You Cannot Think Too Much of Christ. Christ is He who has the keys of death and hell. Christ is the anointed Priest, who alone can absolve sinners. Christ is the fountain of living waters, in whom alone we can be cleansed. Christ is the Prince and Savior, who alone can give repentance and remission of sins. In Him all fullness dwells. He is the way, the door, the light, the life, the Shepherd, the altar of refuge. He that has the Son has life–and he that has not the Son has not life. May we all strive to understand this. No doubt men may easily think too little of God the Father, and God the Spirit, but no man ever thought too much of Christ. --- Bishop J.C. Ryle

What theology should be? It is sometimes said that you can make the Bible teach anything you like. I quite agree. You *can* make the Bible teach anything you like - if you are unscrupulous enough. But if we are scrupulous in using proper canons of interpretation (for example, looking for the natural, the original, and the general meaning), far from our being free to manipulate Scripture, we find that Scripture controls us. And theology becomes what it should always be, the result of applying to the text of Scripture the ordinary rules of grammar and logic. --- From 'Jesus Christ Our Teacher and Lord', by J. I. Packer

Dear Brothers and Sisters
www.virtueonline.org
December 31, 2010

Last Sunday, the parishioners of Holy Trinity (ACNA) in San Diego held their final Sunday worship service in the sanctuary (a half-mile from the Pacific) they have called home for six decades. Having surrendered their legal fight with the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, Fr. Lawrence Bausch handed over the keys to the diocese.

This diocese is noted for its departures - at least 10 to date. Fully 25% of the diocese has left revisionist Bishop Jim Mathes and TEC. This may be the last Episcopal parish in San Diego to surrender its building. (The next to last parish, St. Anne's of Oceanside, gave up their property a year ago.)

One parishioner wrote, "Attending services on both Dec. 25 and 26 at Holy Trinity was very poignant for me, and not because this was the second time I witnessed an ACNA parish surrender their building to TEC. This one was more personal, because this is the parish that my father once attended. At both services, Fr. Lawrence Bausch, SSC made reference to the move."

A 95-year-old parishioner attended both the first service and Sunday's final service in their longtime sanctuary.

This move has been a long time coming. Holy Trinity (along with St. Anne's and a third parish in Fallbrook) was first sued in 2007. Other than St. James, Newport Beach, nearly all the other California churches have given up on their fights against their respective dioceses.

A source in San Diego told VOL that Fr. Bausch is a very faithful, patient, orthodox and learned priest. "I would dare say that he has forgotten more theology that Bishop Jim Mathes ever learned. He tried hard for years to stay and witness to the Anglican faith in this diocese, but Mathes is so bad that he had to go. Mathes even tried to keep Fr. Bausch from getting his 30 year retirement. That was just plain vindictive. After Fr. Bausch's lawyer threatened to sue Mathes personally he signed the papers on the last day given by the lawyer to sign. The Church Pension Fund was so glad that Mathes backed down that they paid Fr. Bausch all back payments, plus what the parish had given him to get by plus a bonus. Mathes is such bad news that even though the progressives in San Diego like his agenda they do not like him personally. He is taking a sabbatical this spring."

This writer can confirm in part this story about Bishop Mathes. When my wife and I were in San Diego, recently, we attended a moderately orthodox parish on Sunday morning. The priest had a Ph.D. from a West coast evangelical seminary so we thought we might get better than we got. When we met up after the service, he told me, when pressed, that while Mathes lived barely a mile away, he only saw him at convention time. He never got a phone call to meet even for lunch or coffee in between. The bishop was AWOL. When I asked him how he felt about that, he merely shrugged in disappointment.

A blogger at VOL's website said it best. Jefferts Schori, Jim Mathes and the progressive crowd just do not care. That is the truth and why their consciences cannot be touched. They do not care about the people of God or anything else that is not part of their agenda.

*****

In the Diocese of San Joaquin St. John's Anglican Church dodged their property being seized by the rump diocese of San Joaquin. Following a two-year dispute between the U.S. Episcopal Church and the breakaway Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin, St. John's Anglican Church parishioners in Porterville breathed a sigh of relief.

In a recent ruling made by the Fifth District Court of Appeals, justices reversed a Superior Court decision made back in July of 2009 that held the Episcopal Church as the rightful owner of church buildings and other assets, sending the case back to the Fresno County court.

According to the appellate court ruling, justices concluded that the trial court "should apply neutral principles of law to resolve property disputes" and not rely on the basis of religious doctrine.

St. John's was one of nine breakaway churches in the Valley diocese that are facing litigation concerning ownership of church property.

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The Church of the Redeemer (Anglican) in Jacksonville, Florida, held its first services Christmas Eve in its new facilities at Center Point Business Park with a 5:30 p.m. family service and a 10 p.m. candlelight service.

