Apparently-To: catholic@american.edu
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.catholic
Date:         Mon, 28 Sep 1992 20:47:40 PDT
From:         "John R. Covert 28-Sep-1992 2348" <covert@COVERT.ENET.DEC.COM>
Subject:      Crisis in the Episcopal Church (Episcopal Synod of America)

                        THE EPISCOPAL SYNOD OF AMERICA
                                  EXISTS FOR
                                     YOU!

The Episcopal Synod of America is composed of members of the Episcopal
Church who have committed themselves to upholding the Christian Faith
for our children and our children's children.

In this "Decade of Evangelism" proclaimed by the Episcopal Church, we
remember the words of Jesus:

	"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, bap-
	 tizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
	 and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all
	 that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you
	 always, to the close of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

When Jesus says "All that I have commanded you," He means the whole
Faith -- that is, doctrine, practice, and morality.  Today, every one
of these elements of the Faith is under attack.

Jesus warned us:

	"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in
	 sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You
	 will know them by their fruits .... Not everyone who
	 says to me "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of
	 heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is
	 in heaven." (Matthew 7:15,16,21)

The Early Church experienced what Jesus warned against. And so, in his
epistle, St. Jude warned against false teachers who, "following their
own ungodly passions, ... set up division," (vv. 18-19) and he appealed
to Christians "to contend for the faith which was once for all delivered
to the saints." (v. 3). This faith is binding doctrine, which was
delivered _for_all_time_, _for_everyone_.

For 2000 years, in the midst of the struggle against attack both from
within (heresy and schism) and without (persecution), the Faith has been
handed on, at the risk of torture and death, so that we might share in
the promises of God.  The situation is no different today.  Members of
the Episcopal Church are persecuted and harrassed because they seek to
maintain this Faith.

The Episcopal Synod of America affirms this Faith "once for all delivered
to the saints," stands with those persecuted for this Faith, and rejects
alteration of this Faith demanded by those who question the authority
of Holy Scripture in order to advocate 20th century secular values.

The Episcopal Synod of America
6300 Ridglea Place, Suite 910
Fort Worth, Texas 76116
817-735-1675

                                    CRISIS
                                     OVER
                        THE AUTHORITY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE

The several crises present in the Episcopal Church (and in many of the
"mainline" churches) today stem from one basic crisis -- the issue of the
authority of Holy Scripture.

Many of our Church leaders claim that since our society is "Far advanced
over that of the primitive, patriarchal society of the Bible," the Church
should be able to modify, change, ignore, or eliminate certain passages of
the Bible which do not support the prevailing `modern" ideas.  A close look
at the Lectionary will show that those passages which refer to the roles of
women in the church, homosexual behaviour, the reality of sin and the need
for radical repentance, etc. have aiready been eliminated from the daily
and the Sunday readings. (1)

The Bishop of Newark, in a book published in 1991, has gone so far as to
question "how we Christians could continue to call the Bible the Word of
God ..." (2)

However, in the Word of God we read: "For whatever was written in former
days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the
encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope." (Romans 15:4)
And: "All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of
God may be complete, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The Episcopal Synod of America upholds the Holy Scriptures as the Word of
God, His Revelation of Himself, written down by human beings for human
beings, for the transformation of our hearts, minds, and wills so that we
might be conformed to the nature of Christ.

	7 This is the Bible's own view of itself,
	  in both Old and New Testaments.
	7 This is the view of Jesus, expressed
	  consistently throughout the Gospels.
	7 This is the view of the Church, from the
	  beginning until now.' (3)

Belief in the authority of Holy Scripture is a basic tenet of Christianity
itself, which the Episcopal Church has always upheld. The Book of Common
Prayer documents this commitment in several places:

The Articles of Religion, hammered out in the 16th Century to define
certain tenets of the Faith in the face of certain controversies, states
in Article VI:

	"Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to
	 salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor
	 may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any
	 man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith
	 ...." (p. 868)

The first article in the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1888, adopted by
the House of Bishops to define the essential pillars of the Faith, affirms
"the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as `containing all
things necessary to salvation,' and as being the rule and ultimate standard
of faith." (p. 877)

When a man is ordained to the priesthood or consecrated bishop, he vows,
"I solemnly declare that I do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and
New Testaments to be the Word of God, and to contain all things necessary
to salvation." (p. 526, 513)

At every celebration of the Eucharist, after the reading of the Scriptures,
we affirm them as "The Word of the Lord."

DO WE MEAN WHAT WE SAY?  We in the Episcopal Synod of America answer a
resounding WE DO!  And so, we ask God through the Scriptures to teach us,
guide us, correct us, mold us, so that, in heart and mind and will we are
conformed more and more to the image and likeness of Christ.

