he's not an Episcopalian, as he's always identified himself before, but a Baptist. In fact, he's been attending North Phoenix Baptist because he found "the message and fundamental nature more fulfilling than I did in the Episcopal Church ... They're great believers in redemption, and so am I." When asked if he had been baptized as an adult, McCain said, "I didn't find it necessary to do so for my spiritual needs."

*****

In Shrewsbury, England, a Church of England bishop is calling on British holidaymakers to boycott sunspot favorites such as the Maldives, Bali and Turkey because of persecution of Christians. The Bishop of Shrewsbury, the Right Rev. Alan Smith, urged travelers to think twice when booking exotic holidays. A recent report lists some of the top holiday destinations as among the worst countries for persecuting Christians. In its report, the 2008 World Watch List, listed the Maldives, Egypt, Vietnam, Cuba and India as among the worst 30 persecuting nations. The countries are often favored as places to visit for teenagers on summer breaks or adults seeking unusual destinations. According to the list, the worst nation in the world for persecuting Christians is North Korea, followed by Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Maldives. Six of the top ten are Islamic, including Afghanistan, Yemen and Uzbekistan. Three are communist, including China and Laos. The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is the only Buddhist country in the top ten.

*****

ST. GEORGE'S ANGLICAN CHURCH in New Jersey wants you to know that it is open for business on Wednesdays at 7:00pm (Contemporary Prayer and Praise) and Sundays 8:00am; 10:00am (Holy Eucharist). According to their website, the emphasis is on teaching the authority of God's Word in the Bible, and on ministering in the power of the Holy Spirit. The church has joined CANA, the Convocation o f Anglicans in North America. CANA is a ministry of the Church of Nigeria. Fr. Bill Guerard said the mission of St. George's Church is to know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, to love Him, serve Him, and witness His love to the world." VOL mentions this because you can count on one hand the number of orthodox Anglican/Episcopal parishes in NJ. You can learn more by visiting their website here: http://www.stgeorgeshelmetta.org/

*****

In a moment of sheer magnanimity that apparently overcame Mrs. Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop, temporarily lifted an inhibition she had laid on Bishop Edward H. MacBurney whose son died recently. The PB offered the bishop the opportunity to function liturgically in any services for his son. A disciplinary "Review Committee" recently issued a presentment, or ecclesiastical indictment, of Bishop MacBurney. On April 2, Bishop Jefferts Schori prohibited Bishop MacBurney from sacramental ministry, pending his trial. The 80-year-old bishop is accused of performing a service of confirmation in June 2007 at an Anglican church in San Diego. In 2006, the congregation of Holy Trinity voted overwhelmingly to leave The Episcopal Church. It is now affiliated with the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone. Bishop James R. Mathes of San Diego filed the initial complaint against Bishop MacBurney.

*****

IN NEW YORK, an Anglican covenant conference drew a bevy of international speakers including Archbishops Desmond Tutu and Drexel Gomez They discussed whether or not the Anglican Communion should adopt an official covenant. The feeling was that it might be viewed as a tool of exclusion and dominance. Is a covenant a biblical way forward, or would it impose a uniformity that is foreign to Anglicanism? Would a covenant assist or impede reconciliation among Anglicans? The conference heard Archbishop Gomez, Archbishop of the West Indies and chairman of the Covenant Design Group, deliver a decidedly, pro-Anglican covenant message, saying that this is a "time of great tension" within the Anglican Communion and that "the 'bonds of affection' which once held our fellowship together are strained; indeed some would say broken." The idea for an Anglican covenant came from the Windsor Report (paragraphs 113-120), which was published in October 2004 after a year's deliberations by the Lambeth Commission on Communion, a group appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury to explore ways the Communion could maintain unity amid differing viewpoints. You can read the full story in today's digest.

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What do loving homosexuals look like? A CD on God's love, communicated through His people, is the most powerful tool for reaching homosexual men and women with the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Tim Wilkins shares 10 specific requirements for loving homosexuals. One of those requirements includes telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth; as Wilkins shares "The highest form of love does not withhold the truth." But he warns that it is insufficient to simply say that homosexuality is sin. "We must be pro-active in reaching persons with same-sex attractions." This CD is particularly helpful to those who have friends dealing with same-sex attractions. A great resource for small group discussion! To order click here: http://www.crossministry.org/store.php?id=loving

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Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan requests prayers for the ANGLICAN PROVINCE OF UGANDA. A fire at the Buddo Girls' School in Kampala took the lives of 19 girls and two adults died. The fire appears to have been deliberately set. A number of Anglican Communion Network parishes, under the care of Bishop John Guernsey, are members of the Anglican Church in the Province of Uganda.

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V. GENE ROBINSON has a new book out. He got prime time coverage on the Terry Gross show on NPR. Apparently Gross asked CANA Bishop Martyn Minns and someone from the AAC to come on the show but they all turned her down. They tried to get someone from AAC, but no one offered. They tried to contact Nigerian Primate Peter Akinola, but didn't get a response from him. Now hear this, Orthodox Episcopalians and Anglicans are done talking and listening to Robinson's whine about sodomy. It's over, done, finished. They have moved on. The future is Common Cause Partnership and GAFCON. No one wants to continue the dialogue on pansexual behavior because it goes nowhere. Orthodox Episcopalians are only interested in spreading the Good News of the gospel and being obedient to the Great Commission. Robinson is history.

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You are asked to PRAY FOR THE MEDIA. The Jesus Project, which involves media and morality, has set aside May 1- 10 to pray for those in the media as part of the International Global day of Prayer initiative. A prayer calendar is available and can be down loaded from their website (www.thejesusproject.co.za). Communities are encouraged to participate in Jesus Marches on Ascension day, Thursday, May 1. The Jesus Project appreciates the important role the media plays. While appealing to the social conscience of the media, it also prays for them in a meaningful way. The Jesus Project can be contacted at emb@mweb.co.za

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There's been a religion shake-up at the LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH. Religion correspondent Jonathan Petre has been sacked. It would appear that he is not being replaced. Religion and social affairs are being combined in one new post. "Daily Telegraph assistant news editor Martin Beckford has been handed the job of religious and social affairs correspondent, replacing Sarah Womack, the social affairs correspondent, and Jonathan Petre, the religious affairs correspondent. The pair, who are partners and have a young child, were handed notice of their dismissal yesterday and told to leave the building, one Telegraph source said." We have met at various Anglican meetings over the years, the last in Dar es Salaam. He was an able journalist and will be sorely missed on the beat.

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It is with sadness that VOL announces the end of the writing career of the Rev. Dr. Peter Toon, President of the Prayer Book Society, editor of Mandate and frequent contributor to VOL. He has been struck down with Amyloidosis a disease that destroys primary bodily organs like brain, heart and kidneys. Dr. Toon has been a faithful servant of our Lord to the church and I invite your prayers for him and his wife.

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How important a role will independent journalism play at GAFCON and LAMBETH? We think independent journalism will play the most important role it has ever played in the life of the Anglican Communion. Your donations are the key to an independent press. Please take a moment and hit the link below. Making a donation to VIRTUEONLINE is quick, simple and easy. You can make a donation through PAYPAL or you can send a tax-deductible check by snail mail to:

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