Jesus saves, the Episcopal Church teaches, but a growing number of its clergy and leaders believe other faiths may lead to salvation as well. Long divided and distracted by questions of sexual ethics, the Episcopal Church (along with most mainline Protestant communities) are facing a cultural and theological shift towards religious pluralism””the belief that there are diverse paths to God.
The debate is not just academic. In two current cases, Episcopal clergy are under scrutiny for practicing and promoting other religions. On February 12 a devotee of Zen Buddhism was elected bishop of the Episcopal Church’s Northern Michigan diocese. Meanwhile, a Seattle-area priest has been given until March 30 to decide whether she is a Muslim or a Christian as her bishop will not permit her to profess both faiths.
That there would even be a question in the church as to the path to eternal life is a very troubling thing, perhaps the church should look to John 3:18 as well as John 3:16 for teaching.
As my wife and I are about to join the Episcopal church in tomorrows service she a former Baptist and me an Episcopalian since childhood, though away from the church the last twenty years, these are very troubling times. I wonder why the lord has led us here, to fight the good fight, or to see the error of sitting ideally by as Rome burns? Conviction is a heavy burden Ezekiel 3:17-19 weighs heavy on me. Should not the people of the church speak out? Like the government of this country, the church will be lost if people of faith sit on there hands. Do not leave to others that which we ourselves can [should] do.
Add Acts 4:12 to my post #1 just in case there was any doubt.
Dawson, you are absolutely right. They have no trouble believing everything, because at bottom, they believe nothing.
One of my favorite stories from the English reformation is of Hugh Latimer speaking as to why it was (and is) important for laymen to have the Holy Scriptures in their own language, and to read them:
It was (and is) important so that if even a bishop should try and feed them a line of garbage from the pulpit, they would be able to recognize it as such, and call him on it.
I hope she is not correct but alas she may be. Maybe she can extend the discussion.
I pray for dawson and his wife as they enter a Church steeped in syncretism.
Its an interesting article, and pretty fair. I do wonder what the author would have thought of Philip Jenkin’s recent book on Buddhism and Christianity, or the theological debates happening in Spain during the 13th century.
there is a big difference between Islam and Buddhism.
I forget – was pseudo-dionysus or Nicholas of Cusa considered heretical?
#6. John Wilkins,
John, you are thinking out loud again. Please skip over that part and tell us what YOU think about Forrester. Should he get the consents? why/why not? Will he get the consents?
Forrester has said that Christ is his religion. That’s enough for me. Let him be consecrated.
#8. John Wilkins,
Thanks for responding to my question. Is it possible to provide the quote where Forrester said this? That would have been enough for me too. The problem is that Forrester has said sooooo much more beyond this.
If Christ is his religion, why be ‘ordained’ in a lay Buddhist ceremony, complete with taking another name? His actions belay his words.
By the way, [url=http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/21466/]StandFirm[/url] has a list of his ‘words’ vs the Nicene Creed’s statements, and how he contradicts the Creed.