A person who seriously reads and meditates on the Bible will know and
understand at a deep level the living power of the Holy Scriptures:

	7 that the Bible speaks to all of us no matter who
	  we are, no matter what our station in life, no matter
	  what our experience, no matter what areas of sinfulness
	  we suffer

	7 that all of us will be spoken to by different parts of
	  the Bible at different times of our lives

	7 that a passage which at one time made no sense at
	  all now has meaning for us

	7 that the passages which challenge and even offend
	  us (because they tell us what we don't want to hear)
	  are the very passages we _need_ to hear

	7 that if our lives do not conform to the Scriptures.
	  we need to change our lives, not the Scriptures

As God tells us, through His prophet Isaiah, "The grass withers, the flower
fades; but the word of our God will stand for ever." (Isaiah 40:8)

The Episcopal Synod of America stands firm on the authority of Holy Scripture
as the Word of God.

-----

(1) A list is available from Chris Fouse through the ESA office.

(2) John Shelby Spong. "Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism". (San
Francisco: Harper, 1991). Preface, p. ix.

(3) Peter C. Moore, "The Authority of Scripture". Episcopalians United.

                                    CRISIS
                                     OVER
                                SEXUAL MORALITY

Many in our society affirm that sexual activity, of whatever kind and in
whatever circumstance favored by the participant, is a fundamental human
right.  It is asserted that there is such a thing as a "right to happiness."
Happiness is defined by the individual, and is considered to be impossible
without genital sexual activity.

Furthermore, many in our own Church even argue that any and all sexual
activity is a sign of God's love.  Extremists, such as the Rev. Carter
Heyward, professor at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts
and an avowed practicing lesbian, (4) even tell us that genital sexual
expression (including promiscuity and homosexual relations) is the only way
to truly come to know God. (5)

These views lead to the assertion that the Church should affirm and bless
any and all sexual unions, and even that the Church should approve for
ordination to the priesthood those who are, without repentance, engaged in
sexual activities which the Church has always considered immoral.

It is clear from a reading of the Gospels that Jesus affirmed the morality
of the Old Testament, and, indeed, was not satisfied with external obedience,
but raised morality to a matter of the heart (intention).  Jesus desires for
us what God has always desired: "I have no pleasure in the death of the
wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live." (Ezekiel 33:11)
The Church welcomes in compassion and love _all_ people, and her desire is
to help us to repent and return to the Lord, and to grow in holiness.  Jesus,
asked to judge a woman caught in adultery, said: "Neither do I condemn you;
go, and sin no more." (John 8:11)

The doctrine of creation tells us that God created everything that exists
from nothing.  From this, it follows that only He has absolute ownership of
everything in the universe.  Therefore, we are and can be only stewards.
As St. Paul expressed it, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of
the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God?  You are not your own:
You were bought with a price." (1 Cor. 6:19-20)  That is, our bodies belong
to God, not to ourselves.

All Christians are called to sexual chastity, that is, to the use of the
great gift of our sexuality as God intends for us to use it.  Chastity
refers both to abstinence from sexual activity on the part of those not
called to the estate of matrimony, _and_ to mutual fidelity in sexual
matters by those who are married.

The people of God (in both Old and New Testaments and in the Church) have
always affirmed the positive and joyful nature of genital sexual activity
within the covenant of marriage.  In the marriage office in the Book of
Common Prayer, it is expressed in this manner:

	"The union of husband and wife in heart, body, and
	 mind is intended by God for their mutual joy; for the
	 help and comfort given one another in prosperity and
	 adversity; and, when it is God's will, for the procreation
	 of children..."

It is equally clear in Holy Scripture that homosexual activity is sinful.

	"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an
	 abomination." (Leviticus 18:22) (Also see Leviticus 20:13)

St. Paul says in Romans that when men and women do not glorify God, when
they are not thankful to Him, but become vain in their imaginations, their
hearts are darkened, and they fall prey to "a base mind and to improper
conduct," including "Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural,
and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed
with passion for one another, men commiting shameless acts with men and
receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error." (Romans
1:26-27)  (NOTE: You may not recognize this passage, because it has been
intentionally eliminated from the Lectionary!)

It is important to understand that the homosexual orientation is not sinful
in and of itself.  Temptation is not sin.  However, homosexual activity is
under no circumstances permitted to a Christian, any more so than is adultery
or fornication.

St. Paul rightly equates homosexual and heterosexual (and other) sins in
1 Corinthians 6:9-10: "Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolators,
nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor
drunkards, nor revelers, nor robbers, will inherit the kingdom of God."

Several common pleas and excuses are claimed by those supporting the
homosexual lifestyle:

"This is the way God made me."  Nothing in Scripture, Tradition, or Reason
allows us to conclude that homosexuality is a part of His plan for humanity.
Rather, it is a result of our fallenness.

