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Sunday 30 October 2016

Deception


Archbishop Barry Morgan


"They also apologised to gay and lesbian people
for the persecution and mistreatment they have
endured at the hands of the Church and they
committed themselves to providing a safe place
within the Church for all gay and lesbian people." 


So said the bench of bishops at the Governing Body of the Church in Wales in April 2016 when they introduced their 'Pastoral Letter to all the faithful concerning gay and lesbian Christians'. It was the precursor to the dangerously absurd conclusions Dr Morgan advanced in his final Presidential address in September when he claimed that ‘Biblical stories can reveal a new understanding of same-sex relationships’.

In February 2015 Christian Today reported that Jayne Ozanne, a founder member of the Archbishops' Council in the Church of England (CofE) and one of the CofE's most influential evangelicals had come out as gay. Formerly from the orthodox wing of the Church she held strictly conservative views on sexuality but Ms Ozanne came out after 'falling madly in love' and starting a relationship with a another woman. (Video interview here).

A 'LGBT activist', Ms Ozanne commissioned a YouGov poll which purported to show that 45 per cent of Anglicans (of over 1500 surveyed) believe that same-sex marriage is right, while 37 per cent believe it is wrong. Ms Ozanne and others "hailed this result as indicative of a shift in public opinion, as compared to a YouGov survey three years ago. At that time, 38 per cent of Anglicans said they supported same-sex 'marriage', while 47 per cent said they believed it was wrong".

A priest in the Church of England and consultant statistician, the Rev Peter Ould, questioned the way that the results of the poll were represented and has given a detailed account of how the findings are the opposite of those claimed by Ms Ozanne and her supporters.

His analysis of the figures indicate that Church of England is regarded as welcoming by a margin of 7:1. A majority of C of E members also said that the church was welcoming to the LGBT community by a margin of two and a half to one. For unclassified Christians the majority was 2:1. Only those of 'no religion' took a negative view. Read what Peter Ould had to say about the poll on Facebook (here) and listen to his explanation on Periscope TV (here). You can also find him on Twitter.

Rather than apologising to gay and lesbian people for the alleged "persecution and mistreatment they have endured at the hands of the Church", on this evidence the bishops should have congratulated members of the Church for providing a safe place for all gay and lesbian people. The new analysis helps to explain the number of gay and lesbian people among the clergy and the laity.

In another recent article for Christian Today the question is asked, Why Do People Stop Going To Church? Ms Ozanne said: "The Church of England needs to have the courage to look decline directly in the face and have the humility to ask 'Why?'. She repeated her assertion, "As my recent YouGov poll clearly shows many - even within the Church - do not believe it is there for everyone, as the Secretary General so confidently asserts. Indeed the young and those of 'no religion" - who we need to reach most - have the most negative perception of the Church. Growth will only come through a honest assessment of the mistakes we have made and a humble admission of the pain we have caused to so many."

We have been deceived. For too long we have been cowed by false assertions for fear of being thought uncharitable while pressure groups use every tactic to get their own way. Deceit has been used to damn the faithful and change the Anglican Church into a pale shadow of her former glory, often by trendy bishops who have taken the lead in this shameful process. One has to wonder what is in it for them. Cheap popularity or the hope of 'respectability' for those in the closet?

At last in the Church in Wales there are signs that people have had enough. The bench have not had their way on same sex marriage and at their last meeting the Governing Body refused simply to 'take note' of the relentless decline resulting in less than 1% of the population regularly attending church each Sunday. They passed this revised motion:

That the Governing Body
(i) Do take note of this Report with a heavy heart; and
(ii) Request that the Standing Committee, as a matter of urgency, identify the minority of parishes which are growing, investigate the factors behind this, and suggest what we might learn and implement from this good practice.


As an example of the blind attempting to lead the formerly blind, the Ass Bishop of Llandaff claimed that "much more was happening than could be recorded by statistics. We are beating ourselves up and I am sorry about that. There’s a lot going on – God does not depend on our contribution to thrive. We need to joyfully let down the nets and go fishing at His command." He and the Archdeacon of Llandaff were appointed by Dr Morgan from outside the Province to advance Dr Morgan's political objectives at the expense of the church and many faithful worshippers. He should go fishing and take the like minded with him.

Ordinary members must stand their ground and return the church to the Apostolic faith into which we were baptized, not a variant of nonconformity. 

In a final flourish before he retires Barry and his bench sitters have decided that anyone who has been baptised will be able to receive Holy Communion in church regardless of whether they have also been confirmed, thus opening the door to the Uniting Church in Wales. In pursuit of their ambition the bench calls us to look to the tradition of the Church. So we should, not to become nonconformists but to return to the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

The liberal experiment has been an absolute disaster for the Church of England and the Church in Wales using deceit and deception to mask the truth. We must return to orthodoxy. Pray that the appointment of the new Bishop of St Davids will aid the church in that mission.

16 comments:

  1. Welsh Photographer30 October 2016 at 14:50

    Well said.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Enter constructive dismissal, former Ice Maiden of Bangor - the new care taker Dean of Durham.

