Sister Joan Chittister famously said, "We are each called to go through life reclaiming the planet an inch at a time until the Garden of Eden grows green again." Reflecting on that journey -- a blog at a time -- is the focus of this site.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
EXCLUSIVE Inside Scoop from one of the "Anaheim Eight"
IntegriTV exclusive: Reflections from one of the LGBT deputies who met today with the Archbishop of Canterbury!
Sorry, this isn't exactly with the 'Thread', but still relevant to GC in Anaheim.
Is it true that Bishop Schori said, 'It's heresy to believe that one can gain Salvation through Repentence?' Did she also say, 'It's heresy to believe that any of us can be in Right Relationship with God.'?
Please tell me then, How Can I Escape Hell & Damnation? I'm desperate for a Way Out! Surely God doesn't want anyone to perish? I could die tomorrow and not be Saved.
LGM, ++KJS didn't say that repentance or a relationship with God is a heresy. What she said was that it is heresy to believe that anyone can be saved or in right relationship with God without being in relationship to others. And, it seems to me, that every time we say we believe in the communion of saints, that is exactly what we are saying. In the great economy of God's saving grace, we are connected to each other. To live as if we aren't is both heresy and idolatry.
After you have read the actual statement, have a look at Exodus 20:16 ... and think about why this Scripture is relevant to your quotation of what +KJS allegedly said.
'The Great Western Heresy -- that we can be saved as individuals, that any of us alone can be in right relationship with God. It's caricatured in some quarters by insisting that salvation depends on reciting a specific verbal formula about Jesus. That individualist focus is a form of idolatry for it puts me and my words in the place that only God can occupy. That heresy is one reason for the theme of this Convention.' KJS.7/09/09
It is only 'alone' that we can be in right relationship with God. (Believe, and be washed by his Blood, only then, will you be seen by God as Righteous.)
We come into this world alone, and we leave alone. God DOES ask us to (individually) verbally confess our sin, and believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord. (Romans 10:9). 'For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.' (v.10)
It just seems cruel that Bishop Schori keeps adding to the list of what one must 'Do' to be in Right Relationship with God. Don't you ever just want to get off the never ending treadmill? It reminds me of graduate school where they keep changing the requirements so you never get your degree.
God never wanted it to be so hard for us to have lasting peace with Him. 'It is finished', Jesus said.
KJS admonishes her flock for not doing enough, yet keeps adding that we shouldn't go by what Jesus says either.
(Jesus said, you cannnot possibly earn your salvation , -- less anyone boast. He says, Repent, Believe, Evangelize.)
Ubuntu -- 'I Am Because We Are -- I can only become a whole person in relationship with others.' KJS.
We will never become a 'whole person' (until we have our glorified bodies in Heaven). We live in a fallen world, and we constantly fall short of the Glory of God.
The Bishop says...'We cannot be known without them (our siblings)we have no meaning, no true existence in isolation. We shall indeed die as we forget that reality.'
We won't die if we don't have perfect relationships with our brothers & sisters in Christ. We will die, if we don't have a relationship with the Son.
We (do!)have intrinsic value & meaning because God made us in his image. He made us for himself, to have relationship with Him. 'O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise, you perceive my thoughts from afar...' ps.139. That's where our meaning comes from (& Salvation), not from our (deeply flawed) sibling rationships. How come that's not good enough for Bishop?
God does have a plan (dream?). He will return to Judge the peoples with his Truth. He will rule his people here on earth for a time, and he will create a New Heaven and a New Earth. He will rebuild Jerusalem. (HE will do it, not us.) You can rest in Him alone.
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Sorry, this isn't exactly with the 'Thread', but still relevant to GC in Anaheim.
Is it true that Bishop Schori said, 'It's heresy to believe that one can gain Salvation through Repentence?' Did she also say, 'It's heresy to believe that any of us can be in Right Relationship with God.'?
Please tell me then, How Can I Escape Hell & Damnation? I'm desperate for a Way Out! Surely God doesn't want anyone to perish?
I could die tomorrow and not be Saved.
LGM, ++KJS didn't say that repentance or a relationship with God is a heresy. What she said was that it is heresy to believe that anyone can be saved or in right relationship with God without being in relationship to others. And, it seems to me, that every time we say we believe in the communion of saints, that is exactly what we are saying. In the great economy of God's saving grace, we are connected to each other. To live as if we aren't is both heresy and idolatry.
LG,
How about you go and read the text of what the Presiding Bishop actually said? To help you, here's a link. It's even a 'conservative' website.
http://www.americananglican.org/presiding-bishop-s-opening-address/
After you have read the actual statement, have a look at Exodus 20:16 ... and think about why this Scripture is relevant to your quotation of what +KJS allegedly said.
'The Great Western Heresy -- that we can be saved as individuals, that any of us alone can be in right relationship with God. It's caricatured in some quarters by insisting that salvation depends on reciting a specific verbal formula about Jesus. That individualist focus is a form of idolatry for it puts me and my words in the place that only God can occupy. That heresy is one reason for the theme of this Convention.' KJS.7/09/09
It is only 'alone' that we can be in right relationship with God. (Believe, and be washed by his Blood, only then, will you be seen by God as Righteous.)
We come into this world alone, and we leave alone. God DOES ask us to (individually) verbally confess our sin, and believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord. (Romans 10:9). 'For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.' (v.10)
It just seems cruel that Bishop Schori keeps adding to the list of what one must 'Do' to be in Right Relationship with God. Don't you ever just want to get off the never ending treadmill? It reminds me of graduate school where they keep changing the requirements so you never get your degree.
God never wanted it to be so hard for us to have lasting peace with Him. 'It is finished', Jesus said.
KJS admonishes her flock for not doing enough, yet keeps adding that we shouldn't go by what Jesus says either.
(Jesus said, you cannnot possibly earn your salvation , -- less anyone boast. He says, Repent, Believe, Evangelize.)
Ubuntu -- 'I Am Because We Are -- I can only become a whole person in relationship with others.' KJS.
We will never become a 'whole person' (until we have our glorified bodies in Heaven). We live in a fallen world, and we constantly fall short of the Glory of God.
The Bishop says...'We cannot be known without them (our siblings)we have no meaning, no true existence in isolation. We shall indeed die as we forget that reality.'
We won't die if we don't have perfect relationships with our brothers & sisters in Christ. We will die, if we don't have a relationship with the Son.
We (do!)have intrinsic value & meaning because God made us in his image. He made us for himself, to have relationship with Him. 'O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise, you perceive my thoughts from afar...' ps.139. That's where our meaning comes from (& Salvation), not from our (deeply flawed) sibling rationships. How come that's not good enough for Bishop?
God does have a plan (dream?). He will return to Judge the peoples with his Truth. He will rule his people here on earth for a time, and he will create a New Heaven and a New Earth. He will rebuild Jerusalem. (HE will do it, not us.)
You can rest in Him alone.
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