"I can't change my orientation."  First of all, many, with the help of the
Holy Spirit, have done just that.  (Please contact Alan Medinger of
"Regeneration.")  Secondly, even if orientation remains the same, God the
Holy Spirit gives us the strength to resist acting on our urges and
temptations.

"I can't believe that a loving God would create a person with homosexual
desires and then not permit him or her to fulfill these desires."  Now if
there is one thing the Scriptures teach us very clearly, it is that no human
being should presume to assert what a loving God would or would not do. (6)
Holy Scripture is our only guide to His nature.  Furthermore, all of us are
tempted by various kinds of sins, especially sexual sins (just look at TV,
movies, advertising, etc.)  In a fallen world, temptation is a fact of life.
But if the existence of temptation is an argument against the sinfuiness of
the act, _then_nothing_on_this_earth_is_sinful_!  (emphasis added) (7)

The Church has always affirmed the value of sexual chastity, whether one is
single or married, male or female, of heterosexual or homosexual orientation,
young or old.  And the Church has always recognized that sexual chastity is
not easy for anyone!  The drive to sexual activity is strong -- so strong
that it is humanly impossible to resist without the strength given by God
Himself through the power of the Holy Spirit.  We know that if God asks
anything of us, He gives us the power to obey.  Yet we must ask God for this
strength.  And when we fail, God forgives us when we repent, and gives us the
strength to try again.

Members of the Episcopal Synod of America uphold God's laws regarding sexual
chastity, relying on the Holy Spirit to give us the strength we need to be
obedient.

-----

(4) Carter Heyward, "Touching Our Strength: The Erotic as Power and
the Love of God.  (San Francisco: Harper. l989), pp. 28-29.

(5) Ibid. p. 99.

(6) Dr. Austin Hughes, "Homosexuality and the Thief on the Cross,"
in "The Evangelical Catholic," Volume XIV, Number 8, p. 3.

(7) Ibid.

                                    CRISIS
                                     OVER
                              INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE

The Episcopal Church, like the rest of American society, has become extremely
sensitive to "politically correct" speech, especially when referring to women.
As a result, our leaders feel compelled to change our Liturgy, our hymns, and
even the Bible in order to use language which could not possibly be construed
to "offend" women.

While the attempt to use "inclusive language" to refer to human beings is not,
in itself, harmful (though it is awkward), it leads inevitably to the attempt
to use some kind of "gender neutral" language to express God's Revelation of
Himself and how He wants us to know Him and to speak to Him.  Whenever we
change the words He has given us, and substitute the words we think ought to
be used, we define for ourselves the object of our worship.  Indeed, we have
now created Him to reflect our image.  Furthermore, since the power to name
carries authority, we can now usurp His authority.  The danger is that it
easily results in a new religion, determined by and reflecting man's image.
This new religion is not Christianity. (8)

God has revealed Himself consistently, throughout all the ages, in masculine
terms, as Father, as Bridegroom, as Lord.  He revealed Himself most perfectly
in Jesus, a male human being.  To change the Revelation given by God Himself
is to reject God.  The Scriptures are filled with these names for God.  Jesus
continually referred to God as "Father."  Knowing that the way we pray
determines what we believe, and how we relate to God, He taught us,

	"When you pray, say `Our Father'"

For in relationship to God, we are all feminine.  The Church is the Bride of
Christ.

To change liturgical language in the interests of "inclusive language" is
inherently dangerous, because it changes our perception of God and substitutes
man's ideas for God's Revelation. For instance:

	7 To speak of God as Creator,  Redeemer, Sustainer in order to
	  avoid calling Him by Name (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is a
	  denial of the Trinity.  It also makes a personal relationship
	  with Him impossible: it is impossible to pray in a personal way
	  to a God who has no name!

	7 To say that the Resurrected Christ, Who appeared to the disciples,
	  to the women, and to 500 others, and Who will come again in glory,
	  is no longer male denies the resurrection of the body.  A
	  recognizable Jesus appeared, still male, still with a body which
	  had wounds, which could eat and drink, which could be touched.
	  (See the Gospels and the Book of Acts)

	7 To hesitate to call Jesus "Lord" (a "masculine" term) is to have
	  an excuse not to obey Him.

	7 To use feminine metaphors such as "giving birth" to creation
	  contains a special danger.  It suggests that we are "of the same
	  substance" as God, rather than being created "out of nothing" and
	  completely "other" from God.  It therefore leads to the conclusion
	  that we are divine, we are gods, since we are "of the same
	  substance."

	7 To worship a "goddess" (or a Mother God) is to return to paganism,
	  out of which God called us to be His people, and against which the
	  prophets continually have warned us.

The Episcopal Synod of America upholds God's Revelation of Himself as given
and as expressed in Holy Scripture.

-----

(8) See the next section of this document entitled "Lord, Who are You?"

                              LORD, WHO ARE YOU?

