A Columnist in the Calgary Sun has an interesting op-ed about how the press and elite who opine that churches must change with the times or die has it exactly backwards:<\/p>\n
Anyway, we saw it all again last week after Anglican bishops by a vote of 21-to-19 decided their church would not bless same-sex unions. The laity and the lesser clergy had approved of them, but without the OK of the bishops, the church’s answer was no. The Evangelical Lutherans came to the same conclusion.<\/p>\n
“Wise leaders know,” intoned one Toronto editorial, “that no institution can remain impervious to social change if it also remains committed to being a key piece of the social fabric. Homosexual unions are an accepted legal fact of life in Canada.”<\/p>\n
Whatever else might be implied here, the writer himself is apparently “impervious to statistical fact.”<\/p>\n
About 40 years ago, the Anglican Church hired Pierre Berton to critique the church from an atheist viewpoint. Berton recommended it change its traditionalist ways and become instead what he called “relevant.” It embraced his advice, and followed the march of mankind.<\/p>\n
From that time onward, its membership has been going straight down. Today, while some two million people tell census-takers they are Anglicans, only 800,000 appear on the church’s rolls, and less than 300,000 show up on Sunday. Meanwhile, the United Church, which eagerly followed exactly the same path, has seen its membership drop from two million to 500,000. Three quarters of the members have gone. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Full article <\/a><\/p>\n
Scott at Magic Statistics, one of this elf’s favorite bloggers, adds some excellent commentary and background links<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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A Columnist in the Calgary Sun has an interesting op-ed about how the press and elite who opine that churches must change with the times or die has it exactly backwards: Anyway, we saw it all again last week after…<\/span><\/p>\n