Oh Lord, what a profound loss to Anglicanism. This will be the direction of travel now. Whether it is a hard split or a Third Province solution now it seems almost inevitable.
Sad, since all the right theology is there but there is a refusal to teach it and an arrogance even to think one could modify it. Kowtowing to secular values will not lead to any growth whatsoever (see USA).
The (real) Gospel is the power of God unto salvation and nothing else. We are not promoting a social club but the Kingdom of God and the church which is the body of Christ.
May Dr Ashenden be blessed in his next part of his faith journey.
I don't think Fr Ashenden said he was leaving the Anglican Church, rather the CofE. I don't know what his plans are, but he is such a clear and cogent speaker, he is going to be an asset to the mission of Christ wherever he pitches up. You mention a Third Province Solution. Of course, there are other Provinces whose liturgy and catholic theology have never departed into unfruitful innovation. We in the Anglican Catholic Church see ourselves as faithful orthodox catholics doing things the English/Anglican way: pre denominational is a good term for us. You are so right to say that the real Gospel is the power of God unto salvation and nothing else; but the 'nothing else' needs qualifying to include rather than exclude the grace of the sacraments rightly administered by the apostolic church for the strengthening of our lives and mission. It seems to me that the vain attempts of the CofE to keep the 'Provinces' of Canterbury and York together, have done nothing but result in confusion and compromise. Like Arianism, it pretends to catholic truth, but is built on the primacy of man over the divinity of the Godhead: a secular social club perhaps. We do no service to the salvific mission of the true Church of Christ to allow either church-goers or onlookers to blithely wander on further into trackless wastes. One such road is the 'we all get along, we just do things differently' path. No! It reminds me of a story about a little shop whose owner discovered that a huge superstore was being built next door. He was frightened that it would put him out of business. Imagine the horror when, next day, he found out that another superstore was being built on the other side of his little shop. 'What should I do'' he asked? 'I know!!' Next day, after a bit of banging about outside his door he came back in and announced that he had changed the name of his shop to: 'ENTRANCE'. There is a problem with that solution. Yes, the customer might stumble into the little shop by mistake. We must have clarity about the precious nature of the Church. It can't keep deluding people that one (Anglican) church is just the same as another. There must be some space between 'them' and 'us'. You can be civil, and even good friends with others of different persuasions and faiths. But, Fr Ashenden has clearly enunciated that there must be a parting of the ways. Confusion is not a characteristic of God. I only hope and pray that people in leadership positions, such as Bishop North, will help to sort out the mess, and will throw out the half baked innovations which help nobody to flourish.
He's right.
ReplyDeleteThe Church in Wales left me too.
What makes you think it will repent and turn back to the catholic fold? Pigs will fly.
ReplyDeleteOh Lord, what a profound loss to Anglicanism. This will be the direction of travel now. Whether it is a hard split or a Third Province solution now it seems almost inevitable.
ReplyDeleteSad, since all the right theology is there but there is a refusal to teach it and an arrogance even to think one could modify it. Kowtowing to secular values will not lead to any growth whatsoever (see USA).
The (real) Gospel is the power of God unto salvation and nothing else. We are not promoting a social club but the Kingdom of God and the church which is the body of Christ.
May Dr Ashenden be blessed in his next part of his faith journey.
I don't think Fr Ashenden said he was leaving the Anglican Church, rather the CofE. I don't know what his plans are, but he is such a clear and cogent speaker, he is going to be an asset to the mission of Christ wherever he pitches up.
ReplyDeleteYou mention a Third Province Solution. Of course, there are other Provinces whose liturgy and catholic theology have never departed into unfruitful innovation. We in the Anglican Catholic Church see ourselves as faithful orthodox catholics doing things the English/Anglican way: pre denominational is a good term for us. You are so right to say that the real Gospel is the power of God unto salvation and nothing else; but the 'nothing else' needs qualifying to include rather than exclude the grace of the sacraments rightly administered by the apostolic church for the strengthening of our lives and mission.
It seems to me that the vain attempts of the CofE to keep the 'Provinces' of Canterbury and York together, have done nothing but result in confusion and compromise. Like Arianism, it pretends to catholic truth, but is built on the primacy of man over the divinity of the Godhead: a secular social club perhaps. We do no service to the salvific mission of the true Church of Christ to allow either church-goers or onlookers to blithely wander on further into trackless wastes. One such road is the 'we all get along, we just do things differently' path. No!
It reminds me of a story about a little shop whose owner discovered that a huge superstore was being built next door. He was frightened that it would put him out of business. Imagine the horror when, next day, he found out that another superstore was being built on the other side of his little shop. 'What should I do'' he asked? 'I know!!' Next day, after a bit of banging about outside his door he came back in and announced that he had changed the name of his shop to: 'ENTRANCE'.
There is a problem with that solution. Yes, the customer might stumble into the little shop by mistake. We must have clarity about the precious nature of the Church. It can't keep deluding people that one (Anglican) church is just the same as another. There must be some space between 'them' and 'us'. You can be civil, and even good friends with others of different persuasions and faiths. But, Fr Ashenden has clearly enunciated that there must be a parting of the ways. Confusion is not a characteristic of God.
I only hope and pray that people in leadership positions, such as Bishop North, will help to sort out the mess, and will throw out the half baked innovations which help nobody to flourish.