Of course all Episcopalians believe in God and certainly all hold that there
is a very close connection between the cosmos and God.  Do we not call the
cosmos "the creation"?  Is there not great concern for ecology in the name
of God?  And, are not many of us attracted by what is called "creation
spirituality"?

However, when we look closely at what people mean when they say "God," we
find very serious differences. In fact much of the leadership of the Episcopal
Church appears to hold a view of who God is which is not that view to which
the Scriptures, Creeds and historic Liturgies point.

                            Different Views of God

The doctrines of God which seem to be held by many leaders, theologians and
teachers and which differ from what the holy, catholic church has historically
believed may be set down in simple form like this:

a. God is another name for the totality of the universe.  To be in harmony
with nature, to be truly ecologically aware, is to be in communion with God.
This is known as pantheism, a very ancient way of conceiving God.  Today it
is alive and well.  Mother nature leads to mother god.

b. God is greater than the cosmos, but in God's being the cosmos is included.
This is panentheism -- nature is in God, but God is more than nature.  So it
is said that the cosmos is God's body and as such God may be rightly called
"She" for the cosmos is continually bringing forth new life.  Feminists tend
to favour this approach.

c. God is in the process of becoming what he will be and in this becoming,
God is changing with the universe as the universe continues to evolve and
develop.  God is not the universe but God's destiny is inextricably linked
to that of the cosmos.  This is known as process theology, for God is in
the process of his own self-evolution to become what he does not yet know
he will be.  People impressed by modern scientific knowledge tend to favour
this view that God's Being is in his Becoming.

d. God is the One, that is the One which is hidden from our physical eyes,
for we only see the variety and the many.  By meditation and ascetic
discipline we can, like the Hindu holy man, see and unite ourselves with
the One and thus know internal harmony and unity.  This is monism and comes
into the churches via the New Age movement from eastern-type spirituality.

When church people hold these views then what they believe about the Gospel,
the Church, the Bible, the Sacraments and Life after death is seriously
affected.  Though they continue to use traditional Bible and liturgical
language, what they mean by the words is not that which Christians have
historically meant.  Thus we hear many calls to change the Liturgy, the
way we address God, the morality we are to live by and the Gospel we are
to preach to the world.

                           The Christian View of God

He is Trinity

Historically, based on the Jewish monotheism and on the teaching of Jesus
and his apostles, the Church has explained that the God whom she experiences,
worships and serves is best described in terms of Trinitarian Theism.  There
is one God who is eternal.  In his eternity God is a Trinity of Persons and
there is perfect communion in the Godhead between the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit.  The God of holy love is uncreated Being and self-existent Being.

He is Transcendent and Immanent

The cosmos is the creation of this one God, for the Father creates through
the Son and by the Holy Spirit.  The universe is thus _wholly_separate_ from
the Being of God -- he wholly transcends it.  Yet the universe is wholly
preserved and kept in being and development by God -- he is immanent within
his creation.  And human beings are the stewards of the creation, made in
God's image and after his likeness.

The cosmos points to its Creator but is not itself part of God.  Rather, it
is that which God, its maker, loves and cares for.  Human beings are able to
know and experience this love, for the Second Person of the Holy Trinity of
the One God became Man and thus revealed God to mankind, and in so doing
brought salvation to the human race.  Further, the Holy Spirit is present
in the Church of God and in his world to bring unto human beings the benefits
won for us by the redeeming and reconciling work of Jesus Christ, Incarnate
Son.  Thus God is specially immanent within the universe unto those who hear
and receive the Gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ.

From this Trinitarian Theism the historic catholic and evangelical teaching
of the Church flows.  The Gospel is a word from the transcendent God to people
in this space and time; the sacraments are not merely signs of new life but of
eternal life, the life of Jesus Christ who is transcendent in his glory; the
Church is not merely a this-worldly institution but it is a heavenly society,
a pilgrim people, the Body of Christ, united to the heavenly Lord and looking
unto him for guidance, life, and salvation.

In Summary

The religion which develops from pantheism or panentheism or process theology
is not the religion which has been historically linked with Jesus of Nazareth,
when he is confessed as Christ and Lord.  Christianity, as a historical
religion, is based on the confession of Jesus as Lord, as the One who comes
from the transcendent God into space and time, in order to unite human beings
with this God, who is a Trinity of Persons, for eternal life, salvation and
blessedness.  The primary emphasis upon the _transcendence_ of God is
important; for his immanence is dependent upon it.  God is God before God
is Creator; and God will be/is God when the cosmos is no longer.  If his
immanence is put first, then the drift into pantheism or panentheism or
process theology so easily occurs.  Let God be God.

                                    CRISIS
                                     OVER
                              APOSTOLIC MINISTRY

Many say that since our society has come so far in the area of "women's
rights," that therefore no one in the Church should object to the ordination
of women to the priesthood and the episcopate.  With the exception of the
sacramental ministry, the Episcopal Synod of America fully affirms the many
and varied ministries of women, in every area of Church life.  Why then do
we not affirm the validity of women serving as priests and bishops?

