John Yates and Os Guinness: 5 Outrages -- Why We Left the Episcopal Church

Posted by Rick Pearcey

"We believe it is time to set the record straight as to why our church and so many others around the country have severed ties with the Episcopal Church," say Rev. John Yates and author Os Guinness in the Washington Post today.

* What the Core Issue Isn't: "The core issue in why we left is not women's leadership. It is not 'Episcopalians against equality,' as the headline on a recent Post op-ed by Harold Meyerson put it. It is not a 'leftward' drift in the church. It is not even primarily ethical -- though the ordination of a practicing homosexual as bishop was the flash point that showed how far the repudiation of Christian orthodoxy had gone."

* What the Core Issue Is: "The core issue for us is theological: the intellectual integrity of faith in the modern world. It is thus a matter of faithfulness to the lordship of Jesus, whom we worship and follow." . . .

* Godless Episcopalians: "The American Episcopal Church no longer believes the historic, orthodox Christian faith common to all believers. Some leaders expressly deny the central articles of the faith -- saying that traditional theism is 'dead,' the incarnation is 'nonsense,' the resurrection of Jesus is a fiction, the understanding of the cross is 'a barbarous idea,' the Bible is 'pure propaganda' and so on." . . .

* Cultural Captivity: "Cutting itself off from the universal faith that spans the centuries and the continents, it becomes culturally captive to one culture and one time. While professing tolerance and inclusiveness, certain Episcopal attitudes toward fellow believers around the world, who make up a majority of the Anglican family, have been arrogant and even racist."

* Anglicans Yes, Episcopalians No: "We remain Anglicans but leave the Episcopal Church because the Episcopal Church first left the historic faith. Like our spiritual forebears in the Reformation, 'Here we stand. So help us God. We can do no other.'"

The entire column by Rev. John Yates and Os Guinness, including the 5 outrages they protest, is available here.


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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.