Author Archives: David

Six views on the Marriage Canon vote

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The Anglican Church of Canada is shying away from making definitive theological statements about issues it considers difficult. For example, the ACoC has made no coherent statements on the rightness or wrongness of abortion, euthanasia or changing the marriage canon. Instead we are exhorted to listen to people’s stories: theology by anecdote. In areas where it should have at least a modicum of expertise, the church is completely at sea; issues such as global warming, whose understanding requires detailed technical knowledge that the church does not possess, are the constant  subject of dogmatic, “binary” denunciations and pious outbursts.

Here are six people’s views on changing the marriage canon, a conundrum which, we are told, has “no easy answers”. Rubbish, there is a perfectly easy answer derived from Scripture, one which has been the foundation of the church’s position on marriage for 2000 years.

Interestingly, of the six people, those in favour of same-sex marriage include a lesbian clergywoman, a lesbian who is “part of the queer community” who doesn’t attend an Anglican church and an openly homosexual layman who does attend an Anglican church. The three supporting orthodox Christian marriage are all Anglican laypeople.

As delegates to General Synod prepare to vote on a second reading of Resolution A051-R2, potential changes to the Anglican Church of Canada’s marriage canon, the Anglican Journal’s editorial staffers have given much consideration to our task. What should we write? What should readers hear before the vote?

Few topics have further challenged the church—in recent years, at least—than same-sex marriage. Is love or tradition more important? Could God make the two mutually exclusive? Should the church hold people back or press people forward, unwillingly in either case?

There are no easy answers to these questions, as acknowledged by the “A Word to the Church” document about the proposed amendment of marriage canon and potential amendments, proposed by Council of General Synod in March, to the resolution considered in 2016.

[…..]

The Journal’s decision was to share the words of people like Natalie: people with lived experiences that extend beyond a yes-or-no question. The Journal’s Joelle Kidd and Tali Folkins spoke with six Anglicans—three in favour of the resolution and three opposed to it—to ask them:

Anglican Cathedral holds an Iftar dinner

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From here:

At 8:41 p.m., the exact time of sundown on May 30, 2019, the imam turned to face the east and issued the call to prayer. Dates and water were passed out to break the daily Ramadan fast.

It was all very traditional—except that these prayers took place in an Anglican church.

The scene unfolded before a special Iftar dinner held at St. George’s Anglican Cathedral in Kingston, Ont.

“It was beautiful,” says Bishop of the diocese of Ontario Michael Oulton. “We were holding our Ascension Day service in the cathedral and the Islamic folk were holding their prayers in the library of the cathedral.”

We must assume the “Islamic folk” mentioned above were Muslims and the apparent reluctance to refer to them as such was born of the same reticence that prompted Obama and others to refer to murdered Sri Lankan Christians as “Easter Worshippers”. To categorise a person is to offend. No one is afraid of offending Christians, so both examples must be a misguided attempt to avoid upsetting – Islamic Folk.

Since Islam teaches that Jesus was not God Incarnate, the crucifixion, death and resurrection did not occur and that the Triune God does not exist, it is perfectly clear that Muslims and Christians have a different God.

How, then, can Bishop Michael Oulton think that a group of people praying to a false god in his cathedral is something “beautiful”? Unless the bishop doesn’t believe in the Triune God either.

Toronto unveils three new Trans crosswalks

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The way they work is as follows: a person who steps on to the crosswalk as a man will find he has turned into a woman by the time he steps off on the other side of the road. And vice versa.

The City of Toronto will be posting warning signs on the crosswalks advising those who do not wish to have their chromosomes rearranged to find another crosswalk.

St. Paul did his best, but he made a number of errors

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Rev. Maggie Helwig, rector of St. Stevens in the Fields in Toronto made the bold assertion – one among many – in the video below; that particular revelation occurs at 14:09.

In fairness to the Rev. I think she comports herself with more dignity than her interrogators, which is a shame because I disagree with much of what she says and agree with much of what they say, even though I find the way they say it rather grating.

To an outsider, I suspect Rev. Helwig would have won this confrontation.

