Realignment Anglicans Must Not Be Ceremonialist Southern Baptists
I have always lived far from the upper class lifestyle, growing up in a small Appalachian town, and so I have at times been very suspicious of upper-class, well-educated, wealthy clergy who work for the poor, but couldn't relate to a poor or uneducated person if his or her life depended on it. However, Tonight I visited a settlement house in a bad area of Columbus, OH, and I have seen first hand the poverty and hopelessness that many people experience, as well as the good that is being done socially. With three health clinics closing in the area, and declining funds, this center is going to be swamped with requests for basic health care. The center does so many wonderful things, in partnership with Roman Catholic and Baptist churches in the area.
This made me think, that whatever happens with a new Anglican province in the US, I hope it embraces social justice issues, like combating poverty, oppression, and inequality, issues to which the Bible speaks that more conservative Christians often ignore. We must not forget the calls of Jesus towards our fellow human beings! However, I hope we will still work to provide healing from (and stand up against) the problems resulting from the sexual "revolution": abortion-on-demand, the decay of families, and the denigration of fatherhood. We must emphasize the transformative power of Jesus, that can bring about change in a person, as conservatives do well, but liberals scoff at. However, we must help others get on their feet, and work for the good of others, which conservatives sometimes forget, and liberals embrace.
Essentially I am arguing for the early Church's position, which could be considered a good mix of conservative and liberal, although always biblically based, and very far from our culture's (and ECUSA's) "anything goes" mentality. The early Christians, transformed by Christ, sought to live Christ's teachings in the fullest, opposing war, capital punishment, abortion, greed, fornication, etc. We must work to include and allow the early Christian ethic in the new realignment (as well as include those who embrace the more post-Constantinian understanding of war, etc), or else we will just be Republicans who like ceremony. Sorry, but this is a disclaimer I have to state, because the media is going to portray the realigned communion as Christian Coalition types who like form prayers, and this is simply not true. So while I am still suspicious of rich, upper-class leaders spouting off on social issues, we must work following the example of Jesus and the early Church to help those in need, who cannot help themselves, while offering the transformative gospel of Jesus Christ.
I have always lived far from the upper class lifestyle, growing up in a small Appalachian town, and so I have at times been very suspicious of upper-class, well-educated, wealthy clergy who work for the poor, but couldn't relate to a poor or uneducated person if his or her life depended on it. However, Tonight I visited a settlement house in a bad area of Columbus, OH, and I have seen first hand the poverty and hopelessness that many people experience, as well as the good that is being done socially. With three health clinics closing in the area, and declining funds, this center is going to be swamped with requests for basic health care. The center does so many wonderful things, in partnership with Roman Catholic and Baptist churches in the area.
This made me think, that whatever happens with a new Anglican province in the US, I hope it embraces social justice issues, like combating poverty, oppression, and inequality, issues to which the Bible speaks that more conservative Christians often ignore. We must not forget the calls of Jesus towards our fellow human beings! However, I hope we will still work to provide healing from (and stand up against) the problems resulting from the sexual "revolution": abortion-on-demand, the decay of families, and the denigration of fatherhood. We must emphasize the transformative power of Jesus, that can bring about change in a person, as conservatives do well, but liberals scoff at. However, we must help others get on their feet, and work for the good of others, which conservatives sometimes forget, and liberals embrace.
Essentially I am arguing for the early Church's position, which could be considered a good mix of conservative and liberal, although always biblically based, and very far from our culture's (and ECUSA's) "anything goes" mentality. The early Christians, transformed by Christ, sought to live Christ's teachings in the fullest, opposing war, capital punishment, abortion, greed, fornication, etc. We must work to include and allow the early Christian ethic in the new realignment (as well as include those who embrace the more post-Constantinian understanding of war, etc), or else we will just be Republicans who like ceremony. Sorry, but this is a disclaimer I have to state, because the media is going to portray the realigned communion as Christian Coalition types who like form prayers, and this is simply not true. So while I am still suspicious of rich, upper-class leaders spouting off on social issues, we must work following the example of Jesus and the early Church to help those in need, who cannot help themselves, while offering the transformative gospel of Jesus Christ.
