There exist in the Anglican Church, at least in North American, some very deep, fundamental problems that have been pervasive for some time. Among them are:
1. Anglicans in the pew do not know their Bible. They rarely read their Bibles or take them to church services. I know, as I was one of them for years, until I began studying with Bible Study Fellowship International. It is shameful that very few Anglicans can even find their way around the Bible or know what it says exactly. The leaders and shepherds of the church have failed in this regard to teach the Scriptures to the congregants; therefore, they need to encourage Biblical knowledge and study.
I see this was directed to the Church in Canada but it SURE applies to the Episcopal Church in the United States! When I was at St. James, Newport Beach, Fr. John Ashey’s goal was to present his congregation to God as Biblically literate. As such, several of us were part of Bible Study Fellowship and the Bethel Bible Study was presented to the Church and continues (I think) to this day. Episcopalians do say that they have more of the Bible in their Sunday service than most other churches; that is their cop out: they know very little of the Bible. And then very little of the next two items.
Before we indict the shepherds (as the above quote leans towards), we need to see that often these priests come into aging shrinking churches and are expected to spend their time on more important things like getting bums in pews and money in the plate – and of course, magically bringing young families and youth back or into the church. However, when this hypothetical priest tries to introduce discipleship, the takers are often very very few, and those who feel the priest is wasting time are often legion. The problem is one that has been growing for a long long time. As I said this Sunday, people need to start getting hungry for God. The truth is, the Bible places the responsibility directly on the people to raise their children in the faith, to meditate on the word, to pray, and to obey. Leaders can only reinforce this. If they have not, then yes, they have failed. But the so-called laity need to own their immaturity as well.
drjoan (#1). As for biblical illiteracy, this problem has dogged the Anglican tradition for a very long time. The Puritans were making the same complaint in the late 1500s, just as the Protestant reformers had done before them.
Indeed, because the Crown and Parliament deeply feared subversive (political) preaching, most clergy in the CoE weren’t even allowed to give their own sermons in the Tudor era. That’s why the two Books of Homilies were compiled and distributed, so that clergy who weren’t licensed to preach could read those authorized sermons to their flocks. And so the same old sermons were read over and over in many churches. And thus the lectionary readings went without any fresh exposition or application in far too many congregations.
However, ++Cranmer also drew up a lectionary with longer Scripture passages assigned than in almost any other Church in Christendom. Putting those two facts together leads to the old self-deprecating joke we Anglicans love to tell about ourselves (often ruefully):
[i]We Anglicans hear more Scripture read than anybody else,[/i]
[b] and understand it less![/b]
David Handy+
Did you ever hear the story about the Baptist minister who challenged his Episcopal friend to read the New Testament? This went on for some time until the man finally agreed to read it.
When he got through the New Testament, they got together and the minister asked him what he thought of it. The Episcopalian replied:
It was ok, in fact, I was surprised at how often it quoted the Book of Common Prayer!
I think that biblical illiteracy and the attendant disregard for the authority of God’s Word (to say nothing of God Himself) is perhaps the nidus of the spiritual sickness killing TEc, the ACC, and many other mainline denominations.
As a once and very possibly future member of a Reformed church, where Bibles were in the pews and liberally referred to during the service, and sermons used to be exegetical/expository, not the “happy,happy, joy, joy” variety that seems all too common these days, I’ve gotten all too used to listening to Episcopalians smugly boast about how much Scripture we hear, yet show a positive aversion for anything approaching biblical literacy or comprehension, even when they try to use Scripture (often badly) to justify whatever they personally believe.
Yet, I also know personally and communally just how powerfully transformative God’s Word can be. After my Cursillo, I started back into regular Bible study, and have helped our rector organize biblical literacy programs at my parish. It’s always a joy to hear from others just how opening God’s Word can open hearts to His transforming love, and lead people a right relationship with their King.
Ignorance of the Bible is easier to accept and explain than outright hostility to it. When visiting a TEC church I was rightly introduced as a University professor. In the narthex a woman greeted me and asked what field I teach. When I said “Bible” she blurted, “Oh God, don’t tell me they make you teach Paul! What an awful, hateful man.”
The sign outside would have been more truthful if it had read, “The Episcopal Church welcomes (everybody except) you”
Growing up in American-Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism, I can tell you that way too many pew sitters in those traditions know very little about the Bible and what it does and does not say. These are supposed to be the most biblically literate, but they aren’t. This is a problem with American Christians (Canadian, too, perhaps), period! We are lazy.