Tag Archives: Anglican Church of Canada

Why Michael Coren is no longer a Roman Catholic

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It’s all here, although the nub of it seems to be:

I could not remain in a church that effectively excluded gay people. That’s only one of the reasons, but for someone who had taken the Catholic position on same-sex marriage for so long, I’d never been comfortable with that even though I suppose I was regarded as being a stalwart in that position. But I’d moved on, and I felt a hypocrite. I felt a hypocrite being part of a church that described homosexual relations as being disordered and sinful. I just couldn’t be part of it anymore. I could not do that. I couldn’t look people in the eye and make the argument that is still so central to the Catholic Church, that same-sex attraction is acceptable but to act on it is sinful. I felt that the circle of love had to be broadened, not reduced.

I have a strong suspicion that he won’t be particularly comfortable being an Anglican either; luckily there are about 21,000 other Christian denominations still to try.

Anglican priest denounces Christian Zionism as heresy

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At a time when there are so many heresies to choose from in Western Anglicanism, it’s tempting to think that selecting Christian Zionism – which, whether you agree with it or not, can hardly be counted heretical since it does not deny any foundational doctrine – is little more than yet another attempt to bash the only Middle Eastern country that bears any resemblance to a sane democracy – Israel.

Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek counsels the Anglican Church of Canada to “work to curb its political influence”. This would be a first for the ACoC since almost all it does normally is seek to exert, not curb, political influence; thankfully, it exhibits just as much impotence in this as in everything else.

From here:

The Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek, the Palestinian Anglican who heads the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre in Jerusalem, told a conference in Vancouver April 23 that Anglicans were instrumental in developing the doctrine of Christian Zionism over hundreds of years, and should now work to curb its political influence.

British Anglicans as early as the 16th century promoted the belief that the Jewish people must be restored to the Promised Land of Palestine to fulfill a biblical prophecy before the Second Coming of Christ, said Ateek.

His speech began a three-day conference organized by the Canadian Friends of Sabeel at St. Mary’s Kerrisdale in Vancouver. The conference, Seeking the Peace of Jerusalem, was co-sponsored by the Anglican Church of Canada, the Presbyterian Church in Canada, the United Church of Canada and Friends of Sabeel North America.

[…..]

Theologically, Ateek said he objects to Christian Zionism—which he labelled “a Christian heresy”—on several grounds. It violates Christ’s message of love, justice and peace, he said. Its prophecy of the world ending in violence contradicts the view of a loving and merciful God. And it accepts, unquestionably, a tribalism evident in some parts of the Old Testament that is based on racial exclusivity.

To counter any possible objections that might be based on the Bible, Ateek advises selective use of the troublesome book; leave out the bits you don’t like:

He said that Anglicans should use the biblical text “as Jesus used it,” to convey messages of justice and love. He said that Jesus never quoted from books in the Hebrew scriptures of Numbers, Joshua or Judges or any passages that were “punitive, imperialistic or exclusionary.” Texts that appear to promote tribalism should be used carefully, if at all, said Ateek. He encouraged visits to Palestine and Israel so that people can “discover for themselves the reality on the ground.”

Ateek was introduced by Michael Ingham, well known for promoting unity, love and harmony in his former Diocese of New Westminster.

Michael Coren received into the Anglican Church of Canada

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On April 23rd Michael Coren was received into the Anglican Church of Canada at St. James Cathedral, Toronto. On the face of it, this seems a little schizophrenic since it was not too long ago that Catholics were Right. Still, of late, Michael has become increasingly rickety on homosexuality, a wobbliness that will slide much more easily into the doctrineless ACoC than into Roman Catholicism.

MC

Anglican Church of Canada resolves to fight anti-Semitism

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Or perhaps it is creating a smoke screen to conceal from the unwary that, by loudly denouncing anti-Semitism, no one will notice that it is working quietly to undermine Israel.

Here you can learn the Anglican Church of Canada’s view on “what it means to be anti-Semitic in the contemporary context” – although, I can’t see why the contemporary context would be any different from any other context, so I am left with the uneasy suspicion that this is code for something unsavoury.

And here you can read one reaction to the Anglican Church of Canada’s sponsoring of a conference on “overcoming Christian Zionism”:

Later this month, Canadian Friends of Sabeel will hold a conference on “overcoming Christian Zionism.” Sabeel describes itself as an “ecumenical Palestinian liberation theology centre” that is “working for justice, peace and reconciliation in Palestine-Israel.” In reality, it is a group that promotes a misrepresentation of events in the Middle East. The conference slated for Vancouver is explicitly aimed at undermining Israel among its North American Christian supporters.

The Anglican Church of Canada has its way with the Athabasca oil sands

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One of the most elegant punishments God visits on his rebellious people is to allow them to have what they want. The Anglican Church of Canada loves nothing better than to fulminate against the evil of fossil fuels, in particular the Athabasca oil sands. The collapse of oil prices has made oil extraction from the sands less attractive, leading to the loss of around a 1000 jobs.

From here:

While the dramatic downturn in oil prices that has occurred over the past six months has had a wide-ranging impact on economic prospects across Canada, those who have been hit hardest are people who were already on the margins, according to the Rev. Dale Neufeld, priest-in-charge of the parish of Fort McMurray, Alta.

[……]

Some of these layoffs have been quite dramatic. Last week the Financial Post reported that 1,000 construction workers had been laid off from Husky Energy’s Sunrise oil sands project near Fort McMurray. Suncor Energy said earlier this year that they, too, would be laying off around 1,000 workers, and Royal Dutch Shell is cutting around 300.

[……]

The church’s response has largely been pastoral.

