“All those vague theosophical minds for whom the universe is an immense melting pot are exactly the minds which shrink instinctively from that earthquake saying of our Gospels, which declare that the Son of God came not with peace but with a sundering sword.”
–G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, chapter 8 (“The Romance of Orthodoxy”)
The “scandal of particularity” in the Gospel fires evangelism. It’s lack among TEC leadership is an endemic problem.
In 1956, Bp. Emery of North Dakota challenged the South Dakota Convocation (forerunner of Dio Convention):
[b] …he told how the District of North Dakota sold one of their defunct mission churches to the Nazarenes. One man, a carpenter with much enthusiasm for his church, moved into the community and within a few years had built up a congregation of 135 people. Yet the Episcopalians had not faced up to their challenge. We need to be evangelists. Evangelism is a good way to test the genuineness and vitality of our faith. [/b]
The peace of God it is no peace, but strife closed in the sod. Yet let us pray for but one thing – the marvelous peace of God. See complete text of Hymn 661.
[i]Orthodoxy[/i] is a magnificent work. [url=http://www.vulcanhammer.org/rc/ORTHO11.pdf]The rest of it can be found by clicking here.[/url]