Unsullied love. Only one act of pure love, unsullied by any taint of ulterior motive, has ever been performed in the history of the world, namely the self-giving of God in Christ on the cross for undeserving sinners. That is why, if we are looking for a definition of love, we should look not in a dictionary, but at Calvary. --- John R.W. Stott

The Lords Spiritual now have a woman bishop and a black bishop. We now need a disabled one, a transgender one and a Muslim one. --- Archbishop Cranmer Blog

And the bottom-line solution for this entire [Synod] mess is, as simply stated as possible, to be a living saint--not him, not her, but you--and me. --- Michael Voris

Dear Brothers and Sisters
www.virtueonline.org
October 30, 2015

For the first two centuries of our history, American culture was enlivened with an unofficial, rambunctious, all-pervasive Protestantism. That Protestant establishment, however, is gone, a casualty of Enlightenment liberalism with its undermining of the revelatory authority of the Bible. A generation ago, leading public intellectuals argued that the "Catholic Moment" had arrived in American culture. With Protestantism's waning cultural influence, only Catholicism remained, it was argued, as a substantial basis for a conservative retrenchment and renewal of our culture and civilization.

Today, however, the Catholic moment also appears to have passed. Its cultural sway is also waning. Whether Protestant or Catholic, Christian influence is perhaps at its lowest ebb in American history. Christianity no longer sets the tone of American law, popular culture and entertainment, or elite intellectual and artistic opinion. What used to be normative ideals and values are now regarded as hateful bigotry.

The Rev. Dr. Peter J. Leithart argues for a more hopeful outlook of Christian influence in cultural renewal. It requires, he says, for Christian people to change frames by learning how to see political obstacles and impasses as opportunities for ministry in what may ultimately prove to be a pre-Christian culture rather than a post-Christian one.

Now I don't know if Dr. Leithart is completely correct, but if we as a nation are reaching the bottom of the moral swamp with political corruption, ecclesiastical compromise, theological heresies, financial mayhem and gay marriage now a reality, then perhaps those of us who are starting over in small start-up church plants of faithful orthodox Anglican Christians should take heart that though we may be discouraged at our small numbers and what we see around us, God is doing a new thing. When Mao swept through China with his Little Red Book, everybody thought that Christianity was finished. Missionaries were either killed or fled the country. Everybody gave up on China. Not God. Through the faithful witness of a handful of Chinese Christians, China today has 130 million evangelical Christians, and the Government doesn't know what to do about it except to remove crosses off churches, a pretty weak response. We should have hope even in the midst of so much human depravity. God has not forgotten us, and we will grow in the midst of so much that is horrible and depraved.

*****

The former Suffragan Bishop of Maryland Heather Cooke left the courthouse this week in handcuffs, sentenced to seven years in prison for killing a cyclist while driving drunk and texting.

Cook, 59, pleaded guilty last month to automobile manslaughter in the death of 41-year-old Thomas Palermo, a married father of two young children. She was taken into custody at the conclusion of the sentencing hearing Wednesday.

The case outraged cyclists and shook the church. Prosecutors said Cook had almost three times the legal level of alcohol in her blood and was texting while driving at the time of the crash on December 27.

Prosecutors wanted a sentence of 10 years followed by probation, but the judge handling the case had said he might hand down less time. She got seven years. You can read Mary Ann Mueller's analysis of this in today's digest.

*****

The Episcopal Church will receive a new Presiding Bishop this weekend. The consecration service (VOL obtained a copy) of Bishop Michael Curry at the Washington National Cathedral provoked this response from an ACNA priest who read and analyzed it in detail. Here is what he wrote:

"There are a number of problems with this liturgy. There is nothing (read me: NOTHING) remotely ANGLICAN about this order of service. There is no homage to the theology or pastoral import of classical Anglican liturgical forms, no distinctively Protestant declaration of any kind, nothing that even remotely resembles what Cranmer and Ridley and those archbishop fought and DIED for. It's a mishmash of ecumenical liturgical renewal vagueness infused with a pantheist humanism.

"There's nothing in this service which even follows the 1979 Book of Common Prayer; the whole thing is an exposition of the liturgical chaos which now defines TEC. So much for "Common Prayer."

"They have representatives from various religions giving prayers, the Muslim who is asking God to help us receive the truths of the "Holy Koran." Never mind that his prayer betrays him as a thoroughly secularized Muslim (the "image of God" his prayer cites as his base is a Biblical and decidedly NOT Koranic theological category . . . orthodox Muslims most certainly DO NOT BELIEVE that we share God's image, or that God has an image to be shared at all). The very presence of a Muslim blessing "Holy Koran" in the context of a Christian service, let alone at the installation of an Archbishop, is an abomination.