The answer begins with a question: Who established the apostolic ministry?
Jesus!

We believe that Jesus knew what He was doing, and that His disciples continued
what He intended.

Yet many people claim to know the mind of God better than Jesus did at least
on this issue!

Consider the Bible bears witness that:

7 Jesus obeyed perfectly the will of the Father

7 Jesus ordained only men as His apostles.

7 Jesus was not bound by His culture. He broke cultural boundaries and taboos
in every walk of life, especially those concerning women.  The Lord God
Almighty is not bound by anything. He chose first-century Palestine in which
to become Incarnate, knowing full well that there would be a twentieth-century
America.  He chose Israel out of surrounding matriarchal, pagan cultures, and
created her as His own people.

7 Jesus is the Head of the Church.  The Church is the Body of Christ.  The
Church is a theocracy, not a democracy.  The Faith cannot be changed by
majority vote, nor can one small portion of the One Holy Catholic and
Apostolic Church act independently of the rest of the Body in matters of
doctrine, as some arrogantly have done.

What Jesus has established, the Church has continued.

Both the apostles whom Jesus Himself ordained, and the One Holy Catholic and
Apostolic Church for nearly 2000 years, have ordained only male apostles
(bishops) and male priests (extensions of the bishops).  Only in the last 40
years or so has any portion of the Church ordained women.  This certainly
cannot be construed as "tradition."  To say "the Church has spoken," referring
to one small portion of her, is simply incorrect.

What is the relationship of Christ's priesthood and the priesthood of men?

We believe that the priest/bishop is the Icon of Christ Himself, through whom
we see beyond, to the reality of the only begotten Son of God who dwelt among
us, Incarnate as a male human being.

At the Eucharist, the priest/bishop re-presents. brings into the present
moment for us, the events of Holy Thursday through Easter Sunday.  And so,
at the Eucharist, we enter into Past Time (The Last Supper), Present Time
(The Eucharist), and Future Time (The Heavenly Banquet), because "Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)

Christ Himself presides in reality at all three moments at once, eternally.
The priest makes Christ present to us, in the fullness of His humanity:
Crucified, Resurrected, and Exalted.

What about women's "right" to ordination?

Christians are not to be concerned with "rights" for themselves, but with
servanthood.  The Kingdom of God is a Kingdom of grace, not rights.  We are
to serve God with the gifts He has given us, in the situation in which He
has placed us.  We are not to usurp another position arrogantly, as did Adam
and Eve.

Denial of self is very difficult, the exact opposite of our fallen human
nature.  Caught up in self-centeredness, we aim for self-fulfillment and
self-actualization rather than seeking to be obedient to God and to His Will
for US.

What about Equality of the Sexes?

God has created us male and female in His image.  Yet He has created man and
woman different from one another.  We are meant to complement one another, to
complete one another, to form the basis of the community.  Equality does not
imply that we are identical and interchangeable.

In the same way, Baptismal equality of men and women in Christ (Galatians 3:28)
does not imply that men and women are identical and interchangeable, but that
we equally receive the gift of salvation.

How does equality relate to the idea of "Headship"?

Since Creation, men have been given headship in the family.  Some men are
called to be the "father" of the larger family, the Church, the family of God.
Christ Himself is the example to us of this "headship."

"For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the Church."
(Ephesians 5:23)

St. Paul tells us that this is a "profound mystery." It has to do with the
father of the family as well as the "father" in the Church serving as Icon
of Christ to his family.  It has to do with the woman being the bride to the
bridegroom as well as the Church being the Bride of Christ.

Proper headship is not a "Lording over" the other, but a servanthood, a giving
up of oneself even to the point of death in order to present his bride to God,
perfect and spotless, as Christ Himself did for us.  We are sad to say that
the Church has indeed perverted Christ's example of headship in the same way
that "the world" has done so.

Since the time of Adam and Eve, fallen men have become tyrants who demand
obedience and submissiveness.  Or, conversely, they neglect their responsi-
bilities, giving fallen women an opportunity to take over what is not theirs.
This is a total perversion of the Biblical understanding of mutual submission
to one another in Christ.

We seek to be obedient as we seek to understand.  We repent of our wrongdoing
towards women in the past and ask God's guidance in helping all of His people
to recognize and to use the unique gifts God has given them for the building
up of the Body as well as for our own health and wholeness.

The "priesting" of women is already a fact.  Why keep beating a dead horse?
Why is it so important to the ESA?

Abandoning the ministry established by Jesus results in profound theological
changes in the very nature of the Faith.  If it does not matter whether the
priest, the Icon of Christ, is male or female, then we can have "Christa,"
the abomination of the naked woman on the Cross at the Cathedral of St. John
the Divine in New York.

