The Church of England faces yet another theological challenge as it prepares for the meeting of its General Synod in July. This time the issue is the Gospel itself and the specific question concerns the evangelization of Muslims. In the end, the outcome of this debate may, more than anything else, determine the future viability of the Church of England.
Paul Eddy, a lay theology student from Winchester who aspires to the priesthood, has entered a Private Member’s Motion and has secured the signatures necessary to force the General Synod to deal with his motion.
The text of his motion sets the issue clearly:
‘That this Synod request the House of Bishops to report to the Synod on their understanding of the uniqueness of Christ in Britain’s multi-faith society, and offer examples and commendations of good practice in sharing the gospel of salvation through Christ alone with people of other faiths and of none.’
Mr. Eddy’s motion has been roundly denounced by many in the church and the Daily Mail [London] reports that liberal bishops attempted to dissuade members from signing the motion. Nevertheless, the motion is now set and the General Synod will effectively vote on whether the Church of England should seek to evangelize Muslims.
Well, even though you would think that voting against a resolution affirming the need to evangelize people of other faiths and none was like voting against motherhood and apple pie (or the British equivalent of those things), it remains to be seen how this resolution will fare at the General Synod. The Bishop Lowe quoted by Al Mohler sounds an awful lot like the PB, with his relativistic call to “respect” how Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and Sikh’s have their own “path to God.”
David Handy+
Please update us if this resolution gets voted upon.
Someone should send all the bishops a copy of “Onward Christian Soldiers”. I doubt that they would understand its wording or they would say that we cant do buisness like that anymore, it would be insensitive to the feelings of others. I sometimes wonder if they are ashamed of being Christian, or are just that cowardly.
I’ve noticed more and more folks who claim to be Christians implore peaceful coexistence and esteem a live and let live attitude these days. I guess that’s ok if you’re not interested in the salvation of others.
I know it’s not original but my religious heritage suggests maybe some feet should be held to the fire.
Huzzah for Mr. Eddy!
Off topic but appropos of #3.
There’s the pleasant story, recounted by David Cannadine, of how George Curzon, while serving as Viceroy of India, refused to allow [i]Onward Christian Soldiers[/i] to be performed at the Delhi Durbar, on the grounds that the line “Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,” might put inappropriate thoughts into the minds of the local population.
[url=http://catholicandreformed.blogspot.com]Catholic and Reformed[/url]
The only thing that this requires is that the Bishops report on the issue. All they need to do is form several committees nto research the issues. Then a debate. Then request input from Anglicans. Then hold an open discussion, etc….
Way to go, Mr. Eddy, for at least trying to hold the bishop’s feet to the fire. I hope this helps to wake up some of the “Joe Pew-sitters” out there!
“Go and make disciples of all nations (panta ta ethne).” You can’t get much more inclusive than that.
While this may seem shocking, its really nothing new. The religious establishment-those who SHOULD know best-become purveyors of fine sounding, cosmopolitan, but spiritually bereft ideas. So a relatively uneducated upstart comes along who has the simple, childlike faith to believe that the words of the living God may actually mean what they say.
I am at this point reminded of the words of the Saviour: “At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.” It appears that this indeed is one of those instances where “…a little child shall lead them.”
“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3-4)
Should we evangelize people of other faiths? Yes! How do we do that? Well, that’s the trick isn’t it.
I suggest that we do it by first listening to and honoring how God has worked in their life within their faith and then, when we have built a raport with the person, share how Jesus is the fulfillment of what the other teaches.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
#10… Great post, Phil.
The revisionist approach here is intellectually unsound. It’s embarrassing really. It’s based on conflating Tolerance and Relativism.
Listen: we Christians in the West today all agree that it is very important not to murder people you religiously disagree with. We are all about giving unbelievers (or believers in other religions) huge amounts of space and freedom from coercion. But you can’t draw from that the conclusion that therefore all truths are equal or that no one should try to convince another of some religious claim.
If that were true, then see how that works out in the current presidential election (say). Since we all agree that no one should coerce people to vote for Hillary or Obama or McCain, therefore it follows that anyone who stumps for them on the campaign trail is quite wicked and actually all political points of view are the same.
Or since we all agree that violence between sports fans is wrong, therefore it is wicked for anybody to be a Cubs fan and instead at a ball game we should all quietly clap for all teams.
The real issue is that more and more people in England are living in terror of being bombed if they suggest that Islam is mistaken. That’s what is at issue. It’s being terrified of thuggery, and the foolish idea that if only they give in to the bullies and don’t upset them then they will truly have peace in their time.
This is what the Anglican Covenant should be! We don’t need to add anything else to ensure that Anglicans are distinct from other Christians.
The problem right now is that Anglicans aren’t distinct from pagans.