"The "ecumenical" partners present reveal how far TEC has fallen in its relationships with other Christian churches. According to this order of service, they have attracted a Jew, a (secularized) Muslim, a liberal Canadian Anglican, and a (doubtlessly flaming liberal) Moravian to participate. No Roman Catholic representative, no Eastern Orthodox representative, no non-white non-North American Anglican representative (which is rather ironic considering who they are consecrating), no representative from any believing denomination at all.

"All that proves that TEC is no longer a conversation partner with the "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church," let alone a vital part of it. What we have here is a humanist social club, and nothing more. There is nothing "Anglican" or "Protestant" or even "Christian" to defend in TEC anymore.

"They're installing a heretic. That anybody with half a brain could call that man an "evangelical" betrays how theologically vapid and incompetent most TEC leadership has become, including some "conservative" commentators who insist on remaining in that bankrupt and poisonous denomination. One wonders if they aren't being deliberately blinded. "Handed over" is the Biblical turn of phrase."

https://www.cathedral.org/pdfs/20151101PBCurryInstallation.pdf

*****

Next week Katharine Jefferts Schori, the 26th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, will be history.

For many it can't come too soon.

During her occupation as the titular head of the Episcopal Church for nine years, she uttered more heresies than any other sitting bishop up to that point, with the possible exception of Charles E. Bennison, Bishop of Pennsylvania, whose line that "Jesus was a sinner who forgave himself" might earn him a place in the sixth circle (heresy) of Dante's nine circles of suffering located within the Earth.

But she did try hard, and the Inferno might still be her reward.

Over the course of nine years, she variously denied the bodily resurrection of Jesus and the full deity of Christ, referred to Jesus as "mother Jesus" at one point, and said St. Paul should have listened to a demoniac girl for spiritual guidance.

She was the perfect ecclesiastical piñata.

Every time she uttered a heresy or two, I would whack her and the piñata would break open and more heresies would pour out of her. Her staff would patch her up again and on she would go.

I have written about her tenure at length in today's digest. You can click on it here:
http://www.virtueonline.org/episcopal-presiding-bishop-katharine-jefferts-schori-heretical-pi%C3%B1ata

*****

For years liberal Episcopal Church leaders have played word games with the church and gotten away with it. They still do. The language of liberal/progressive/revisionist Episcopal-Anglican clerics and their followers have used language in such a way first to gently coerce you with a soft shell approach and then to badger you and beat you down (or over the head), finally numbing you through either guilt or apathy into full acceptance.

The language has nearly always to do with sex, specifically same sex attractions (and that never-to-be-repeated word "sodomy"), and those who would broker pansexuality into the Anglican Communion. None of these words apply to the Nicene Creed, but they have a lot to do with "niceness" or being "nice" to people you disagree with.

Now, in the course of listening to pansexualists wanting their linguistic way with you, you may feel a strange urge or need to be "compassionate." We strongly advise you to resist the urge because you will only play into their hands. The moment you show any "compassion," you will be accused of harboring years of homophobia that you will need to repent of, along with years of bottled up hatred you have for people you never knew were afflicted with same-sex attractions. You're guilty anyway.

You have just been blindsided. You can read my full list of words revisionists use and my analysis of them and what they are designed to do to you.

*****

The time for talking is over, Kenyan Archbishop Eliud Wabukala has warned, and it is decision time for the Anglican Communion, says the GAFCON primate.

Hard decisions must now be made about the future of the Anglican Communion, he says. In his latest pastoral letter, the head of the Global Anglican Futures Conference (GAFCON) said: "There is now a shared realization that the time for dialogue is over and there must be a decision that will settle the future direction of the Communion and free us from being dragged down by controversy and confusion."

Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, who is also Primate of Kenya, was commenting on the Archbishop of Canterbury's decision to summon a meeting of Anglican Primates from around the world to discuss changing the structure of the Communion in an attempt to avert schism.

Archbishop Wabakula, writing after a visit to a mission conference at ACNA's Church of the Resurrection, housed in a converted disused factory in Chicago, said: "My experience of this new wineskin in North America brought home to me just how much is at stake when the Primates of the Communion meet in Canterbury at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury next January. I believe this will be an historic meeting unlike anything that has gone before."

Speaking about the GAFCON Primates' recent decision to accept the Archbishop's invitation next January, he added: "Noting the unique nature of this proposed meeting, we are agreed to go, and I am confident that in doing so we will not compromise the Biblical principles for which we stand."