If we change the masculine imagery by which God has eternally revealed Himself
to us by having a woman behind the altar, then we will feel compelled to
reject the language of Lord, Father, and Bridegroom.

And then, we will no longer have Christianity, but a return to ancient
paganism.  It is certainly not just a matter of "women's rights," but the
stepping stone to a new man-made (woman-made) religion.  We can already see
clearly that this is happening.

The early feminist theologians, such as Mary Daly, have already moved beyond
Christianity to call themselves "post-Christian." (9)

At a recent conference on Women and Spirituality in Minnesota, the demands
for ordination and "inclusive language" were combined with magical ritual and
radical politics.  Jesus was rarely mentioned.  Keynote speaker Rosemary
Radford Reuther, another early feminist theologian, spoke of Him as a "symbol
(which some might want to retain)."  Sin was mentioned only in ridicule,
except for the mortal sin of "sexism."  Some of the women rejected any God
"out there" in favor of a "Goddess within," whom some identified as the
"Divinity in each of us," others, as the Goddess of "the ancient matriarchal
religion."  A Wiccan rite was celebrated.  And yet the women saw no conflict
in remaining in the Christian Church while participating in pagan rites such
as these! (10)  The emphasis on changing the nature of the Church to
"woman-church," in which the goddess is worshipped, has now led some down the
path all the way to witchcraft.

Why can't we accept the ordination of women and reject the other changes?

The issues of inclusive language, acceptance of sexual immorality, and
ordination of women are part of a total package we are being asked to accept.
The coalition to force these issues is large, well-organized, and powerful.
One example of this coalition working together is this:

"The Task Force (for Continuing Lesbian/Gay Ordination) is composed of members
of the Episcopal Women's Caucus, the Urban Caucus, Integrity, and other groups
that have _traditionally_worked_together_at_General_Conventions." (emphasis
added) (11)

The ordination of women came first, because, in the prevailing atmosphere of
"women's rights," that was the easiest to accomplish.  In 1975, eleven women
were illegally "ordained" as priests.  In 1976, General Convention, by a very
small majority, accepted this fait accompli for the sake of "peace."

Since the last General Convention in 1988, an openly practicing gay man and
an openly practicing lesbian have been "ordained" with much publicity.  It is
a fait accompli.  The same tactic is being used.

The Episcopal Synod of America stands with the One, Holy, Catholic and
Apostolic Church in maintaining the apostolic ministry established by Jesus.

-----

(9) William Oddie. "What Will Happen to God? Feminism and the Reconstruction
of Christian Belief" (SPCK, 1984), p. 12.

(10) Donna Steichen, "From Convent to Coven: Neo-Pagans at the Witches
Sabbath," in Epiphany, Summer, 1988, pp. 6-15.

(11) "Integrity", July/August. 1990. p. 11.

                                    CRISIS
                                     OVER
                            ABORTION AND EUTHANASIA

Our society has, in the Roe v. Wade Decision of 1973, stated that it is the
legal right of women in this country to have a medically safe abortion.  The
justification rests on the decision of the Supreme Court that the unborn are
not persons.  In the 15 years since that decision, 24 million abortions have
taken place.  The so-called "hard cases," pregnancies which result fromm rape
or incest, represent fewer than 2% of abortions.  The vast majority are a
means of contraception.

Many believe that the Church should support a woman's "right" to an abortion
in extreme circumstances" such as rape or incest, or a severely deformed fetus.

We believe life begins at the moment of conception.  Therefore, that which is
aborted is a live human baby.  It is wrong to use euphemisms such as "fetal
tissue" or "product of conception" to disguise and deny this fact.

The Bible affirms the personhood of children in the womb:

	"For Thou didst form my inward parts;
	Thou didst weave me in my mother's womb.
	I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and
	wonderfully made;
	Wonderful are thy works,
	And my soul knows it very well.
	My frame was not hidden from Thee,
	When I was made in secret,
	And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth.
	Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance:
	And in Thy book they were all written,
	The days that were ordained for me,
	When as yet there was not one of them."
	(Psalm 139:13-16)

	"Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,
	Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
	and before you were born I consecrated you;
	I appointed you a prophet to the nations."
	(Jeremiah 1:4-5)

	"But when he who had set me apart before I was
	born, and had called me through his grace ..."
	(Galatians 1:15)

	"... and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even
	from his mother's womb." (Luke 1:15)

	"And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary,
	the babe leapt in her womb; and Elizabeth was
	filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with
	a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and
	blessed is the fruit of your womb!" (Luke 1:41-44)

Medical science affirms that at fertilization the single cell is unique and
distinct, with its own chromosomal and genetic structure.  So to talk in terms
of "a woman's right over her own body" is invalid. It is not her body, but
that of her baby.  Further, this cell contains everything that the fullgrown
adult will be.  Within 21 days, the baby's backbone, spinal cord, and nervous
system are forming.  A heart is present and beating. (12)  This is often
before the woman knows she is pregnant!

