Category Archives: Anglican Church of Canada

And now for something completely different: an atheist professor of theology

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Gerald Robinson is an atheist who teaches theology at Toronto’s Trinity College. It will surprise no one to learn that he is an Anglican who attends an Anglican Church of Canada parish where, no doubt, he feels quite at home amongst like-minded clergy.

He has written a book called Theology for Atheists; we can only assume he is angling to become the next ACoC Primate.

From here:

Award-winning Toronto architect Gerald Robinson is an adjunct professor of theology, in the divinity faculty at the University of Toronto’s Trinity College.

He’s a member of the Anglican congregation that worships in Trinity College Chapel and regularly attends services in the chapel. He calls it his parish church, his “go-to” place to worship. So what is he doing socializing with atheists in Scallywags, a Toronto pub?

Robinson is also an atheist who describes himself as an Anglican/Atheist/Christian—a description that must raise many eyebrows. Some will dismiss it as contradictory, incomprehensible.

Robinson says Jesus never claimed to be God, that nowhere in the gospels does he make that claim. Free Jesus from the doctrinal cluttering, and he is still the “greatest teacher the world has ever known,” whose message of peace, love and tolerance is sorely  needed by a troubled world.

[….]

In his 168-page book, Robinson addresses such subjects as heavenly warfare, faith or reason, and miracles. He raises such questions as: Can atheists have a theology? Do atheists have souls? Can an atheist be a Christian if he or she denies the divinity of Jesus?

He answers with an emphatic “yes.”

To his credit, he has one thing right:

As an Anglican, he suggests that the Anglican/Episcopal Church makes the lowest demands for conformity of belief and could lead the way.

The way where, one wonders?

hell

Anglican Church of Canada takes a prophetic stand on euthanasia

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After a year of studying, conversation, theological reflection and discernment, the Anglican Church of Canada has produced a report on Canada’s recent law permitting state sponsored assisted suicide. The report boldly proclaims that it is a reality – it is actually happening. Really! It is!

The ACoC is neither for nor against euthanasia because it doesn’t want to upset anyone; upsetting people is reserved for same-sex marriage.

From here:

In a nod to changing times, the Anglican Church of Canada’s latest report on physician-assisted dying, rather than opposing the practice, recognizes it as a reality. The report offers reflections and resources around assisted dying and related issues, such as palliative care.

[….]

In a statement accompanying its release, Primate Fred Hiltz acknowledged that everyone would like the fact that the argued neither against nor in favour physician-assisted dying. “A report like this is not going to please everybody because it doesn’t give a direct answer, and that will frustrate some people,” Hiltz said. “But…to give a direct answer is, in fact, to alienate people over very sensitive and complex issue.”

The article goes on to note that the law ‘allows assisted dying only to those who are either near death or whose death is “reasonably foreseeable.”’ The Anglican Church of Canada itself falls into that category and, I understand, will soon request to be put out of its misery.

Anglican Church of Canada: Toronto church develops sex-change liturgy

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The battle for same-sex marriage is as good as over in the ACoC. For the canons to be changed, it still has to pass the 2019 general synod but that is largely irrelevant since bishops – like Niagara’s Bird – who want to perform same-sex marriages have decided to do so now, voting be damned. As the bishops are quick to point out, there is nothing and no-one to stop them.

Now that’s over, there is new ground to conquer so the Diocese of Toronto has a church that has concocted a sex-change liturgy. And why not? There is nothing and no-one to stop them.

From here (page 10):

Church creates liturgy for gender transitionSex-Change-LiturgyTHE church has always gathered as a community to mark the most important life passages of its members, so when Beck Schaefer, a member of St. Stephen-in-the-Fields, Toronto, legally transitioned from female to male, changing his name and identity documents to reflect a truer sense of his identity, the parish witnessed and blessed the moment.

However, a liturgy for that purpose doesn’t exist in the Anglican Church, so the parish created one. “We understood that this wasn’t a re-baptism,” said the Rev. Maggie Helwig, incumbent. “God always knew who Beck  was in his fullness, and received him as himself from the beginning. But we also knew that this was a moment closely tied to the baptismal covenant, and Beck’s growth as a disciple.” The liturgy was modelled on the Anglican Church’s reaffirmation of baptismal vows, but also included an acknowledgement of Beck’s new name and gender identity as a part of his baptismal vocation.

“God created me transgender, and calls me to live openly and authentically,” said Beck at the service. “This is not a solitary path but rather a call that I am to live out in relation to others and as a member of the body of Christ.”

God has spoken to the liberals

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John Clarke, the archdeacon of Prince Edward Island region believes that because the vote to approve same-sex marriage passed at general synod, its passing must be God’s will and the Holy Spirit must have guided the members of the synod to vote as they did.

That means God has been misleading every church synod for the last couple of millennia; he is still misleading the Roman Catholic church, the rascal.