Quoting Ezekiel 33, he said he felt called by God to be a "faithful watchman" in this "time of crisis and confusion." This ministry was "a matter of life and death."

The gospel "is not a worldly message about how to achieve prosperity or self-fulfillment." Robbed of its true meaning, the gospel is not the biblical gospel, he said.

One shrewd observer is more skeptical and said that on far too many occasions he has waited with eager hope/expectation that "this time something will surely happen," but all that ever happens is more talk while the city burns.

"On this occasion I doubt whether either side will do anything decisive--neither Lambeth nor GAFCON. Too many people are still ideologically attached to their membership in the Anglican Communion to walk away. There will be a date set for more talks, more indaba, more yakkety-yak, but no action." We shall see.

*****

CORRUPTION IN THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION. There was a time when the most corrupt province in the Anglican Communion was the Anglican Church of Mexico. VOL reported in 2006 that the Mexican church's former archbishop and one of its bishops made off with over $2 million from ECUSA's coffers. No one was watching the till or asking for an accounting at 815 Second Avenue, the Church's national headquarters in New York, which dished out the money. When VOL blew the whistle on this gang of thieves, these two made off with the money, never to be heard from again. The new Presiding Bishop and Bishop of Mexico Carlos Touche-Porter made a cameo appearance at General Convention in GC2006, pleading for understanding and more money. He probably got it.

Now first place goes to the Anglican Church of India, which has been steeped in corruption (in both North and South India) for years and is slowly going under. A former priest in that country says India STINKS of corruption. You cannot become a bishop without bribing the committees that elect you, and bishops sell church property and accept 'donations' from church schools. It is sickening. India is corrupt to the core, but instead of the church taking a stand against it, the church seems to be leading it. It is also extremely racist, and a person from one part of India cannot become a priest in another part of India because he does not belong to the same region and caste!

Financial corruption is worse in the Church of North India, while racial corruption and caste nepotism is worse in the South. This explains why the bishops from India are sitting on the fence when it comes to the gay issue.

For more than two years, VOL has received weekly accounts of corruption in the Church of South India (CSI). Major Joseph Victor, an activist layman and General Secretary, Laity Association of CSI - Madras Diocese, has steadfastly exposed the high crimes and misdemeanors of the Moderator of the Church of South India, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Devakadatcham, Bishop of Kanyakumari Diocese, who was elected as the Moderator in 2012.

Nothing seems to happen to contain the corruption, which continues despite Victor's best efforts to expose what is going on.

He writes: "It is sad to find the Ecclesiastics of the CSI showing scant regard for the law of the land and the constitution of the Church. They seem to have become law unto themselves. In John 8:44, Jesus refers to his opponents as children of the devil and then goes on to describe the devil as a 'liar and father of lies.' Of course, this refers to their behavior of obscuring the truth about Jesus Christ. But how would we understand the behavior of the Moderator of the Church of South India and his fellow Bishops if they grievously error on the side of falsehood, questioning the very existence of a God who watches over us and our behavior?

"It is with great dismay that these instances of the grievous moral turpitude of the Moderator of CSI are brought to the public. The Moderator had not only acted fraudulently to subvert the judicial system but also made a mockery of the democratic process in the dioceses."

Major Victor has exposed numerous corruptions in the CSI over many years and asks how such crooks can be our church leaders. How can they dictate terms to us? Can they can be permitted to ordain pastors and conduct communion and confirmation services? Can such people be permitted to continue in their posts, even for a little more time? He appeals to the churches, "Don't you think you have to work hard to STOP the deceitful amendments being brought in--specially preventing these disgraceful and disloyal men from sticking on to their seats for 2 more years?" He described the Moderator as "the Liar and Father of Lies."

"The congregational members have to prove their loyalty to Christ and remove them," said Victor.

*****

The Church of England was rocked yesterday after a third Sussex priest in as many weeks was found to have committed sexual offences.

Vickery House, former vicar of Berwick, was convicted of five counts of indecent assault on males - with one as young as 14 - over a period of 16 years.

He was cleared on three further counts at the Old Bailey.

It comes after former Bishop of Lewes, Peter Ball, was jailed for 32 months on October 7 for committing acts of "debasement" in the name of religion with regards 18 vulnerable victims.

On Thursday last week, former Bishop of Chichester George Bell, was also outed as an offender after the Church paid compensation to a victim he abused more than 50 years ago.

Campaigners are now insisting that the national Goddard Inquiry, into sexual abuse, must start with the Diocese of Chichester.