For thousands of years, God's people have held that the only valid reason for
abortion is to save the life of the mother, if to do nothing will result in
the death of both mother and child.  With the development of modern medicine,
this situation would be very rare indeed.

We understand the pain and trauma of an unexpected pregnancy, especially if
the girl is very young and the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
However, killing the child is not the solution to the problem.  We acknowledge
that the Body of Christ needs to do a better job of reaching out in ministry
to these girls and women, in counseling, in nurturing, in healing.  We must
be willing to open our arms, our hearts, and even our homes to those in need.

But we cannot condone killing that which God has created for His purposes.
God alone has rightful authority over life and death.  This includes the
elderly and the terminally ill.  The decision to legalize abortion has opened
up the possibility of the same decision being made regarding the terminally
ill or fatally injured.  Confusion is deepened with the blurring of the
difference between direct euthanasia and indirect euthanasia.  Direct
euthanasia is either "mercy killing" or suicide; indirect euthanasia is
allowing a person to die.  Direct euthanasia, whether active or passive,
whether by commission or omission, is never justified.  Whereas keeping
someone alive rather than allowing him to die in Peace when there is no
hope of recovery is often immoral.

Because of modern technology, this line is often difficult to discern.  Let
us continue to pray for those who must wrestle with such a decision.

Let us pray also for those wrestling with the temptation to have an abortion.

And let us reach out to those who have, for whatever reason, had abortions or
performed a "mercy killing."  Let us help them to come to God in repentance.
And let us assure them of God's love and forgiveness, of His healing power,
and of His redemption.

For information, contact: National Organization of Episcopalians for Life.
10523 Main St., Fairfax, VA 22030.

Affirming the sanctity of life, The Episcopal Synod of America opposes
abortion on demand and euthanasia.

-----

(12) Jack Cottrell. "The Bible Says..." p. 81.

                                  CONCLUSION:
                             THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
                         CAUGHT IN A CRISIS OF BELIEF

It is obvious to all that the Episcopal Church today is being consumed by
controversy.  Many changes are being made, in our liturgy, our ministry, our
morality, and even in the Scriptures themselves, as our leaders claim "new
revelation" or "the leading of the Holy Spirit."  The vast majority of the
laity, the people in the pews, do not accept these innovations. (13)  Yet
the leadership of the Episcopal Church at the national level, and in many
dioceses and parishes, is forcing the changes.

Some leaders even advocate a plan of calculated attrition for those who will
not accept the "new religion."  That is, keep the laity and the clergy out of
leadership positions, prevent elected Bishops from being approved, keep
parishes from hiring priests of their choice, prevent young men from going to
seminary, "until they all die out."

Are you aware of the following statistics?  Under the leadership of the last
30 years, the Episcopal Church has lost one-third of her membership.  Our
failure to gain proportionately with the growth of the population and our
actual net loss combine to a staggering "loss" of 2,250,000 members.
Interestingly enough, the number of Episcopal clergy has increased by 62%,
from 9079 to 14,694.  Some have said that if the trend continues, we will
have more clergy than members.

Yet it is a fact that those churches which teach the Word of God clearly and
strongly are growing, sometimes at an amazing rate.

Could it be that the crisis of belief is reflected in the decline of the
Episcopal Church?

The Episcopal Synod of America believes that the leadership of the Episcopal
Church is replacing God's Revelation with man's limited perspective, ideas,
and feelings.  This is not a new problem, even among God's people.  The
Scriptures warn us of this very thing:

"For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having
itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own
likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths."
(2 Timothy 4:3-4)

"But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false
teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even
denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
And many will follow their licentiousness, and because of them the way of
truth will be reviled.  And in their greed they will exploit you with false
words; from of old their condemnation has not been idle, and their destruction
has not been asleep." (2 Peter 2:1-3)

Revelation is the disclosure or communication of knowledge to man by a divine
or supernatural agency.  For Christians, God is the revealer of fundamental
Truth.  The knowledge that results is a gift rather than a product of human
ingenuity.

"For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us
who are being saved it is the power of God. ... Has not God made foolish the
wisdom of the world ... that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men
but in the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18, 20, 2:5)

As we, have said before, Revelation has been rejected or at least seriously
questioned by many of our Church leaders and secular "truth" has been
substituted.  We do not have a common view of Reality in our Church today.

