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STAND FIRM ALABAMA: Can't Happen Here, Can It?

Can't Happen Here, Can It?

If you're an Episcopalian in the Diocese of Alabama, why join an organization like Stand Firm? After all, in Alabama we have a bishop who has said he is "orthodox", who voted against the false teachings of GC 2003, and has stated several times that "the teachings of this diocese have not changed". Besides, he has pointed out that "New Hampshire is a long way from Alabama".

Maybe it's time the teachings of the diocese on sexuality did change. Consider the following:

In 1988 ECUSA developed a curriculum entitled "Sexuality: A Divine Gift", which included a recommendation that teenagers view a sexually explicit film (one that was listed in a catalog of pornography films) and review lesbian/gay literature. Some in leadership positions even in "conservative" parishes in this diocese were proponents of this curriculum. Who would have taught them that this type of thing would be acceptable to teach to our children? Contrast this with the common refrain of Song of Solomon (2:7, 3:5, 8:4).

In 1999, Bishop Parsley was the Eucharist celebrant at Integrity's Southeast regional convention held in Birmingham, AL. This is very different from his being the celebrant at a parish that might be sympathetic to Integrity's goals or happen to have a lot of members that are also members of Integrity. In these latter settings he is required to minister to all people in his diocese. Being the celebrant at such an event makes him a direct participant in supporting their efforts to "claim the blessing".

Since 2000 Integrity of Alabama has used Camp McDowell's facilities for their annual retreats. In 2000, Dr. Louie Crew was the retreat leader. In 2004 the Rev. Ed Bacon was the keynote speaker. Rev. Bacon is one of the chief proponents of Integrity's "Claim the Blessing" movement. Don't believe this is in our own diocese? Check out the "Past Events" link on Integrity of Alabama's web site. Bp. Parsley says he can't control who uses what facilities in the whole diocese. Really? He can if he thinks it's important enough. For example, in April 2004 he initially would not allow the Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner to speak at Ascension in Montgomery in order to educate parishioners on the Network. He allowed it only after Dr. Radner agreed to share the platform with him. Contrast this with Louie Crew participating prominently in the Jonathan Daniels Pilgrimage in Lowndesboro, AL in August 2004 and in Crew's preaching at Grace Episcopal in Birmingham the Sunday of the pilgrimage. Did Crew have to get the approval of Bishop Parsley before that sermon? Did he have to deliver this sermon in an Episcopal church in the diocese of Alabama only under the condition that he would share the pulpit with Bishop Parsley?

At General Convention 2000, Bishop Parsley voted for resolution D039, which acknowledged "that while the issues of human sexuality are not yet resolved, there are currently couples in the Body of Christ and in this Church who are living in marriage and others living in life-long committed relationships". The resolution resolved that the church "expects such relationships to be characterized by fidelity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect, careful, honest communication, and the holy love which enables those in such relationships to see in each other the image of God". Happily it did end in acknowledging the Church's teaching on the sanctity of marriage. But the ambiguous wording of the resolution continued the drift toward acceptance of same-sex marriage. And why do we need to formally acknowledge any sin that we all know is going on? What is so different about this one other than some that are victims of it have an agenda to force others to accept it as something other than what it is?

In October 2003, Bp. Parsley stated that he voted for failed GC 2003 resolution B001 upholding the authority of Scripture and historical documents because "he didn't want it used as a sword against him". He made no mention that it was because he really does still believe those things.

Again in October 2003, at the diocesan convocation held at Christ the Redeemer in Montgomery, AL, Bishop Parsley made the following comment: "The question is...If, and it's a big if, we are learning that homosexuality is the natural state of some, is there then a moral way for them to live their life other than enforced celibacy?" Note the similarity between this question and this quote from p.21 of The Rev. George Woodliff's essay "Rediscovering Christian Orthodoxy in Episcopal Anglicanism," [749kb PDF] referring to a "gay gene" article in Time magazine: "this article sets forth the basic revisionist argument - if...then. If science has proven that homosexuality is genetically determined, then we are faced with "new learning" unknown to the writers of the Bible, and it would, therefore, be unjust for the Church to withhold the blessing of committed same sex unions."