The congregation had been worshiping for several years in a former commercial space on Baymeadows Road, reported the Rt. Rev. Neil G. Lebhar. The new facility, a 25,000-square-foot space, was renovated for $1.2 million. "We have built out a space in a nearby office park with a worship space that seats over 300, classrooms, nursery, chapel and offices, along with a gym sized unfinished area for student ministry recreation. It is beautiful."

Redeemer had been sharing space with Beth Israel, the local Messianic fellowship that took them in when they left their building in 2007. Church of the Redeemer had hosted them for a few years over a decade ago.

Interested persons can call (904) 636-8702 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (904) 636-8702      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or visit www.redeemerlives.net for more information about the parish and its new location.

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From The Prayer Book Society comes this. Churches are urged to make a New Year's Resolution to declare whether services are modern or traditional.

Cathedrals and parish churches are being encouraged to make a new year's resolution to provide better information about the forms of service they use - whether traditional or contemporary.

The call has come from the Prayer Book Society, a national charity which campaigns for the continued use of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. It contains the Church of England's historic formularies as well as the traditional services first used after the Reformation and still in use over 350 years later.

"Congregations have increasing difficulties with churches simply showing that a service will be the Eucharist or Holy Communion, and not indicating whether it will be the traditional form from the 1662 book, or a contemporary service using Common Worship, published in 2000", explains Prudence Dailey, the Prayer Book Society's Chairman.

To end the current state of confusion, the Prayer Book Society suggests that the already used abbreviations CW and BCP be used to clearly show which liturgy is in use. It advises against the use of 'traditional' as a label since it is too vague.

*****

The embattled Bishop of Ballarat Australia closed out his episcopate with a bang by smashing a chalice placed on the altar of Christ the King Cathedral during his final sermon on Sunday.

In an emotional 30 minute sermon, Bishop Hough stated that his resignation did not mean that his opponents "have in fact won their guerrilla wars." The bishop then placed the chalice in a bag and laid it on the altar, smashing it with a hammer. The bishop then presented an analogy of his travails. Holding aloft a ceramic chalice he had commissioned from a local artist, Bishop Hough said he had come to love this "beautiful pot" which he felt represented his ministry in the diocese.

According to a Church of England newspaper report, the Rt. Rev. Michael Hough told his diocesan synod that he would step down from office effective Dec 20. The bishop of the small rural diocese west of Melbourne had been under investigation by the Episcopal Standards Commission since July 2009, facing allegations of bullying his clergy. The bishop's opponents had also pledged to bring a no confidence motion before the synod and were circulating a petition calling for his resignation.

*****

Religious violence claimed the lives of 38 Nigerians near Jos on Christmas Eve. Unknown persons set off bombs, heightening tensions in the area. According to Anglican archbishop Ben Kwashi, one bomb exploded close to a church, but no one was hurt. He is still investigating to determine details and the source of the attacks.

Religious violence has claimed more than 500 lives this year in Jos and neighboring towns and villages, but the situation is believed to have calmed down.

Nigeria, a country of 150 million people, is almost evenly split between Muslims in the north and the predominantly Christian south. The blasts happened in central Nigeria, in the nation's "middle belt," where dozens of ethnic groups vie for control of fertile lands.

*****

One of VOL's Canadian readers has sent a list of churches that have closed in the Diocese of Huron. St. Stephen's Church, Mitchell's Bay St. Patrick's Church, Saintsbury All Saints Church Woodstock Church of the Nativity Dutton Winniet Anglican Church St. Barnabas Church London St. Matthew's Church London Church of the Resurrection London St. Timothy's London Sombra Anglican Church

One wonders how many closings there will be in the Anglican Church of Canada this coming year. Liberalism is a sterile mother, she can bear no children. Don't look for any uptick any time soon.

*****

Fallen Priest Writes Self-Justifying Book . All humans have an impulse to justify their sinful actions. It requires grace and humility to not try to justify them and to acknowledge their sinfulness. That makes this kind of a dog-bites-man story, but it's a dog-bites-man story that's going to be getting a considerable amount of attention in the next few weeks, so we may as well deal with it in advance.

The basics of the story are this: Fr. Albert Cutié (a.k.a., "Padre Alberto," a.k.a. "Father 'Oprah'" due to his radio and television appearances), formerly of the Archdiocese of Miami, has now written a book titled, Dilemma: A Priest's Struggle With Faith and Love, in which he justifies his actions in connection with the scandal that began in May 2009. That scandal has not ended, however. He is now an Episcopal priest. The book continues and has the potential to amplify the scandal-taking "scandal" in its historical and theological sense, meaning that more people may be led into sin as a result of this book.

The scandal originally erupted, as summarized by Time magazine, when "The Mexican celebrity magazine TVnotas recently published 25 paparazzi photos of the Rev. Alberto Cutié, the popular Miami Beach priest famous for his Spanish-language television and radio talk shows, cavorting amorously on a Florida beach with an attractive woman. Over a three-day period, the pictures also captured him kissing her in a bar. In one of TVnotas's 'in fraganti' ['caught red-handed' in Mexican Spanish idiom] shots, the woman wraps her legs around Cutié; in another, Cutié has a hand down her swimsuit, fondling her rear end."