Since the church has worked so tirelessly to undermine the oil sands, the only pastoral response that has any integrity would be for it to financially support those laid off. Assuming, of course, that the Anglican Church of Canada has any remaining vestige of integrity.

Anglican Church of Canada discovers what is preventing peace in the Middle East

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It’s the fault of Evangelical Christians and their misguided support of Christian Zionism. If only we could persuade these benighted fundamentalists to repent, the rockets descending on Israel, the beheading epidemic, extreme Muslims bombing less extreme Muslims, people being burned alive for no particularly good reason would all immediately cease.

Why did no one think of this before?

From here:

Canadian Anglicans are invited to join members of other traditions at an upcoming conference that will explore a belief many see as one of the biggest obstacles to peace in Israel and Palestine.

[….]

A movement rooted in conservative evangelical Protestantism that emerged in the mid-20th century, Christian Zionism holds that the contemporary State of Israel represents the culmination of biblical prophecy and thus merits strong—and often uncritical—moral, financial and political support.

An Anglican Church of Canada Easter

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It’s all about politics, apparently: “oppressive political regimes, torture, capital punishment, non-violent political action, and martyrdom.”

From here:

The church where I served as student minister has a number of very large stained glass windows: Christ with the children, the women at the empty tomb, and a rather lurid depiction of Christ on the cross, featuring a great deal of purple and agony. My son was three years old while we were at this particular parish and, of course, he loved that crucifixion. As a result, we (or rather, my husband and son, as I was generally otherwise occupied at church) talked quite a lot about Christ’s death, conversations that naturally (for my husband and son, at least) became conversations about oppressive political regimes, torture, capital punishment, non-violent political action, and martyrdom. Holy Week is not for the faint of heart.

According to the Rev. Rhonda Waters, the “good news of God’s Kingdom” is not that Jesus bore our sins on the cross, suffered the wrath of God on our behalf, reconciled us to God the Father and ensured that we would live with him in eternity. No, that is far too trite; instead Easter invites us to confront the really profound truths that the “world is a deeply loved and loveable place”. Non-transcendent Christianity at its finest:

Jesus still taught the radical good news of God’s Kingdom because the world is not a hopeless place. In fact, the world is a deeply loved and loveable place, and Holy Week invites us to confront the depth of both of these truths.

As is so often the case with vapid Christianity, the pageantry is the only part that remains intact – even the Resurrection, although I suspect it signifies something different to the author:

As Christians, we need to experience Holy Week in its fullness—and we should include our children in that journey. By participating in Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil, and finally the Feast of the Resurrection on Sunday morning.

Although Jesus’ death was at the hands of the Romans, the instigators were the religious authorities of the day – an unpalatable truth for Waters, probably because, given the opportunity, the religious establishment would do it again. So the villain was empire building:

empire will go to horrifying lengths to preserve itself

Episcopal Church of Cuba votes to return to TEC

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Presently it is affiliated with the Anglican Church of Canada.

From here:

Members of synod for the Episcopal Church of Cuba narrowly voted in favour of returning to the church’s former affiliation with The Episcopal Church at their recent meeting last month in Cardenas, Cuba.

The move came two months after the historic decision by the United States and Cuba to re-establish diplomatic relations after a 54-year hiatus. The Cuban church had been part of a province in The Episcopal Church until the 1959 revolution, which made travel and communication between the two churches difficult. The Metropolitan Council of Cuba (MCC)—which includes primates of the Anglican Church of Canada, the Province of West Indies and The Episcopal Church—was subsequently created to provide support and oversight.

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, and Archdeacon Michael Thompson, general secretary, attended the synod—which ran from Feb. 19 to 22—as representatives of the MCC.

This will mean a big change for Cuban Anglicans: they will move from a Province that is radically liberal, blesses same-sex unions, boasts practising gay clergy, believes dogma is redundant, and is losing people faster than Obama is losing votes to a Province that that is radically liberal, blesses same-sex unions, boasts practising gay clergy, believes dogma is redundant, and is losing people faster than Obama is losing votes.

The decision was made, it seems, largely so Cuban clergy could retrieve their pension funds, proving that, no matter how vehemently they may protest otherwise, when it comes to their livelihood, Cuban clergy are just like their North American brothers: capitalist running dogs:

Hiltz went on to explain that one of the significant factors behind the drafting of the substitute resolution is “the frustration of a number of people in the church in Cuba with the fact that since the break with The Episcopal Church and the political situation between Cuba and U.S., the pension fund for clergy has just basically been frozen [in the U.S.].”

Parishioner wants handshaking abolished at the passing of the peace

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But, as an Anglican bishop noted:

Bishop Geoff Peddle of the Anglican Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador said the practice has been discussed many times before in his church.

“We have dealt with it over and over again,” he said. “During SARS, the H1N1, we stopped all physical contact and refrained from drinking from the cup,” he said.

In contrast, the Anglican Church of Canada is quite content to encourage men to have anal sex with one another by blessing the activity; that, after all, is so much more hygienic than shaking hands.

Anglican Church of Canada to make a prophetic announcement on euthanasia

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But before it does so, it wants to make sure it doesn’t say anything too definitive because, after all: “There’ll be some Anglicans who-as the Primate said-strongly welcome this, and there’ll be others who think this is terrible, and others who are more ambivalent.”
In other words, expect the usual wishy-washy muddle.
From here:

In the wake of a historic ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada on doctor-assisted suicide, an Anglican task force is looking to hear the views of interested church members on this controversial issue.

[….]

He invited church members to articulate their concerns, potentially with reference to their own experiences, in order to help the task force determine its actions going forward.

Submissions to the task force should be sent to the Rev. Dr. Eileen Scully, director of Faith, Worship and Ministry, at escully@national.anglican.ca