This is illustrated in the second Book of Kings, where it is written that
the King of Syria sent an army to seize Elisha the prophet.  They arrived
at night and surrounded the city of Dothan where Elisha was staying.
"When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out,
behold, an army with horses and chariots was round about the city.  And the
servant said, 'Alas, my master!  What shall we do?'  He said, 'Fear not, for
those who are with us are more than those who are with them.' Then Elisha
prayed, and said, `O Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see.'  So
the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw; and behold, the
mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha."
(2 Kings 6:15-17)

In this story, we have a wonderful illustration of two men holding different
views of reality.  The young servant, in spite of his daily contact with the
man of God, is focused on the physical evidence which he has received through
his sense of sight.  On the other hand, Elisha, the man of God, has a
supernatural orientation, a view of reality which sees things beyond or
deeper than the natural order.  The problem this difference of orientation
brings is resolved when God opens the young man's eves.

God tells us:

	"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
	  neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
	For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
	  so are my ways higher than your ways
	  and my thoughts than your thoughts."
	  (Isaiah 55:8-9)

The issue for us is simply this:

Do we believe that God has spoken a Word -- a Revelation of Himself?  A Word
which is given for our good, our wholeness, our health, our salvation?  Or not?

THE EPISCOPAL SYNOD OF AMERICA ANSWERS A RESOUNDING "YES" TO THIS QUESTION!

Therefore we are comitted in our daily lives and practice to obedience to
that Word which God has spoken.

7 We uphold the Lordship of Christ.

7 We uphold the authority of Holy Scripture.

7 We uphold the authority of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

7 We uphold Biblical morality in the midst of this confusion.

7 We uphold the language by which we speak to and _of_ God the Holy Trinity,
that language which was given to us in God's Revelation of Himself.

7 We uphold the ministry established by Christ Himself.

                                WHAT CAN WE DO?

The solutions to our problems do not lie in the "wisdom of the world," or
in secular solutions.  Our decisions are based on a God-centered way of life
not a man-centered one.

It is the calling of the Episcopal Church to point the way to God and to teach
His ways, not to conform the Church to the ways of this world.  It is the
calling of our Bishops to fulfill the vows which they have made "to guard the
faith, unity, and discipline of the church."  (BCP, pp. 517, 518)

The Episcopal Synod of America calls the Episcopal Church and her leaders to
return to her calling to uphold and carry on the Faith in the same way that
St. Paul exhorted St. Timothy:

"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed,
knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been
acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for
salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  All scripture is inspired by God
and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training
in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every
good work. I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is
to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:
preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke,
and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching." (2 Timothy 3:14-4:2)

People of God, we call upon you to remember what St. Paul wrote to the
Corinthians when he was confronted with a similar undermining of the Gospel:

"Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose
heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use
deception, nor do we distort the word of God.  On the contrary, by setting
forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in
the sight of God.  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those
who are perishing.  The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who
is the image of God.  For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as
Lord, and our selves as your servants for Jesus' sake." (2 Corinthians 4:1-5)

-----

(13) "A Reader Poll," in "The Living Church." June 9, 1991, p. 14.

                        RECOMMENDED RESOURCE MATERIALS

Contact Cris Fouse through the ESA office for further information.

On Sexual Morality:

"Temples of the Spirit: Sexuality and the Christian"
   by The Rev'd Samuel L. Edwards, SSC
"Homosexuality and the Thief on the Cross"
   by Dr. Austin Hughes
"An Honorable Estate"
   by The Rev'd Samuel L. Edwards, SSC
"Homosexual Partnerships""
   by The Rev'd Dr. John Stott
"Marriage and Divorce"
   by The Rev'd Dr. John Stott
"The Sex Ed Scene: Hetero-, Homo-, or Pan-?"
   by The Rev'd Dr. F. Earle Fox
"Kinsey, Sex, and Fraud: The Indoctrination of a People"
   by Dr. Judith A. Reisman and Ldward Eichel

On Inclusive Language:

"What Will Happen to God?"
   by The Rev'd William Oddie
"The Battle for the Trinity"
   by Donald G. Bloesch
"Let God Be God"
   by Peter Toon, Graham Leonard. and Ian MacKenzie
"Let Women Be Women"
   by Peter Toon
"Language for God and Feminist Language: Problems and Principles"
   by Roland M. Frye
"A New  Language for God?: A Critique of Supplemental Liturgical Texts -
   Prayer Book Studies 30"
   by The Rev'd Alvin F. Kimel, Jr.
"Inclusive Language for God"  "Mission und Ministry",
   Vol. 8, No. 2
"C.S. Lewis on Gender Language in the Bible: A Caution"
   by Wayne Martindale
Video - "Let God Be God - Inclusive Language: Right or Wrong?"
   by Peter Toon

On Apostolic Ministry:

"What Will Happen to God"
   by William Oddie
"Let God Be God
   by Peter Toon, Graham Leonard, and Ian MacKenzie
"Let Women Be Women"
   by Peter Toon
"Ungodly Rage"
   by Donna Steichen
"Let's Stop Making Women Presbyters "
   by J.I. Packer, in Christianity Today, Feb. 11, 1991
Video - "Women Priests? The Ordination of Women as Priests in the
   Church of England"
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU