The disclaimer given in the section about the reflection on the Introduction to the Anglican Covenant is VERY telling:
[em]This resource is not about the issue of human sexuality, just as a significant portion of our time at the Council will not be about human sexuality. Our first meditation and dialogue in April will be on norms for how we live together in community. Therefore, we must spend ample time preparing for this dialogue through study, meditation and prayer.[/em]
Hmmm. Me thinks thou dost protest too much!? By explicitly trying to “de-link” the discussion of the Covenant from the discussion of sexuality, in fact, those who drafted this document have done exactly the opposite.
The way the above comment is written, it’s as if the diocesan staff of the DUSC see the sexuality discussions as the main event for which “preparation” is needed.
I have at least one more comment on the content of some of the meditations on Scripture, but let me finish reading the document before I chime in on that topic.
Having been doing a lot of personal reflection, study and teaching on the early chapters of Acts in the past month or so, I was very interested in the commentary and questions about Acts 2 in the second linked document.
Note this comment about the Day of Pentecost: [emphasis added]
[blockquote]As we prepare to come together for the First Theological Council, it is good to remember [b]the conflict and tumult[/b] at the birth of the Church, as it took place on the day of Pentecost. This account shows us how God created the church through the outpouring of the Spirit, [b]the interpretive work of the apostles[/b] in connecting the movement of the Spirit to the promises of scripture…[/blockquote]
Conflict? What conflict? In fact Acts 1 and 2 provide quite a startling example of UNITY among the believers:
[blockquote]Acts 1:14
They [b]all joined together constantly[/b] in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Acts 2:1
When the day of Pentecost came, [b]they were all together[/b] in one place.
Acts 2:4
[b]All of them[/b] were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Acts 2:42-47
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
44 [b]All the believers were together and had everything in common.[/b]
45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.[/blockquote]
I’m also VERY struck by the text I emphasized above about “the interpretive work of the apostles.” That sounds very much like the apostles were doing the interpreting on their own, with their own wisdom.
But these are men who have just been INSTRUCTED for 40 days by Jesus (see Acts 1:1,2)
Acts 1:1-2
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.
and we also have the accounts of how Jesus opened the Scriptures to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, so I assume Jesus continued to open the Scriptures in the same way to all the Apostles in the 40 days after His resurrection. Just look at these passages from Luke 24:
[blockquote]Luke 24:25-27
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”
27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Luke 24:31-32
31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.
32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
Luke 24:44-45
44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.[/blockquote]
It wasn’t the Apostles interpreting Scripture and making these connections between Christ and the OT promises, it was Christ Himself who instructed them in the OT and how all the promises were fulfilled in Him!
But of course, many in TEC love to think they have license to “interpret” the Scriptures however they want, and are quick to proclaim that the Spirit is doing a new thing. So Divine interpretation of the Scriptures, and the instruction of Christ and the Holy Spirit is downplayed.
Karen–You have hit the nail on the head in your comment #1. Everybody knows what this is about. Living as an orthodox person in this diocese is like being a hitchhiker in a West Texas hail storm–you can’t run, you can’t hide and you can’t make it quit.
Your points in #2 are well taken. We musn’t forget Acts 2:40 that kinda got left out in +Waldo’s reflection. [blockquote]With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.â€[/blockquote]
In this same section, the reflection question,
[blockquote]What role does ordained leadership play in proclaiming the spiritual dimension of change?[/blockquote]
Seems to lead right into the issue of the change in teachings on sexuality
In my firm they tried to de-link worker performance evaluation from the pay raise. No one is fooled. You can try to de-couple these discussions and sterilize them but it doesn’t work. We all know that pay and performance are part of the same discussion, just as we all know that TEC has sexuality in mind when the talk about the “norms for living in community.” What the heck does that mean anyway. What a crock of crap.
The disclaimer given in the section about the reflection on the Introduction to the Anglican Covenant is VERY telling:
[em]This resource is not about the issue of human sexuality, just as a significant portion of our time at the Council will not be about human sexuality. Our first meditation and dialogue in April will be on norms for how we live together in community. Therefore, we must spend ample time preparing for this dialogue through study, meditation and prayer.[/em]
Hmmm. Me thinks thou dost protest too much!? By explicitly trying to “de-link” the discussion of the Covenant from the discussion of sexuality, in fact, those who drafted this document have done exactly the opposite.
The way the above comment is written, it’s as if the diocesan staff of the DUSC see the sexuality discussions as the main event for which “preparation” is needed.
I have at least one more comment on the content of some of the meditations on Scripture, but let me finish reading the document before I chime in on that topic.
Having been doing a lot of personal reflection, study and teaching on the early chapters of Acts in the past month or so, I was very interested in the commentary and questions about Acts 2 in the second linked document.
Note this comment about the Day of Pentecost: [emphasis added]
[blockquote]As we prepare to come together for the First Theological Council, it is good to remember [b]the conflict and tumult[/b] at the birth of the Church, as it took place on the day of Pentecost. This account shows us how God created the church through the outpouring of the Spirit, [b]the interpretive work of the apostles[/b] in connecting the movement of the Spirit to the promises of scripture…[/blockquote]
Conflict? What conflict? In fact Acts 1 and 2 provide quite a startling example of UNITY among the believers:
[blockquote]Acts 1:14
They [b]all joined together constantly[/b] in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Acts 2:1
When the day of Pentecost came, [b]they were all together[/b] in one place.
Acts 2:4
[b]All of them[/b] were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Acts 2:42-47
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
44 [b]All the believers were together and had everything in common.[/b]
45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.[/blockquote]
I’m also VERY struck by the text I emphasized above about “the interpretive work of the apostles.” That sounds very much like the apostles were doing the interpreting on their own, with their own wisdom.
But these are men who have just been INSTRUCTED for 40 days by Jesus (see Acts 1:1,2)
Acts 1:1-2
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.
and we also have the accounts of how Jesus opened the Scriptures to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, so I assume Jesus continued to open the Scriptures in the same way to all the Apostles in the 40 days after His resurrection. Just look at these passages from Luke 24:
[blockquote]Luke 24:25-27
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”
27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Luke 24:31-32
31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.
32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
Luke 24:44-45
44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.[/blockquote]
It wasn’t the Apostles interpreting Scripture and making these connections between Christ and the OT promises, it was Christ Himself who instructed them in the OT and how all the promises were fulfilled in Him!
But of course, many in TEC love to think they have license to “interpret” the Scriptures however they want, and are quick to proclaim that the Spirit is doing a new thing. So Divine interpretation of the Scriptures, and the instruction of Christ and the Holy Spirit is downplayed.
Karen–You have hit the nail on the head in your comment #1. Everybody knows what this is about. Living as an orthodox person in this diocese is like being a hitchhiker in a West Texas hail storm–you can’t run, you can’t hide and you can’t make it quit.
Karen,
Your points in #2 are well taken. We musn’t forget Acts 2:40 that kinda got left out in +Waldo’s reflection. [blockquote]With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.â€[/blockquote]
In this same section, the reflection question,
[blockquote]What role does ordained leadership play in proclaiming the spiritual dimension of change?[/blockquote]
Seems to lead right into the issue of the change in teachings on sexuality
#4–I had the exact same thought about the role of clergy, when I was reading it.
In my firm they tried to de-link worker performance evaluation from the pay raise. No one is fooled. You can try to de-couple these discussions and sterilize them but it doesn’t work. We all know that pay and performance are part of the same discussion, just as we all know that TEC has sexuality in mind when the talk about the “norms for living in community.” What the heck does that mean anyway. What a crock of crap.