*****

Anglican and United Churches in Canada are about to pool their ineffectiveness, according to Canadian Anglican blogger Samizdat. Apparently there will be a great deal of living into things, which is always a bad sign.

Here is a press blurb: The United Church of Christ and The United Church of Canada have both formalized a full communion agreement in a worship service at St. Andrew's United Church, Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Through the agreement, the U.S. and Canadian-based churches, both members of the World Council of Churches, agreed to "commit to living into a common vision of ministry and mission together."

On Oct. 17 they "committed to exploring the possibilities of this full communion relationship, and to finding ways of living into deeper, fuller expressions of witness that will strengthen the Church as we learn and grow together."

There are similarities between the two churches in their commitment to social justice and commitment to inclusion of diversity in sexual and gender identities, in disabilities, in theological openness and expression.

The important similarities, writes Samizdat, between the two denominations are that they have both displaced the gospel with obsessive social action, same sex-marriage, gender confusion and an openness so vast that all meaning has dissipated. A marriage of convenience, made in hell.

*****

In other Canadian news, Samizdat writes: "In an uncharacteristic flash of insight, the Anglican Church of Canada's bishops have realized that overturning 2000 years of Biblical teaching on marriage by merely voting to do so might not be what God wants. That doesn't mean they won't do it, of course: the few tenacious conservatives remaining in the ACoC haven't felt enough pain yet.

Here is a press blurb: "The Bishops of the Anglican Church of Canada say that they recognize the 'deep pain' that will be caused by next year's General Synod vote on allowing same-sex marriage in Church; and question whether the Synod's parliamentary-style procedures are 'the most helpful way to discern the mind of the Church, or of the Spirit, in this matter.'"

No matter, they will go ahead and do it anyway. They are only following TEC, and that really is a church worth following.

*****

The Archbishop of Canterbury will host His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew during his visit to London next week.

It will be the second meeting between the two leaders who first met in Istanbul last year and in June this year made a joint call for action on climate change.

During the visit the two leaders will discuss issues facing the Anglican and Orthodox Churches and the wider world, and they will attend services in Anglican and Orthodox cathedrals. On Monday 2 November the Ecumenical Patriarch will preside at the Great Doxology in the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom. The Archbishop of Canterbury will be present at the service. The Patriarch will also be spending time with leaders and members of the Greek Orthodox community in London.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who is based in Istanbul, Turkey, is Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and occupies the First Throne of the Orthodox Christian Church worldwide.

*****

The government has blocked plans by an ultra-conservative Islamic group to build Britain's biggest mosque.

Plans by the Tablighi Jamaat sect would have created a "megamosque," which would have had three times the floor space of St Paul's Cathedral. The plans were originally rejected by Newham Council in 2012.

The proposed site, near the Olympic Park in east London, would have housed around 9,300 people in segregated prayer halls, as well as a further 2,000 in a separate hall.

A bitter 13-year struggle surrounding the construction of the mosque has seen street blockades, accusations of racism and High Court action.

*****

The Dutch Reformed Church is the latest denomination to slip into the Great Falling Away. The church has decided to recognize same-sex relationships.

The Dutch Reformed Church didn't even put up much of a fight. Sixty-four percent of the church voted in favor of this strong delusion, which also opens the door for ordaining gay ministers who do not practice celibacy.

"It is historical because with this decision we actually are at a point where there can be no doubt that the Dutch Reformed Church is serious about human dignity," Dutch Reformed Church moderator Nelis Janse vanRensburg said. "And you know that we are living in this country where we have so many problems with the dignity of people."

*****

WATCH THIS VIDEO: A German pastor faces censure from 50 of his fellow clerics over his defense of the gospel against those who would water down the faith in the face of a militant Islam now streaming into Germany. Pastor Olaf Latzel says, "If you preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and everyone is clapping his hand, then you have a problem."

Just like most Western nations, Germany is now being covered by a "profound spiritual darkness," according to Charisma News. True followers of Jesus Christ in the country are under fire in the media, by their own government and even denounced by fellow Christians whose faith has been subverted, according to Pastor Olaf Latzel of Bremen, Germany.

Latzel knows full well what he is saying since he is one of the prime targets of what he regards as an anti-Christian conspiracy in his country.

In today's Germany, Latzel said traditional Christian teaching is now viewed by many as bigoted, hateful, and even "un-Christian."