This took place on Baldwin St. in Toronto:

Respect Justice Camp

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Whenever the Anglican Church of Canada’s Justice Camp rears its annual inclusive summer head, I always wonder whether, this year, it will be located where it belongs in Oceania. Although it won’t, it will be hosted by the next best thing: The Diocese of Huron.

The ostensible theme for those needing a safe space to in which converse in Anglican Doublethink is “Respect”.

The Anglican Church of Canada rarely communicates in anything but arcane code, replete with inner meanings, secret passages and hidden trapdoors. Respect for whom? Those who disagree with same-sex marriage, perhaps?

Don’t be silly.

From here:

Ever pondered the blessings and challenges of being #LGBTQ? Let’s talk. Register with an [sic] friend by June 21st and you will both get $50 off the registration fee: https://justicecamp.ca/

play-sharp-fill

Open Letter to Archbishop Melissa Skelton

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From Dr. Priscilla Turner:

 Whitsuntide 2019.

Your Grace,

An Open Letter

Thank you for your recent letter asking me as a member of the Order of the Diocese of New Westminster to support your ministry with money.

Firstly, I commend you for your policy of permitting no same-sex ‘marriages’ to be solemnised in the Diocese of New Westminster until the Marriage Canon is changed to make this legal.

Secondly, we need to be fully aware that if the bizarre notion that people of the same sex can be married becomes embodied in a change to the Marriage Canon in our denomination, the ACoC will have departed not just from reason but from the Church Catholic. The cause will be complex, but will certainly include the fact that a majority both clerical and lay have voted out of a profound philosophical, theological and biblical naivety. People will vote at General Synod this summer, other things being equal, who believe some or all of the following falsehoods: That the Holy Scriptures are ambiguous about same-sex physical intimacy; that we may not know what were the convictions and practice of the Lord Jesus; that the phe­nomenon was different in the ancient world; that the behaviour of those with same-sex leanings is genet­ically pre-determined; that Christian love requires us to ‘bless’ same-sex ‘unions’; that people of the same sex can consummate sexually; and that all love may legitimately find an intimate physical ex­pression. As I wrote in my Brief to the national Commission: “It is important to note that none of these positions is held by serious biblical and theological professionals: for instance, even those very few scholars who hold that the Scriptures are mistaken facknowledge that they are wholly adverse to same-sex practice. For none of these positions has the case ever been made outside advocacy scholarship, for the very sound reason that such a case cannot be made, and the most positive thing that may be said of such views is that they are less than informed. That busy bishops and other leaders unequipped with the tools of the trade have not tested them is venial. What is less excusable is that our Church has not until now asked any of the tiny handful who are so equipped to contribute.” I am one of that tiny handful world­wide who are so equipped.

In the little window of opportunity which remains, all thinking and prayerful Anglicans will I pray avail themselves, both for themselves and for those who vote, of some/all items in this basic information kit:–

  1. https://www.amazon.ca/Bible-Homosexual-Practice-Texts-Hermeneutics-ebook/dp/B0071OSK6O
  2. https://www.amazon.ca/Homosexuality-Bible-Dan-Via/dp/080063618X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
  3. https://www.amazon.ca/Holy-Homosex-Priscilla-D-M-Turner/dp/1482347865
  4. https://www.amazon.ca/Love-How-Deep-Three-Souls/dp/1775106225/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1331946835&sr=8-2
  5. There is at least one highly relevant sermon in this volume: https://www.amazon.ca/We-Believe-Understanding-Nicene-Creed/dp/1775106233/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=we+believe+nicene&qid=1552265227&s=gateway&sr=8-1

And pray.

In the first magisterial book I am quoted; of the other four I am a contributor/editor/part-author/author. I own the copyright of items 3, 4 and 5. David Jenkins has done a lovely job of hosting the text of these three books. You may read and download freely, and print out for yourself from here: https://www.anglicansamizdat.net/wordpress/dr-priscilla-turner/ . One can obtain paper in a 6 x 9 in. size which will work perfectly.

