it is well worth it to read the whole article! I love his conclusion:

We imagine we can ditch Christianity and yet the good things we have inherited in our way of life will continue. They will not. Christianity formed Western civilisation and is so consubstantial with it that if Christianity goes, the lot goes with it. Let T.S. Eliot, writing in 1934, give us a text to think about this Easter: “Do you need to be told that even such modest attainments as you can boast in the way of polite society will hardly survive the Faith to which they owe their significance?”

In for a penny, in for a pound - ing!  Welcome to the postmodern world.

I agree with #1 Deja Vu, read the whole piece as it begins with the clash of Christianity and Islam and attempts to show how they (Brits) got to this point. It makes me think about our future here in the States.

The problem with most societial sins is that they sound so reasonable to start.  “You wouldn’t deny this poor victim of rape the chance to bring closure to that horrible incident by having an abortion, would you?” This sounds so reasonable and nice, but it opens the door for abortion to be used as contraception and for the attending lessening of the value of life.  We now see the results of that in the “right to die” movement where those with terrible illnesses desire the right to kill themselves.  Soon, the right to die will become the duty to die and “abortion” will be legal up until the age of 2 or so. 

All Satan needs is a foot in the door and he will begin to take over the house.

YBIC,
Phil Snyder

I agree with this article.  It’s like once you take a tiny step away from scripture being truth, then there is a whole new world of sin and untruths that open up.

It is our job as Christians to do our best to “stem the tide” of evil, for evil IS looking for a foothold by any means evil can gain it.  Do not underestimate the power of the dark side of the force...(oops, sorry wrong blog )...do not underestimate how badly Satan and his demons want your soul.  Pray without ceasing - pray protection over your family every day.  We cannot eridicate evil - we can only hold it back a little longer.  But the good news is this - Jesus comes back, and HE WINS!!

But beware.  The solution to the abuse of free will will not be found in abolishing free will.

One tiny step away from the Truth in the Bible and God’s Word and teachings, will eventually lead to total destruction. There’s alot to the old comment:
Give an inch and a mile will be taken!

I always welcome news from someone in the C of E about life on the other side of the Pond, even when it’s bad and discouraging news like this jeremiad.  Because it demonstrates one of my persistent themes I keep trying to call attention to at every opportunity, i.e., that the underlying problem we face that really drives the whole Anglican crisis is not simply the challenge of how to recover the lost supremacy of biblical authority.  Dig deeper, and the real issue is that the whole western world has basically made (and is still continuing to make) a fateful transition to an increasingly secularized or even paganized, pluralistic, and de-Christianized culture.  This momentous and dangerous development is proceeding at different paces and in different ways in various places (even within the UK or the US or Canada etc.), but even in Virginia (where I live), in the so-called “Bible belt” in the U.S. we see this hostile trend gaining momentum.

Alas, Anglicanism, like other traditions rooted in a venerable but ambiguous state church heritage, is so wedded to a Christendom mentality that it’s extremely difficult for most of us to even imagine what a “Post-Christendom” style Anglicanism would look like.  Learning more about the rapidly-growing churches in the Global South would help, as would doing some historical research into the pre-Constantinian church of the first 300 years of the Christian movement.

Alas, even though the C of E is still legally established, it has been for all practical purposes culturally disestablished.  Or so it appears to this observer from across the Atlantic.

As I like to say (in my usual provocative way):  “The only thing worse than a state church, is an ex-state church still pretending to be a state church.” Or an ex-state church that simply can’t conceive of any other way to think and act than the old Christendom-based ways.  And this isn’t surprising; 1500 year old habits are tought to break.  But break them we must.

David Handy+
Persistent Advocate of High Commitment, Post-Christendom style Anglicanism of a decidedly sectarian, Christ-against-culture variety

"We might have expected the Church(COE) to resist the decay...” Why?  Over a hundred years ago John Henry Newman clearly explicated the reasons why the COE could not resist the decay.  Perhaps this priest has the excuse of not having read Newman.

” Give an inch and a mile will be taken! “

Reminds me of someone else’s blog entitle “an inch at a time”

[4] My dear brother in Christ, Philip Snyder (Dallas),

You wrote

We now see the results of that in the “right to die” movement where those with terrible illnesses desire the right to kill themselves.

First, allow me to observe that people who are both sentient and not very significantly physically impaired have always had the “right” to “kill themselves.” It is part and parcel of the free will with which our Creator has endowed us. An endowment which He respects rigorously.

Second, the “right to kill oneself” not being at issue, what is being promoted is the right to enlist another party to do for you what you are not willing to do for yourself (again excepting those who are very significantly physically impaired, as is, for example, a bed-ridden quadriplegic, where the issue may be capacity rather than will).

This illustrates a point which I have to make quite frequently. By casting this issue in terms of a “right to die,” the proponents are, by choosing the terminology of the issue, misdirecting the attention of the average voter. They are misidentifying the issue with the specific intent of deceiving people into changing the law to allow something other than what their chosen name for the right permits. Therefore, despite my two points above, I believe that your conclusion is exactly correct. But one of the most effective ways to contend against their solution is to insist that we call the evil by its correct name, so that those who do not reflect on what is being said are more likely to understand what is at stake. It is, perhaps, less important that we do so in this forum, where most agree, but even here, by failing to call the evil what it is, we ourselves become inured to using the language of those who would deceive—hence, my comment.

Blessings and regards,
Martial Artist

I suggest readers go directly to the Telegraph and scroll past the article to read the comments-- if they are any indication, then paganism has made huge inroads into Britain.