Since the photos were fairly unambiguous, there wasn't much potential for an "It wasn't what it looks like" defense. Cutie has now found refuge in the liberal diocese of Southeast Florida under Bishop Leo Frade. The full story can be read here:

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/fr.-cutie-fallen-priest-writes-self-justifying-book/

*****

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has arrived at a nuanced and imaginative vision of co-operation between the state and the churches. The Archbishop spoke twice over Christmas. The first time was in his Christmas Day sermon where he questioned if the rich were bearing their fair share of the burden of cuts. The second time was in a Boxing Day article for a national newspaper. Dr. Williams' sermon led to accusations - not really justified when one reads the whole text - that he was taking a political stance. No such interpretation could be placed on his message yesterday. On the contrary: it suggested that the Archbishop has arrived at a nuanced and imaginative vision of co-operation between the state and the churches during a time of austerity.

"The greatest resource of the churches is that they have people... who are willing to be volunteers in the service of society," said Dr Williams. And, he added, "government can't create that sort of motivation", though volunteers need its support. He cited the example of Greece as a country where the Church has kick-started a culture of social volunteering. Britain is not facing the same level of economic disaster, but, as the Archbishop put it, "the challenge is there already and it won't get any less".

These are such refreshing words to hear from the leader of a Church that, in the past, has reposed too much faith in the quasi-magical powers of the state to abolish poverty. Many of the doctrinal problems facing Anglicanism are too intractable for Dr Williams to solve, but he may be just the man to reawaken the voluntary spirit that is such a noble part of our heritage. What a good time of year to start.

*****

Only half of British adults are confident that Britain can now be described as "a Christian country"

In a ComRes poll of 1,000 adults, only 50 per cent of Britons are confident that Britain could be described as 'a Christian country'.

The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, has written to David Cameron urging him to review laws that have seen Christians forced to abandon their faith in public. He warned that reforms introduced under Labour to promote "tolerance, equality and fairness" are eroding Christianity as the foundation of British culture and society.

The warnings follow a series of court cases in which the beliefs of Christians have come into conflict with state authorities.

A ComRes poll of 1,000 adults, conducted for Christian Concern, found that 72% of adults thought Christians should be able to refuse to act against their beliefs without being penalized by their employers.

But only 50% said they were confident that Britain can now be described as "a Christian country", according to the survey, released for the Not Ashamed campaign, which Lord Carey supports.

In the letter to the Prime Minister, Lord Carey said Christians are too often "ridiculed" and dismissed as relics of "a bygone age".

*****

His has been a singularly chequered ride. Fr. Sam Edwards came to prominence when he fought the Diocese of Washington to keep from being fired as an Episcopal priest in his parish in Accokeek. Then Bishop Jane Dixon spent a million bucks getting rid of him. She won. The parish stayed in TEC. Edwards moved on from TEC to a Continuing Anglican body. This week he announced he is crossing the Tiber to Rome. The full story can be read here: http://tinyurl.com/2axanq8

*****

The year 2011 will mark the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. No other single book has influenced the English language - or the history of the English-speaking peoples - more. While other translations have supplanted the KJB for general usage today, none come close to the sublime language of the original. Most of today's English Bibles are wooden and bland compared to the lofty prose of the KJB (try reading the Lord's Prayer in its modern form). It is precisely for that reason that it remains such a beloved translation.

In 1603, Parliament drafted an act "for the reducing of diversities of bibles now extant in the English tongue." There were three in circulation: The Great Bible (1539), the Geneva Bible (1560), and the Bishop's Bible (1568).

The Great Bible was largely William Tyndale's 1525 translation. Tyndale's work, however, was considered heretical, so he was executed. Only a few years later, in 1534, King Henry VIII broke with Rome and established the Church of England. As a result, he needed an English Bible. It was this Great Bible, updated in 1539 that became the first authorized English edition.

The Queen's Christmas message can be viewed here with sub titles. She talks about the KJV and its impact on British life: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDIuB0BK2wo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

*****

I want to thank all those who contributed to VOL this past year to make VOL the Anglican Communion's leading and most widely read orthodox Anglican Online News Service. To all of VOL's correspondents around the world, THANK YOU. VOL would not be what it has become without your support. A few names must be mentioned, but by no means covers everyone. Very special thanks to Doug, Owen, Dick, Rob, Otis, Hugh, Ken and Bob for your extraordinary service to VOL.

Thanks, too, for the sterling work of the Rev. Dr. Robert Sanders who keeps VOL's Global Anglican Theological Institute growing and now being read in 26 countries.

To my own immediate staff, Robert, my Webmaster; John, my attorney; Sherry, my copy-editor; and Mary Ann, my researcher and writer, a very special thank you must be offered. You worked horrendous hours as I travelled across time zones and wrote in odd corners of the world. Thank you all for being there.

To all VOL's readers in more than 170 countries, VOL wishes you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Warmly in Our Lord,

David