I suppose it’s possible that, having thought one way for thousands of years, God has changed his mind and now thinks the opposite, convinced, perhaps, by the pious, saintly behaviour of those participating in gay Pride marches. Or maybe he just wants to be more relevant.

From here:

There are those who would argue that the church is not a democracy, but the Body of Christ in the world, with Jesus Christ as head. True; however, neither is our church a dictatorship. We have put into place reasonable and fair rules to help us collectively discern the will of God in the life of our church. There is no one person ruling the church. It is our collective responsibility to use Scripture, tradition and reason to help discern the will of God in our lives today. We have no option but to take seriously the idea that God’s Holy Spirit might be calling the church to a new thing—a new thing that is reflected in the overwhelming majority of prayerful, careful members who voted yes on the resolution to change the marriage canon.

Since God has clearly spoken, those who oppose homosexual marriage should grit their teeth, shut up and stop disrupting the unity of the church:

It is inappropriate, at this point, for people to oppose the action of General Synod regarding same-sex marriages. The responsibility now lies with those who voted “no” to honestly consider if, in fact, the Holy Spirit is leading our church in a new direction.

The odd thing about all this is that liberals have spent decades sneering at orthodox Christians – fundamentalists or fundies as they are fondly known amongst the dog collar elite – for claiming to hear from God. Now, all of a sudden, it is liberals who have a direct line to God – well, to some sort of god.

A non-binary youth delegate to Synod

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When I was a teenager I rebelled against my parents, society and just about anything that bore an aura of respectability. This found expression in anarchism, atheism, Bob Dylan, Jean-Paul Sartre, Henry Miller and indulgence in the usual variety of teenage-angst anodynes on offer in the ‘60s.

Still, as silly as it all sounds now, I don’t think we were as dismally humourless as today’s youth; and we didn’t need safe spaces.

Eventually I grew up.

In order to rebel today, teenagers like to proclaim a sexual identity that is at odds with their biology. In keeping with its neurotic compulsion to appear modern, relevant and trendy, the Anglican Church of Canada encourages them to do so.

Which brings me to this:

Note: Jordan Sandrock, the subject of this article, identifies as neither male nor female and has asked to be referred to in this article as “they” rather than as “he” or “she.”

Also, the term “queer,” though considered derogatory by some, is widely used to denote non-heterosexual people, often by non-heterosexual people themselves.

Jordan Sandrock isn’t able to say what was going through their head when, after hearing the first pronouncement on the same-sex marriage vote at General Synod, they rushed out of the conference room where the vote was held and collapsed in tears on the floor of the corridor outside.

“It was just so emotionally overwhelming that I can’t really remember,” they say.

[….]

Sandrock is now going into their second year of a degree in religious studies at the University of Ottawa. Asked about their career goals, they don’t hesitate.

“I’m hoping to be a priest,” they say, smiling broadly.

Perhaps Jordan will eventually grow up. In the meantime, she seems to me to be one rather sweet but very mixed up kid.

Here they are explaining queer and feminist theology:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_KyE_Trklo

What keeps conservative bishops in the Anglican Church of Canada? Part 2

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A comment on my original post from an ACoC priest who claims to be orthodox prompted me to consider this further and, rather than cram my response into the comments, I thought I’d reply in a post. Here is the comment:

I keep hearing about the ACOC and the TEC in this pit of Apostasy and that conservatives staying for the money and pension . Well can’t speak for all conservatives but the ones I know are staying because they can preach the gospel without repercussions.

This is a common argument given by conservatives who remain in the Anglican Church of Canada. Between 2008 and 2010 I chatted with George Sumner, principal of Wycliffe college, John Bowen who taught evangelism at Wycliffe and Alan Hayes, professor of church history at Wycliffe. One way or the other, they all justified their continuing in the ACoC because they were still allowed to preach the Gospel.

The undercurrent here, of course, is the unstated follow-on, which begins: “in spite of”. I would claim in spite of the ACoC no longer being a Christian denomination. They would not have gone that far but, I think, all would concede that the ACoC had strayed from the Gospel.

However one characterises it, it is akin, to borrow an idea from Malcolm Muggeridge, to being a piano player playing hymns in a whorehouse in the hope that it might distract the clientele from the business at hand.

I think Messrs. Sumner, Bowen and Hayes were deceiving themselves.

The problem is this. Their continuing presence in the ACoC lends a legitimacy to the enterprise which it does not deserve. The fact that there are still some orthodox Christian priests in the denomination might lead the unwary to conclude that the denomination itself is still a Christian Church – an illusion it is desperate to maintain.

There is no polite or easy way to address or remedy the rot which is eating away at the ACoC. I recall a synod in my former diocese where a number of priests walked out over the decision to allow same-sex blessings (at the time, assurances were given that same-sex marriages would never happen). A liberal priest – a rather pompous and bombastic specimen, I might add – stood up, spluttering that, by walking out, the conservatives were declaring him not to be a Christian. Well, I know that was not their intention, but I think the histrionic cleric was on to something.

