+Beisner (Nor. Cal.) Statement on HoB Meeting

I love this about ABp Akinola, “That is no surprise, since he has already established 4 bishops for counter-TEC work in this country.” I am sure that ABp Akinola will get a chuckle but also be somewhat sad that Beisner could be so clueless about the motivations of ABp Akinola who serves, as ABp Akinola said, the Gospel message of freedom, justice and dignity for all persons which can only be found in heartfelt repentance and joyful obedience to the Truth.

Quote ” I remain committed to the Windsor Process as the best way forward for us. I remain committed to the full inclusion of all baptized Christians in the full life of the Church. And I remain committed to my third wife until I grow tired of her”

This is why the silence of the Windsor Bishops matters so much. Not because their ‘No’s’ would have won the day, nor because they would have gone down heroically standing in the breach but because it would have permitted the truth to be seen. Their silence permits the self described ‘radicals’ to go on announcing that the church is nearly unanimously united. The Windsor votes would have permitted a considerably more truthful depiction of reality.

What on earth is a “radical moderate” besides an oxymoron?\

And once again, very, very concerning words about what the Anglican Consultative Council told the House of Bishops.

Oh, and it’s hilarious that he “remains committed” to the Windsor process.  I mean, we had those who were pretending to be.  But it’s news to me Bishop Beisner was in that group.

No one thought for a moment that they would stand down, even if we had given everything he says he wants from us.

I find this attitude from liberals so tiring.  When has TEC ever come even CLOSE to meeting any Communion requests?  Let’s ignore the Communion requests because we think - without any evidence whatsoever - that the conservative primates wouldn’t accept it anyway.

Earth to Beisner and the liberal bishops - “Why don’t you TRY it sometime?”

And then there’s this:

It must be said: watch out for the media reports on this matter…. be very careful in taking in and responding to what we read—being most especially careful (as the Windsor Report reminds us to be) with on-line communications.

In other words, don’t believe what anybody else says about what we did - only believe us.  When leaders begin to warn you against all media reports about what they did, you know they are either trying to pull the wool over your eyes, or they have seriously departed from the realm of reality.

I used to respect Bp. Beisner’s position in this area.  But this letter is way beyond the pale.  Bp. Beisner has now firmly declared that he is no friend of Communion discipline, but has solidly placed himself in the ideological-liberal wing of the HoB.

” As expected, people are interpreting that statement in various ways, largely reflecting their various interests. “

Well, there you have it. The primates asked for clarity, and what they got was obscurity . . . .  “as expected” . . . .

The “Response:” one more example of classic, Anglican bafflegab.  Anglicanism is congenitally and constitutionally incapable of clarity.

“This is why the silence of the Windsor Bishops matters so much. Not because their ‘No’s’ would have won the day, nor because they would have gone down heroically standing in the breach but because it would have permitted the truth to be seen.”

They heard these boneheads in March. They took them at their word. They knew there would be no change. And they began working toward an orthodox Anglican presence in America. (See Common Cause) You only need to be beat on the head once. Twice is foolish. Three times is suicidal. NO MORE LISTENING TO THE WHINES. Time for action. (See Iker, Ackerman et al.)

ouch robroy-should you have italicised that last bit? very good though….

yep. i stopped attending a church in january because a sermon was preached, without regard to the lectionary, implying the evil of Abp Akinola and then-to-be-bp Minns. Not having young children i had been able to slide by a lot of things, but that was not slide-byable.

Greg,
  You need to get the investigative team to work as there is an important document from NO which is missing. I believe there was a form letter supplied by 815 for Bishops to address their donors.
The letter probably looks something like this:

<blockquote> Dear [friend or equivalent, may be ambiguously religious]
The community of bishops met in NO. We came together and through hard work found a way forward. Many thanks to our PB.
Liberal section: Gays are da bomb!
Conservative section: Jesus is da bomb!
Damn the media, giving specific examples where appropriate.

Sincerely[ or similar such as “All your bases are belong to us!]
+[Your name]

*** Special note these words are examples should not be used verbatim, especially “da bomb!”

It must be said: watch out for the media reports on this matter.

I find this new distrust of the media highly amusing. It’s so hard to convince reporters that “no” is really “yes.”

As raw material for fisking, this might be described as an overly target-rich environment.  In just a single paragraph—

... protecting the integrity of The Episcopal Church, ...

Whoops! Forgot to capitalize “Integrity”!

... we are seeking to work with the Anglican Consultative Council, the Primates, and the Archbishop of Canterbury to be fully active and faithful participants in the Anglican Communion.

“Faithful” here is to be understood in the same sense as “faithful contributor to the March of Dimes” or the like; we intend to be regular participants, pushing our agenda by tantrum and bribery at every opportunity.  What other meaning could it possibly have?

The Joint Standing Committee has already indicated preliminary appreciation of our Response.

Half right; what it <a >appreciated</a> was “the generosity and graciousness of the welcome that they have received”, the opportunity to “join members of the House of Bishops and their spouses in participating in active mission projects in the city of New Orleans so grievously affected by Hurricane Katrina”, and the “patience, generosity and an intensity of debate on the Monday and Tuesday which illustrates how seriously the concerns of the wider Communion are taken by the Episcopal House of Bishops.”  This is hardly the ringing endorsement of the Response that +Beisner implies.  (In fact, their only comment on the Response, afaIk, is an acknowledgment of its receipt and a promise to study it and send comments to the ABC.  Speaking of which—)

They will meet and report to the Archbishop of Canterbury, perhaps as early as today or tomorrow; soon thereafter, we should be hearing some additional word from him.

Kyrie eleison.  Keep up the prayers, brethren.