"I'm only preaching the Gospel in a clear way," Latzel told Charisma News. "I think it is my duty to do this preaching in this way for our Lord."

http://videos.cbn.com/services/player/bcpid1697316436001?bckey=AQ~~%2CAAAAqwZdoRk~%2C5p3D8wQwoZ8oJO3MI2xIgOgYVJVg2DJk&bctid=4567985102001

*****

Anglican and Vatican cricketers met for the second time in Rome last weekend in a match that saw the St Peter's XI victorious. Saturday's match was played at the Capanelle Ground in Rome, coinciding with the conclusion of the Roman Catholic Church's Synod on the Family.

The Vatican side reached 147 for 6, with the Archbishop's XI all out for 105.

Last autumn, in a historic first match between Vatican and Anglican sides, the Archbishop's XI narrowly triumphed with five balls to spare in a memorable showdown at the Kent County Cricket Club ground in Canterbury.

Played in front of a 1,000-strong crowd, including Archbishop Justin Welby and the Papal Nuncio, the match raised money for the Global Freedom Network, a joint anti-trafficking initiative. The Vatican side comprised of seminarians studying in Rome, many of them from India and Pakistan.

The Anglican side was made up largely of ordinands and young priests who answered a search by the Church Times (sponsor of clergy cricket in the UK).

*****

A new national poll has Ben Carson passing Donald Trump in the Republican presidential race. The African-American pediatric surgeon who is now leading the real estate tycoon 26% to 22% is a well-known Seventh-day Adventist. Multiple polls also show Carson with a big lead--as much as 14%--over Trump in Iowa, the nation's first caucus state.

Trump couldn't resist the opportunity and attacked Carson over his religion. He said, "Look, I don't have to say it, I'm Presbyterian. . . . Boy, that's down the middle of the road, folks, in all fairness. I mean, Seventh-day Adventist, I don't know about. I just don't know about."

It is troubling that so many evangelicals like Trump, who stands for just about everything Jesus didn't stand for. Polls show Trump leading among evangelical voters--a fact he brought up several times during a recent speech. But that support could be thin, especially given his personal history (three marriages) and his past stance in favor of abortion rights. Even though he said his favorite book is the Bible, Trump, a Presbyterian, has refused to name his favorite passage. "The Bible means a lot to me, but I don't want to get into specifics," he said last month. He also brought along his confirmation certificate and waved it to evangelicals.

He did emphasize his love of Christmas. "I love Christmas. I love Christmas, and I would bring back Merry Christmas if elected president." Now that should make you all feel much better.

Seventh-day Adventists are a Christian sect, not a cult. The Adventist movement can trace its influences back to William Miller, a farmer-turned-Bible-teacher who predicted that Jesus would return to Earth sometime between March 1843 and March 1844, based on his interpretation of Old Testament passages and other Scriptures. That prediction didn't come true, of course, but the ensuing reflection eventually led to the church's official founding. Its name, the Adventists, reflects that its adherents are awaiting the Second Advent of Christ.

One of those people was Ellen G. White, who along with others officially founded the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1863. A prolific writer on faith and health, she is seen by the church as a prophetess who was instrumental in cementing many of the church's early beliefs. Overall, she wrote more than 40 books and over 50,000 articles. The Adventist Church boasts 1.2 million members in North America; with more than 18.7 million members worldwide, it is among the fastest-growing denominations. The Pew Research Center found it to be the most racially diverse religious group in the U.S. earlier this year.

Unlike most other Christian denominations, Seventh-day Adventists attend church on Saturdays, which they believe to be the Sabbath instead of Sunday, according to their interpretation of the Bible.

There is also an emphasis placed on health and wholeness, partly drawn from White's writings. That includes abstention from alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs and even meat. The church has an approach it abbreviates as "NEWSTART"--nutrition, exercise, water, sunlight, temperance, air, rest and trust in divine power.

As for some of the dietary guidelines, they're just that--guidelines. Not eating meat isn't a requirement to be a Seventh-day Adventist, though it is encouraged.

How do their beliefs differ from traditional evangelicals? Aside from different days of worship and a greater emphasis on health and nutrition, doctrinally the two are about the same. Evangelicals and Adventists believe in salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone, and many of their original members came from other related denominations, like Methodism, or even Roman Catholicism. The current Seventh-day Adventist Church considers itself to be Protestant.

By contrast, Mr. Trump was a Presbyterian but jumped ship to Marble Collegiate Church in New York under Norman Vincent Peale, whose "power of positive thinking" gave rise to the later health and wealth gospellers. "Change your thoughts and you change your world. . . . Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy. . . . Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for that determines our success or failure," wrote Peale. Trump seems to have imbibed that philosophy in spades.

*****

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In Christ,

David