“Later today, the bishops plan to vote on the election of the church’s first openly-atheist bishop.”

Far too late for that: http://www.dioceseofnewark.org/vox21096.html

Thanks to Thrasy for posting this article by Bishop Spong. I hadn’t previously seen such an explicit statement of this anti-theistic attitude, though I have noticed it for years among Episcopol bishops whenever they visited my parish. With only one exception (a black bishop hailing from the Caribbean who confirmed me), every Episcopal bishop I have seen and heard is an obvious non-Christian. They respond to the basic Christian truths not as Peter did—“Thou are the Christ, the son of the living God”—but by treating them as an occasion for some painful intellectual exercise. Their sermons consists of saying things like, “How do we, we intelligent modern people, come to terms with such a bizarre idea as the Resurrection?” By their language, their attitude, their whole demeanor, they place themselves outside the faith.

But Spong, as I said, has made explicit this attitude which I have discerned in those bishops (and which I have complained about to the priests in my parish, who are not of that post-modern bent at all). As Spong makes brutally clear, it’s simply a campaign to destroy Christianity, by getting rid of God. Spong’s argument is, “Yes, there is some experience of the divine that we all have, but it’s not from God, who is a ridiculous human illusion, but from within ourselves.” That such a man is allowed to continue as a bishop is a scandal of many years standing. To treat this latest outrage of an openly homosexual bishop seems a little late for protests, doesn’t it?

Western culture is very very far gone, and all we can do is hold on to the truth and trust in God no matter what monstrous evils are at large around us.

“all we can do is hold on to the truth and trust in God no matter what monstrous evils are at large around us.”

That wonderful statement should be the theme of VFR! :-)

Here’s a comment I posted at a Lucianne thread, where many Episcopalians are expressing their unhappiness:

Episcopalians elect gay bishop
http://lucianne.com/threads2.asp?artnum=63460
Reply 59 - Posted by: Larry, 8/5/2003

As a member of an Anglo-Catholic (the traditionalist, high-church wing of the Anglican communion) parish, I am a bit less shocked and appalled by this event than many conservative Episcopalians. And this is because I have known for years that the Anglican church in its higher levels is an anti-Christian, leftist organization. I had only become an Episcopalian because, notwithstanding the general corruption of the Episcopalian church, by God’s grace his Spirit and the reality of Christian truth manifested through the church in my parish, and was what led to become a Christian in the first place. I’ve always known that true Christianity is a remnant or island within the Episcopal church as a whole. That may continue to be true, even after this horrible decision.

I’ve mentioned before the case of Bishop Pike. He openly denied the cardinal truths of Christianity — the Deity of Christ, the Virgin Birth, the Resurrection. (There were other troubling things, such as his recourse to seances where he supposedly communicated with his deceased son, his divorce after which he married his secretary.)

Bishop Pike was brought up on heresy charges at one point in the mid-sixties, or was to be, but by that time the Episcopal Church had lost its doctrinal moorings to such extent that they really had little basis under which to judge him.

But the Evangelical community must take some blame as well. For instance, even after Bishop Pike’s views were well known Billy Graham actually invited him to deliver a prayer at one of his crusades, and seated him up on the platform with other ministers making no distinction between those who believe the Gospel and those who don’t. There were other notable cases of this, such as the liberal Methodist Bishop Gerald Kennedy.

Dr. Graham undoubtedly had the best of intentions in doing this, but I think it only gave credence to a movement that was against traditionalist, Biblical Christianity and helped undermine Christian influence in our culture, pulling the rug out from under us.

The Psalmist asked, “But if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” What indeed.

It’s wonderful to hear how God used the Anglo-Catholic church to draw you to His Son. There have indeed been many in the Anglican Church who were used mightily, such as C.S. Lewis, who if I am not mistaken was led to the Lord partly by the influence of J.R.R. Tolkien, a Roman Catholic. The Methodists at one time led great revivals. A few Presbyterians remain, such as D. James Kennedy, who stand for the truth and fight against liberalism (spiritual and political) as best they can.

But Paul warned Timothy of the days we are in, where many would depart from the faith, maintaining a form of godliness but denying the power thereof. And I just heard that more Christians are being persecuted throughout the world today than at any time in history.

Thank God that a few remain who will not deny the Lord even to death. But we can sympathise with our Lord’s rhetorical question: “When the Son of Man returns, shall He find faith on the earth?”

We used to call the Episcopalian church “Unitarian lite” when I was UU. I guess you can see why. One world religion its here.

um…you do realize that article about the Muslim Bishop was a satire? It says so underneath. I’m sure you did see that, just mentioning it for the benefit of those that didn’t read that far.