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  2. A basic psychological need in all generations is discipline and human beings are happier when responding to this direction.
    The problem now in the Church in Wales is the 'comme ci comme ca' culture.
    There is no common teaching,no common understanding of the Sacraments.
    Confusion reigns.com

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  3. We in the Church of England have also suffered regular accusations by our own Archbishop of Canterbury, ever since he took office, that we have mistreated homosexual people. He does this by means of public "apology" for how we have apparently treated these people; yet he has never offered any details or evidence of what this mistreatment was.

    Clearly he has an agenda to pursue and chooses to do so by making these sweeping assertions. I believe it is a disgraceful abuse of leadership, and entirely dishonest. It is high time he was told by clergy and congregations to cease from undermining his own people.

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    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  4. Bully boy --Bazza = Satan's little Imp.

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  5. Let us hope and pray there is no 'deception' at St David's this week and the best candidate is chosen .

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    Replies
    1. Well I'm not wasting my time holding my breath.
      Darth --Insidious will have made up his mind months ago and the wheels have been turning long since.

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  6. Unfortunately sex always lights up Sauron's publicity buttons and unfortunately that outweighs the damage he does with his incessant attention seeking, tedious whining and determination to rub congregations' noses in other peoples' sex lives. In almost 60 years in the C-in-W, even as a giggly, immature teenager I have never felt the slightest urge to ask people about their sexuality, nor indeed to bore them to sobs with mine. What consenting adults do to each other in private is their business and as adults it for all of us to take responsibility for reconciling our conduct within our relationship with God. I suspect many congregation are dwindling because people are tired of whining lectures trying to turn services into psychotherapy encounter groups mixed with hectoring demands for money for Sauron's pet projects and above all bored with people banging on about sexuality rather than spirituality.
    As regards omitting Confirmation as a requirement for the Eucharist, if we do not allow children to commit to credit contracts for good reason, how can it be right to allow others to commit their souls as babies without allowing them the opportunity to confirm (or repudiate) it when they reach an appropriate age of understanding. Rejoicing and welcoming a child to the love and support of the church is wonderful but promising a sacred commitment on their behalf that they will not be required to review and confirm (or repudiate) when they are intellectually mature is not right. Alas christenings like weddings are more easily marketable; confirmation by a child mature enough to fully understand the catechism (rather than just learning stock responses) requires work and commitment from both clergy and busy teenagers (and they don't even scoop a pile of loot like a bar/bat mitzvah!)

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  7. I fear the relief of the last 8 years of sanity since Canting Carl & Mandy Tapioca-Thomas were skipping off during working hours have lulled us into a false sense of security. Sauron is once again turning his eye westwards and no doubt has something very special to inflict on us for his parting publicity headlines - after all he's got to keep his name up there for all those post-retirement opportunities.

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  8. I fear you are all correct at a St David's stitch up, it's bound to be a woman as first chance to appoint one......they also need to be liberal and left wing, and preferably gay or pro gay.................

    Regarding shrinking numbers, can you really imagine the manager of M+S or any big chain saying that numbers don't matter.....and we just need to cast the net.....
    But then in the real world they would have been sacked long ago...............

    Simple soul of course has the correct answer....that people need boundaries. The denominations and churches that are in growth teach the faith, whether that is Anglo Catholic or Evangelical.....but both believe in Scripture and tradition, and have a real encounter with God as central. Once we join in the world and say that if you feel like doing it, go for it, it's fine..........we have nothing to offer. People may as well worship crystals or buy a Buddha, as they tend to these days.......

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  9. I recall an Episcopal priest pulling the gay guilt trip card one time in a vestry meeting. It worked on 90% of those present (You can guess who was in the the 10%). The reasoning behind the guilt trip is that because our forefathers were so bold as to teach what scripture teaches regarding same-sex attraction, centuries of gays were left feeling rejected by the Church and therefore denied the Good News. Somehow this is supposed to make us feel collectively guilty and desirous of tossing aside the Gospel so as to make amends for the non-sins of our fathers.

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  10. From what we read here and witness throughout the principality, the Church in Wales and its ministry are in trouble.Partly because few people are entering its doors, let alone its ministry and priesthood. All that is left of what was once catholic are the bubbles rising to the surface where it sank. And it has happened right in front of our eyes.

    Secondly, it is difficult to reconcile people with the self grandeur of bishops and their power, or, rather, their abuse of it. They have transformed themselves into some sort of ecclesiastical suicide bombers. Hopefully history will find it difficult to identify their remains.

    Time now for those few clergy who lay claim to the catholic faith to stop stroking the self indulged ego of this episcopal sect in the hope of a title and favor. The Anglican Catholic Church in Wales and its bishop awaits you with open arms. Enjoy the presence of God brethren, reform and leave Babylon. Waste no further breath.

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  11. "The Church in Wales has elected its first woman bishop."

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-37847575

    This will hardly come as a surprise to anyone.
    The parting gesture from Darth --Insidious.

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  12. ..........and she is left wing, I was correct....can't have a Bishop who is not left wing................http://somersetlabour.co.uk/candidates/jo-penberthy/

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  13. Pope Emeritus Benedict seven years ago today solved the problem of Anglicanism. Why not take up that offer?

    Joseph Golightly

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