In February 2004, Bp. Parsley stated that while he could not see how scripture and tradition can support the decisions of General Convention 2003, he did say "reason leaves questions". He based this on so-called "scientific" studies touted by National Public Radio, The Wall Street Journal, and Time magazine that purport to have discovered a "gay gene". One can read the details in the Woodliff paper, but the primary studies conducted in 1991 by Michael Bailey and Richard Pillard and in 1993 by Dean Hamer have been convincingly debunked. (The media has not reported Hamer's own comments about finding no gay gene with the same zeal they have reported the studies themselves.) Yet Bishop Parsley entertains questions that "reason" introduces, based on having read these studies or the media's reporting of them. This says one of two things. Either he takes the time to read only the things that support a position he already believes in his heart, or he has read the material debunking the questions reason asks and he has dismissed it. Either way, he has made his position clear.

Again in February 2004, Bishop Parsley helped some of the less enlightened of us understand that "there are those who believe that the authors of the Bible did not anticipate the situation we find ourselves in today". In that helpful explanation he talked about various forms of idolatry, noting that worship of the Bible is a form of idolatry. Indeed. While we don't worship the Bible, we do worship its Author. (For a hint as to who this might be, see 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and 2 Peter 1:20-21.) If looking for an example of idolatry, it might have been more appropriate to cite the type of thinking that believes Almighty God did not anticipate this situation when he directed his servants to write the words we find in the Bible, or that there is even one person that he does not understand intimately (Matthew 10:30, Luke 12:7). If you're worshiping a god that can't know the future or the people he created, you're worshiping an idol!

Once again in February 2004, Bp. Parsley, while comparing the question of the ordination of women to the question of legitimate expressions of human sexuality, recalled the days when the ordination of women was the big issue. He remembered how resisting it "would have been like resisting a tidal wave". Consider all the steps ECUSA has taken since GC 2003 to bless same-sex unions or marriages or whatever, plus their express authorization for the development of rites for same-sex unions of some sort (e.g. diocese of NC). Does the wave of activity we see look something like the tidal wave he described? Relying on him to resist this tidal wave, especially given the ambiguity exhibited by his actions and statements, is naive at best. (The details of some of that activity are: Washington, D.C. (John Clinton Bradley and Rev. Michael Hopkins performed by Bishop Chane); California (Retired Episcopal Bishop Otis Charles and Felipe Sanchez Paris); Colorado (Rev. Bonnie Spencer and Catherine Anderson, widow of a Colorado Episcopal priest); Dioceses of Utah, Vermont, Nevada and North Carolina have sanctioned same-sex blessings and a church in Indianapolis is seriously considering it.

One more time in February 2004, at the Alabama Diocesan Convention in Montgomery, the keynote speaker was none other than the Rt. Rev. Michael B. Curry, of the Diocese of North Carolina. Yep, the same Bishop Curry that is actively working on a rite to bless same-sex unions.

For the 2004-2005 Sunday school year, the Church of the Nativity in Huntsville, AL has some interesting offerings that go beyond teaching on sexuality. For example, you can "explore mystical ideas and practices from Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, Native American and other traditions and explore how we as Christians can profit from an increased awareness of and familiarity with the shared experience of mystics throughout human history". Or you can attend a Christian Social Action class, the principle resources of which are "the theology of Marcus Borg, the Rev. William Sloan Coffin, Bishop John Spong, Bishop John Robinson and the New Testament:. (Glad they decided to throw the New Testament in there.) I have heard a speaker in "conservative" church who is a former Mormon speak about Mormonism, but it was under the title "Saved from Mormonism". Do you detect even a hint of that sort of presentation when you read the outline of these adult education classes in our own diocese?

And finally, August 2004, less than two weeks ago: Check out this paper (reproduced below) from the Rev. Louie Skipper. When answering the question "what are we blessing when we bless a same-sex relationship", he refers to the Claiming the Blessing movement and says "we are blessing the persons in relationships with one another and the world in which they live. We are blessing the ongoing promise of fidelity and mutuality. We are neither blessing 'orientation' or 'lifestyle,' nor blessing particular sexual behaviors. 'Orientation' and 'lifestyle' are theoretical constructs that cannot possibly be descriptive of any couple's commitment to one another. And every couple works out their own sexual behavior that sustains and enhances their commitment."

So he's in favor of blessing same-sex unions. And who is Rev. Skipper? At the time his paper was published (May 2003), he was a priest at St. Stephen's in Birmingham. Now he holds the college campus chaplain position in Montgomery. So he's on our college campuses representing the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama and counseling our young men and women.

Still trust Bishop Parsley and the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama to give you shelter? From where I'm standing, New Hampshire doesn't look all that far away.

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but our trust is in the name of the Lord our God." Psalm 20:7

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