If our decision in this life for or against Christ is what determines our eternal destination, if, as C. S. Lewis said, we are all, every moment, helping each other to a place of either unending glory or horror, why persevere in belonging to an organisation that has not only lost sight of this but is actively encouraging its followers along the road to the wrong destination?

The Anglican Church of Canada opens Pandora’s marriage box

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In justifying his pressing ahead with same-sex marriages even when it appeared the vote to allow them failed, Michael Bird said:

In the words of David Jones, the chancellor of General Synod, our current marriage canon “does not contain either a definition of marriage or a specific prohibition against solemnizing same-sex marriage.” At the same time, it is clear that our Anglican conventions permit a diocesan bishop to exercise episcopal authority by authorizing liturgies to respond to pastoral needs within their dioceses, in the absence of any actions by this General Synod to address these realities.

So, according to its chancellor, the Anglican Church of Canada recognises no canonical definition of what marriage is or who can marry whom. Some time ago, the Diocese of Niagara used to chant this incantation at every available opportunity: “draw the circle wide, draw it wider still”; the more they chanted, the more people fled.

Now, it seems, the marriage circle has been drawn so wide that, providing there is a “pastoral need”, anyone can marry anyone – or thing.

A woman could marry a horse, a man could marry a goat, or a pillow or himself. We are assured by the ACoC chancellor that there is nothing in the canons that prevents this – so why not? Personally, I’m delighted to see that there is absolutely no prohibition against solemnising a union between a man and his guitar; none at all!

There are two ways to render something meaningless: one is to make it mean nothing, the other is to make it mean anything.

The final resting place of the Anglican Church of Canada

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It’s difficult to predict when and how the end will come but here is a preview of the eventual demise of the sorry mess that was once a Christian denomination.

St. Matthews Anglican Church in Quebec City has been closed since the late 1970s. Its earthly remains have been documented on a website called, by virtue of what must be a prophetic gift on the part of the owner, Lost Anglican Churches.

The “Vintage Episcopal Anglican Church Sign” that once advertised the parish can be bought as an historical curiosity on craigslist for $350:

Graig

Apparently, the church is now a library.

All this brings to mind the last scene from the original Planet of the Apes film where our hero kneels in disbelief before the Statue of Liberty buried in sand, saying something along the lines of: “you maniacs, God damn you all to Hell”.

statue_planet

What keeps conservative bishops in the Anglican Church of Canada?

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After the vote that will lead to same-sex marriage in ACoC churches, seven Anglican Church of Canada bishops announced:

We believe that our General Synod has erred grievously and we publicly dissent from this decision.  Resolution A051 R2 represents a change to the sacrament of marriage inconsistent with the Scriptures and Apostolic Tradition of the Church Catholic and the Book of Common Prayer.  This would be a fundamental departure from the faith and teaching held by the majority of the Anglican Communion on the doctrine of marriage. Sadly, this complicates relationships within the Anglican Church of Canada and as a Province with the Anglican Communion.

In the same statement, they also declare their commitment to: the Anglican Church of Canada, the Anglican Communion.

Why don’t they leave the ACoC and join ANiC?

The generous answer might be that the bishops value unity, want to work for change from within and are taking a long view where the ACoC repents of its decision.

The unity answer is unconvincing because the bishops claim to be committed to both the ACoC and the Anglican Communion. They can’t be committed to unity with both since the majority of the Anglican Communion is not in unity with the ACoC: they are opposed to these recent actions. Like it or not, it’s one or the other.

Working for change from within is having no effect whatsoever and there are no signs that the ACoC will repent this side of the eschaton.

I think the reason is much simpler and conforms to Jeremiah 17:9, a verse worth bearing in mind whenever probing a person’s motives, including one’s own: if the bishops attempt to move their dioceses to ANiC, they will lose all their buildings. They are not serious enough about their objections to do that.

The canonisation of ambiguity

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In every profession there are words that become overused to the point of exhaustion. In my profession, words like “interface”, “throughput” and “binary” have escaped from their original technical context and now run amok free from the confines of meaning, to be overused by people who have nothing to say.

That leads me to bishop Colin Johnson who, in gracing us with yet more of his pleonastic rambling on the recent general synod, has come up with a word destined to be overused by Anglican clerics everywhere: “ambiguity”. It is the only concrete belief left to the Anglican Church of Canada – the belief that contradictory beliefs can co-exist in the same belief system.

From here:

“The freedom of conscience in the Anglican experience is not only in superficial matters but even as we approach critical doctrinal issues – how we have understood baptism, the Eucharist, the scriptures, the outward and the inward expression of our faith.  We have a broad and messy tent.  Personally I’d like to clean it up, but I have lived long enough and I have been ordained long enough to know that such a house cleaning is more about me making the church to be what I would be comfortable with.  It usually has little to do with how God wants it to be.  The Anglican Church is an uncomfortable place for those who cannot deal with ambiguity.