{"id":1446,"date":"2007-08-19T15:18:00","date_gmt":"2007-08-19T15:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/127.0.0.1\/site\/2017\/2\/1985\/archbishop_peter_akinola_a_most_agonizing_journey_towards_lambeth_2008\/"},"modified":"2007-08-19T15:18:00","modified_gmt":"2007-08-19T15:18:00","slug":"archbishop_peter_akinola_a_most_agonizing_journey_towards_lambeth_2008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=1446","title":{"rendered":"Archbishop Peter Akinola: A Most Agonizing Journey towards Lambeth 2008"},"content":{"rendered":"

With about seven weeks to go, hope for a unified Communion is not any brighter than it was seven months or ten years ago. Rather, the intransigence of those who reject Biblical authority continues to obstruct our mission and it now seems that the Communion is being forced to choose between following their innovations or continuing on the path that the church has followed since the time of the Apostles.<\/p>\n

We have made enormous efforts since 1997 in seeking to avoid this crisis, but without success. Now we confront a moment of decision. If we fail to act we risk leading millions of people away from the faith revealed in the Holy Scriptures and also, even more seriously, we face the real possibility of denying our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

The leadership of The Episcopal Church USA (TECUSA) and the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) seem to have concluded that the Bible is no longer authoritative in many areas of human experience especially in salvation and sexuality. They claim to have \u201d\u02dcprogressed\u2019 beyond the clear teaching of the Scriptures and they have not hidden their intention to lead others to these same conclusions. They have even boasted that they are years ahead of others in fully understanding the truth of the Holy Scriptures and the nature of God\u2019s love.<\/p>\n

Both TECUSA and ACoC have been given several opportunities to consult, discuss and prayerfully respond through their recognized structures. While they produced carefully nuanced, deliberately ambiguous statements, their actions have betrayed them. Their intention is clear; they have chosen to walk away from the Biblically based path we once all walked together. The unrelenting persecution of the remaining faithful among them shows how they have used these past few years to isolate and destroy any and all opposition.<\/p>\n

We now confront the seriousness of their actions as the year for the Lambeth Conference draws near..<\/p>\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Update<\/b>: Simon Sarmiento has very helpfully provided a more user-friendly version of this document<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Another Update<\/b>: Stephen Noll has a comment here in response which includes the following<\/a>:<\/p>\n

…In terms of the present crisis, I think he is clear that he sees it has culminating in seven weeks, not at Lambeth 2008. Indeed, he has been quite clear about this for at least 18 months since commissioning \u201cThe Road to Lambeth.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n

I hope against hope that Canterbury will heed Abp. Akinola\u2019s call and take the necessary disciplinary steps against those who have openly defied God\u2019s Word in Scripture and the fundamental articles of the Communion\u2019s identity. I say \u201chope against hope\u201d\u009d because I fear Rowan Williams does not see the situation with the same eyes. But even beyond his personal views, I think he probably represents the Church of England\u2019s inability to accept the reality that a new day has dawned, not ruled from the Anglo-American centers of power. As I have written elsewhere in \u201cThe Global Anglican Communion: A Blueprint,\u201d\u009d I do not think the Communion can or should be governed as it has in the past. The sacred \u201cInstruments\u201d\u009d themselves are of relatively recent origin and overlapping in authority and function. A Communion Covenant is a good thing, but only if it addresses the issues and structures that have led to the present disruption.<\/blcokquote><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With about seven weeks to go, hope for a unified Communion is not any brighter than it was seven months or ten years ago. Rather, the intransigence of those who reject Biblical authority continues to obstruct our mission and it…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more ›<\/a><\/div>\n

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