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December 2014 A.D. Trajectory of the
Church of England: Suggestions for
Confessional Anglicans
Trajectory of
the C of E: suggestions for confessing Anglicans
by Andrew Symes
A group of evangelical clergy are protesting about an
article written in their Diocesan newspaper by a member of the senior staff
team that promotes the acceptance of same sex relationships. Dr Martyn Percy,
Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, writes what appears to be a brief review of two
books on the subject. In one paragraph he praises More Perfect Union by Alan
Wilson, then he contemptuously dismisses “Is God anti-gay?” by
Sam Allberry, in four sentences. (Sam’s book is a clear and concise survey
of the biblical texts and the real live issues for Christians with same sex
attraction.) Percy concludes with his own sermon arguing for complete change in
the biblical doctrine of Christian marriage.
The Door,
copies of which are distributed to every parish church and throughout the communities
of the Diocese, appears to be widely read and much appreciated. (The Dean’s
review can be found on page 5 of the December issue.) It contains news of
church involvement in various aspects of mission from around the large area,
interviews and reports. It would be better if it stayed that way: upbeat,
encouraging, uncontroversial – not for the promotion of contentious views by
academics. So once again we have to flag up this tendency, no doubt occurring
in many other Dioceses as well, of church leaders using their position and
official institutions to promote heresy, causing confusion, anger and disunity.
In another Diocese, which I can’t name at the moment, a
number of clergy in civil partnerships have been appointed to senior posts, to
the extent that even some moderates feel that this kind of ‘affirmative action’
is getting out of hand. Of course all these clergy have given assurances that
their relationships are non-sexual, but they make no secret of their opposition
to the C of E’s current teaching and their support for the ‘inclusion’ ethic.
For some evangelicals, the appointment of one of these revisionists to be in
charge of the training of all curates in the Diocese has proved the last straw.
Or has it? This situation is not unique. As revisionists continue their
takeover of Diocesan administrations, the few conservatives left in senior
positions tend to keep their heads down and work for ‘peace’, seeing protesting
biblically faithful clergy as equally a problem to be managed as the campaigning
inclusionists.
Meanwhile, Western culture with its secular humanist
project to redefine humanity as free to self-create without God (and re-create
God according to self), continues to exert its pressure. As numerous articles
on this website have highlighted, schools are in the front line, now having to
teach ‘British values of openness and tolerance’ ie taboo-free and
gender-neutral sex education, as well as multifaith religious education. Senior
political figures regularly call on the Church to accept same sex marriage. And
once again, the Bill to
ban all forms of counselling for people seeking release from or reduction of
unwanted same sex attraction (ideologically and erroneously called “gay
conversion therapy” in official documents) is being brought before Parliament
for its second reading.
How is the Church responding? The official policy is to
stand firm, to reiterate that the Church will not change its teaching on
marriage – and there has recently been encouraging push-back
from the C of E education department on
the tendency of school inspectors OFSTED to confuse educational quality and
politically correct ideology. But as we have seen, this is increasingly
undermined as more and more senior Diocesan posts are filled by people openly
arguing for change in the Church’s official teaching, and those who defend the
traditional, biblical line are marginalized.
Among evangelicals who agree on what the Bible says about
sex and marriage, there is disagreement on analysis and strategy: how serious
are the problems with church and culture, and what should be done about it?
While all agree that evangelism and church planting are vital, there is
disagreement about discipleship in a post-Christian society: should we train
congregations to understand and name the anti-Christian forces in society so as
to better live in Christ and articulate our faith? Or is this actually counter
productive: does public Christian opposition to, for example, LGBT-driven
policies such as gay marriage, liberal sex education and the closing down of
free speech make the church seem “nasty” and inhibit mission?
And then, should we stay in the C of E, seeking to reform
it from within? At what point does this become impossible when Diocesan
leadership and General Synod is increasingly dominated by those committed to
the opposite vision of reform? Is there an alternative? Without clear, united
plans for financial ring-fencing, alternative oversight and ultimately, a new
ecclesial jurisdiction based on confessional understanding of the faith, could
we be drifting towards a situation like Anglicanism in North America – but
without the equivalent of ACNA to harbour the faithful?
Here is a suggestion of three action points for the
preservation of confessing Anglicanism in England:
Disestablishment. The tying of Church to State is being
increasingly being questioned by liberals and conservatives alike. Loosening of
ties could force a reassertion of Christian identity centred on Christ, rather
than cultural Englishness, as foundational to the Church.
Disengagement. A negotiated and peaceful break up of the C
of E into a federation of independent groups might work, but confessing
Anglicans need to disengage and develop new structures before formal agreements
on buildings, pensions etc are reached.
Discipleship. The focus has to be on quality rather than
quantity: people demonstrating counter cultural witness, repentance, faith, the
way of the cross in the power of the Spirit as a challenge and rebuke to the
idols and the powers of our age, and a gracious call to the confused and the
enslaved people outside the Kingdom whom God loves.
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