It was probably inevitable: the pull towards surreptitious halo polishing thinly disguised as righteous breast-beating was too strong to resist.
A group of ACNA clergy has published a letter lamenting the lack of diversity within its ranks, a promise to do better and an acknowledgement that Man’s real problem is not sin, it’s racism.
Read the whole thing here:
A Letter to Fellow ACNA Clergy: On Anti-Racism and a More Diverse and Just Anglicanism[….]
We see and grieve the racism and discrimination that exists and has a deep cultural and structural influence in our society, in our communities, and in our churches. The recent tragedies of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd are simply the latest in a long line of harrowing examples of these deeply embedded systemic realities. We see and grieve that our brothers and sisters of color, including many in our own dioceses and parishes, have been and continue to be profoundly affected by these realities.Against this backdrop, we offer the following confessions and make the following commitments.
Confessions
We confess that we have failed to see, understand, and address the expressions of racism, both personal and systemic, that plague our society, communities, and churches.
We confess our slowness to listen to the dismay and discouragement of our brothers and sisters of color, especially those in our own province, and have neglected to cultivate hospitable spaces for them to flourish.
We confess that our ignorance, complacency, and silence have undermined our fidelity to the Great Commandment to love God and love our neighbor (Matt. 22:36-40), which fundamentally calls us into disciplines of anti-racism.
Wrong. We are called to be disciples of Christ not Anti racism
Good to hear from you, Jim. Hope you and family are well.
One of my former Rectors used to tell me that in the good old days in Toronto, a help wanted ad would say “Roman Catholics and Jews needed not apply for the job”.
There is clearly no excuse for racism but the actions by many at the protests are clearly out of order. ALL lives matter regardless of colour but in our fallen condition there will be incidents that as a society we would reject and that includes looting and deliberate property damage. It is indeed appropriate as a society that we protest incidents that are wrong but such protests should be orderly and those involved act in accordance with the law.
Tragically in our society many reject any authority and are determined to do whatever they want. We need good law enforcement and the vast majority of those involved in this work take their jobs seriously. There is no question that we will have some who do not respect law but their actions can only be compared with the unruly rioters and persons involved in protests should speak out against those who are ready to flaunt the law in the same manner that they protest the wrongful actions of law enforcement agencies.
Both the historical and criminal records clearly attest there is an ongoing, systemic colour-conscious racism problem still active despite the best of Governments attempting to legislate morality against it. Neither can the best of Churches claim to have `clean hands“ with their own appalling record as per Residential Schools.
The issue of justice with peace now has become riddled with Globalist Marxist elements hi-jacking efforts for much needed education and reform:
such as rebellious antifa, the lawless Resistance, including the Steele Dossier -Mueller-Impeachment saga, to President Trump`s Administration in USA, and even elements within Black Lives Matter who discriminate with violence against Jews.
Having heard today Mr. George Floyd`s Houston Pastor give public witness to George`s Converted state of soul, sharing a photo of him joyfully holding his Holy Bible aloft, Redeemed by his personal Saviour, Jesus Christ, from a troubled life of sin and incarceration in 2007 (the largest number are African Americans, many wrongfully imprisoned, or, worse, executed) to one of loving Christian service and outreach to his community both there and in Minneapolis, why are the MSM, the Insurrectionist forces and the Democrat Party ( of racist Sanger `Planned Parenthood` abortion funding) not giving testimony to this `the content of his character“ instead of only the colour of his skin
The answer to that can be found within the anti-Scriptural fallen and falling Churches. These forces are anti-Christian:Black or White.
Diversity is NOT a virtue. In a class of 100 student the top 10 in the class were honoured. Not any more: the top white, the top black, the top gay, the top you name it and so on. How insanely stupid is that. Recognize merit only, it does not discriminate.
Diversity isn’t a value either, regardless of the sham bloviations of Trudeau fils, our Grand Expiator in Blackface. It’s just a demographic statistic. You can’t “believe” in diversity.
The value (and virtue) is tolerance of course, and always has been.