O Love How Deep, the second illustrated edition, exists in several formats now for purchase as follows:–
ISBN: 978-1-7751062-2-7 (sc)
ISBN: 978‐1‐7751062‐0‐3 (sc)
ISBN: 978‐1‐7751062‐1‐0 (hc)
ISBN: 978‐1‐77084‐994‐5 (e)
Apart from having illustrations, some minor slips of fact and presentation are corrected, some notes are added; in addition I no longer see the need for certain of the original fictionalisations, so names of famous schools, Oxbridge colleges, big churches and the like are defictionalised. For a list of the main surviving fictionalisations please apply to me. They are for the protection of a number of people living and dead.

The remaining titles are for sale in one format only.

These files may be distributed freely. I’m not concerned with making money from my writing.

Relevant short papers are:–

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/your-neighbour-yourself-luke-1027-dr-priscilla-turner-1/

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141124013550-135532881-the-sheep-and-the-goats-who-are-they/

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rom-1-dr-priscilla-turner/

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rom-12-dr-priscilla-turner/

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mt-527-32-dr-priscilla-turner/

I have been a member of this Diocese since 1971, serving frequently on Parish Council, and as Synod Delegate or Alternate, as part of Canonical Committees, and I was sent to represent my Parish on suc­cessive Advisory Committees as part of the Canonical process. I trust that in future I may be able to assist your ministry with money; but that will happen only if one of two conditions are fulfilled: if the vote at this summer’s General Synod is adverse to the proposed change to the Marriage Canon, and you will respect that within your own jurisdiction; or if your own vote was adverse to it however it goes. I recogn­ise that the latter choice will mean changing your own thinking. John Henry Newman spoke a wise word when he said “To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.”

Yours respectfully,

Priscilla Turner

Dr. P.D.M. Turner [B.A., M.A. Cantab., M.A., D.Phil. Oxon., O.D.N.W.]

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-priscilla-turner-46948139

http://PriscillaTurner.imagekind.com

Cc:   His Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury
Members of the Canadian House of Bishops
The Anglican Communion Alliance
The Anglican Church in North America
The Global Anglican Future Conference
The Revd. Dr. J.I. Packer
The Revd. Mr. George Eves
The Revd. Mr. Craig Tanksley
The Rector and Wardens, Holy Trinity Vancouver
The Revd. Mr. David Kellett

Anglicans: the view from outside

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This evening I watched a couple of episodes of a BBC murder/mystery/spy series call “Collateral”. It was well done and entertaining but, since it was produced by the BBC, it was laced with the usual generous lashings of political correctness. I’ll confine myself to commenting on the antics of an Anglican priest who made her first appearance in episode 1.

We first see her when she enters her church, sits in an empty pew, looks up and says “God, I’m a mess”. “Fair enough”, I thought, it’s a fallen word, we are all a mess: at least she believes God exists, a major concession in the BBC’s portrayal of Church of England vicars. I was fully prepared for her to be the villain of the piece, but it was not to be.

She was a kind and generous lady vicar, a daring, outrageous scripting mistake for the BBC, I thought. However, my pessimism was soon rewarded. The reason for her being portrayed sympathetically became clear: she was a lesbian in an open sexual relationship with a young girl. Not only that, her bishop couldn’t censure her because he had a male lover. She had “come out”, he had not, so she occupied the high moral ground.

For those of us who labour under the delusion that the Church of England can’t  succeed at anything: we are wrong, and I apologise for my part in propagating this error. The Anglican church has made tremendous strides in convincing the world that humanity’s chief virtue lies in being not just homosexual, but openly homosexual.

Justin Welby would be proud.

Anglican church to hold Pride Celebration Service and Drag Show

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To celebrate Pride Month (yes, it’s a whole month now), Christ Church Deer Park Anglican church in the Diocese of Toronto is putting on a Pride Celebration Service and Drag Show with Vanity a la Mode, Jada Hudson, Carlotta Carlisle and Kyle Miller. I’m not recommending that you click on those links but they are there if you simply must.

Someone asked:

child friendly or adults only?

The answer, lending an entirely new meaning to “child friendly”, was:

Absolutely child friendly.