The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, the Most Rev Alan Harper, has spoken out on the “sin” of division plaguing what he calls the “tortured” Anglican Communion.
Speaking in his address on the Feast Day of St Mary Magdalene, he said he had come to believe that “division is a greater sin even than heresy”.
He appealed to fellow Anglicans to remember Paul’s call for patient forbearance in his letter to the Ephesians, warning that disunity and “open rupture” were a “sign that the full stature of Christ remains absent from the Body”. Read more
Monday 23 July 2007
Archbishop of Armagh: division a greater sin than heresy
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4 comments:
Q
He's got a point - I mean better an imperfect church than no church
A
Depends what you mean by church - OK. draw two overlapping circles "A" and "B" - "A" represents the Anglican Communion and "B" represents the Body of Christ
Q
"A" for "Anglican" and "B" for "Body of Christ"
A
Exactly - not all Christians are Anglican
Q
And not all Anglicans are Christian
A
Exactly - and the same applies to any denomination
Q
So you can draw a big circle "B" surrounded by smaller overlapping circles - for example, not all Christians are Methodists, and not all Methodists are Christians
A
Wow - I mean that puts a fresh perspective on the ecumenical enterprise
Q
You mean all these small circles trying to come together without any apparent reference to "B"
A
The futility of ecumenism - but to return - on the one hand "B" is built on solid rock (shared convictions, for example)
Q
And on the other hand "A" is built on sand (shared bureaucracy, structures and hierarchy)
A
But not a lot of people know that - I mean why is everyone so concerned about "A"? Surely our priority should be the unity of "B"
Q
And "B" is hopelessly divided and distributed among the small overlapping circles - but how do you propose they could be reconciled?
A
Elementary - by the preaching of the Word - "My sheep hear my voice" - God speaks through his Word - there you go then
Harper was handpicked for his pro-TEC leanings - this comes as no surprise.
Following on from 23 July 2007 22:09
Q
Nice idea - God's word as the means of uniting Christians, but isn't God's word (or the diverse interpretations) the problem - e.g. what's the Word say about infant baptism?
A
So we have two possibilities: either God is a lousy communicator or we are lousy listeners
Q
Lousy or disobedient listeners
A
To alter a famous verse a tad:
'Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan God's Word in vain
God is his own interpreter
And he will make it plain'
Q
God moves in a mysterious way verse 6
A
Ancient and Modern Revised number 181 - point being that problem is with the receiver rather than the transmitter - so perhaps it could be that somewhere along the line our preaching and teaching has gone wrong
Following on from 24 July 2007 21:27
Q
Somewhere along the line our preaching and teaching has gone wrong? Surely you don't mean that
A
How do else do you explain the heresy and schism? I mean even among gospel people there are divisions and I would suggest that the Word is simply not being taught
Q
Or being taught simply
A
Exactly - take a simple jigsaw puzzle with, say, 100 pieces. The picture is of some picturesque village. You could take each piece and take in the exquisite detail, for example there are the ancient church tower, the village pond, the village shop - each piece in glorious isolation, although you'd obviously consider the church as a whole
Q
I don't think it would work for the sky
A
Quite - let's think of it as our Old Testament
Q
Or our epistle to the Hebrews
A
There you go then - I mean you could take Hebrews as a puzzle in itself - enjoy the exquisite detail of the roll call of ancient heroes in Hebrews 11
A
Or some moral teaching in Hebrews 12 - a sort of get on your bike sermon
Q
I can see it now - the preacher explains that one of the things about a bike is that unless you are moving you are going to fall off and that's just like being a Christian
A
And only if you get on your bike and pull your socks up, can you deal with the giants in your life - so the people aren't being taught Hebrews and ditto for Romans
Q
Like everyone knows about the wages of sin and how God works everything for good in our lives
A
But we aren't being taught what Romans or Hebrews is actually about and how it fits into the big picture
Q
Perhaps the preachers don't know themselves - whoops, sorry, joke
A
Never a truer word - OK how about this then? Dy' remember the little communion-makers?
Q
Hey?
A
Discussions about unconfirmed kiddies making their communion
Q
Yes - our PCC agreed in principle - I don't think it got very far after that
A
Yes with our PCC it simply got squeezed out by discussions about the disgusting state of the kitchen
Q
But the principle was that it would be OK if children who express interest went on a special course
A
So after six weekly lessons at the Vicarage you would be qualified
Q
Something like that
A
That's six hours - what, I wonder, would they find to talk about?
Q
Well, I suppose there's a lot to learn about Communion
A
How much do you suppose the Bible says about it?
Q
Er, um, there's the last supper in the gospels
A
And?
Q
First Corinthians
A
Not a lot then - certainly not six hours
Q
Now you come to mention it not even one hour
A
So what do you suppose is actually taught? No, let's not even go there - I mean if you were to take a load of typical preaching - I mean it's there in spades for anyone sad enough to look it up on t'internet - I mean diocesan websites, parish websites, and the dear old Beeb with its broadcast services
Q
And dear old "Thought for the Day"
A
Well - let's see if there's an agenda or common message - I mean suppose a future historian working on this collected teaching and preaching attempted to define Christianity by what he found
Q
Surely the Bible is the message
A
In theory - not in practice - I mean, the point is that the Bible isn't being taught - well, like Communion classes, how much of this stuff derives from the Bible and if it doesn't where does it come from - but, hey, you've got a point - do the teachers and preachers understand the Bible and why aren't the colleges equipping them - remember the jigsaw puzzle - seeing the big picture - Leonardo, or someone, doing this brilliant painting and people just going for their fave jigsaw pieces - right?
Q
So what you're saying is that the Bible isn't being taught
A
Got it in one - and because we each have our fave jigsaw pieces, that's why we can't agree - hence denominations and traditions
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