Mary Magdalene

The Appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene, Alexander Ivanov, c.1835                                                                                                               Source: WikiArt

Don't tempt me! 

Depending on how you read the painting, 'Don't tempt me!' could be a caption under Ivanov's painting of The Appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene.

That is not the message conveyed by the bishop of Bangor who preached at a service for the feast day of Mary Magdalene, live from Bangor Cathedral on Sunday 22 July 2018. He emphasised these points:

• We know very little about Mary Magdalene.
• She is mentioned in the gospels at least 12 times.
• Often depicted in the past as a 'loose woman', we now recognise that label as wrong.
• She is one of the most loyal followers of Jesus witnessing his ministry, his crucifixion and his resurrection life.
• She is, perhaps, the best example in the Gospels of how love transforms everything.

"How love transforms everything"!

🎜All you need is love🎝 has become the anthem of Western Anglicanism. Today's Golden Calf. Rather than our traditional understanding of God's redeeming love it has become a means of absolving all manner of excess.

Bishop Andy referred to Mary Magdalene as "someone from whom evil spirits had been driven. She was a tormented person. She might have described her life as being ‘out of control’ or unsustainable....The Christian faith is good news for people like us. Because it begins with the conviction that God loves us. This love isn’t founded on the merits of our lives or the choices we’ve made or make. It’s simply in the nature of God whose love is inexhaustible and inextinguishable."

Of course God's love is inexhaustible and inextinguishable but it makes no sense to use the example of someone "we know very little about" as justification for re-writing our understanding of Scripture.

Developing his theme +Andy  said, "There is an irony that the women, those compelled to silence in public life, are now compelled to tell the ground-breaking news of the resurrection. Today it’s easy for us to miss the offense, scandal and drama of this in the ancient world. Women! The ones who had no voice, few rights and fewer privileges now elevated to the highest place. It’s as though we’re meant to see that all who feel on the margins, outsiders, are the very ones whom God calls and draws." [My emphasis -Ed.]

Ah, yes! Minorities rule.

The emphasis placed on the elevation of Mary Magdalene to the position of ‘Apostle to the Apostles’ included a reading of the poem ‘They have taken away my Lord’ by Janet Morley leaving the impression that the whole point of the service was to justify the rise of feminism in the Church in Wales and all the free love baggage that arrived with it.

Pity really. It spoilt an otherwise enjoyable service but that is the Church in Wales today.

Who do they think they are kidding?

The Bishop of Sheffield has taken his turn in Archbishop Rowan's Enough Waiting campaign with the usual self-affirming assertions:

"In 1805, Admiral Nelson sent the most famous signal in naval history to the fleet: England expects every man to do his duty. 
I believe our country wants to send the same signal to the Church of England General Synod at the present time. 
The majority of people the Church of England serves in parishes across the land want to see women as bishops.  The society we serve wants us to make a positive decision, to take action and to move on. 
We have an immense task before us in the next ten years.  We are called to bear witness to God’s love and God’s justice and God’s ways and God’s call to know him in Jesus Christ.  We must not spend yet more time on this internal issue. 
Of course it's been important that we’ve taken the time to think through the biblical arguments.  Is there good evidence for women taking a leading role in ministry in the Bible?  Yes there is.  Mary Magdalene was the first witness of the resurrection.  Paul names many women as co-leaders and fellow workers with him. 
Of course it’s been important that we keep in step with other churches. We’ve pondered long and hard whether we can take this decision by ourselves.  The majority of us believe that we can and that we must as we have taken many other such decisions in the past. 
Of course it’s been important that we take time and care to find the right ways to make provision for those who will not accept this development.  I deeply respect those who hold such views.  I hold them in high regard.  They will continue to have an honoured place in the Church of England. I believe the traditions they represent have a vital part to play in our future.  I will continue to support them.
But we have now found that compromise position:  provision can be made without undercutting the ministry of the women who are ordained as bishops. We need to move forward.  However long we keep talking we will not find a better fit than this. 
Even those who are opposed to the measure are weary of the debate and need to know where they stand. 
So this is a moment for a clear decision.  We cannot continue with a situation where women are ordained deacons and priests but not as bishops. 
I believe we need the wisdom and perspective and gifts of women as bishops, urgently, in the House of Bishops, in dioceses and in our wider society.  They will be a rich gift to the Church and the nation. 
The overwhelming majority of dioceses have already given approval to this Measure.
For the sake of God’s Kingdom and God’s mission to this land in the coming years, I hope the overwhelming majority of General Synod members will support this measure.
England expects and the Church of England expects.  We need to deliver."

The duplicity of this campaign is mind-blowing. Who do they think they are kidding? Talk of 'respect' simply pays lip service to the 'Appleby amend­­ment', a cop-out if ever there was one. 

Of course these campaigners are in favour of the ordination of women. If they were not they would not be where they are today pouring out irrelevant propaganda to justify their position.  The legislation is not fit for purpose. It must be rejected.

Archbishop's heretical mentor

" 'WOMEN have an important role to play in leading the Church in Wales', Archbishop Barry Morgan has said ahead of its governing body’s examination of the issue next year. Speaking to the Western Mail, Dr Morgan said he was holding on to the hope that the church will accept women bishops before he steps down. Proposals to enable women to enter the episcopate were backed in 2008 by bishops and laity in the governing body but failed by three votes to win the necessary two-thirds majority among clergy. A new vote will not be taken in April but the subject will be examined in detail." [Dec 26 2011]

Perhaps he is unfortunate in his choice of friends but the latest report in Virtue Online is a devastating critique of Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori's ministry with the headline - 'Violent Images for God: She Describes the Son of God as a Hell's Angel "Gang Leader" and "Party Animal". Her lack of concern for all American Anglicans as well as for the wider Anglican Communion comes from her own deformed image of God. Everyone in the Episcopal Church and indeed the Anglican Communion has suffered because of her confused thinking.'

" 'WOMEN should be represented at all levels of the church', the most powerful Anglican in the US has said during a visit to Wales. A familiar ring but there's more: 'There has been remarkable women’s leadership throughout the church’s history. The apostle to the apostles, Mary Magdalene, who reports the resurrection for the first time, is a remarkable witness to women’s leadership in the early church. It’s clear that many of the early church communities were sheltered and led and supported by women. The church has elected to forget that in many instances" [Jul 2010]. Step up PB Jefferts Schori, the new Mary Magdalene, showing the church the way. In the Episcopal Church of the US it looks like the road to ruin. 

Women in dog collars have done nothing to advance Christ's kingdom on earth as churches continue to empty. If the PB Jefferts Schori's Episcopal Church is an example of what is to come we may as well give up now.


Happy Epiphany!


Postscript
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams raises an eyebrow over the actions of his American flock. Report here.