Breaking: Anglican Man Bites Dog

We are not used to seeing headlines like this about the Church of England:

 

Story in The Guardian:

The Church of England has stated that sex belongs only within heterosexual marriage, and that sex in gay or straight civil partnerships “falls short of God’s purpose for human beings”.

Bishops have issued pastoral guidance in response to the recent introduction to mixed-sex civil partnerships, which says: “For Christians, marriage – that is, the lifelong union between a man and a woman, contracted with the making of vows – remains the proper context for sexual activity.”

The church “seeks to uphold that standard” in its approach to civil partnerships, and “to affirm the value of committed, sexually abstinent friendships” within such partnerships.

It adds: “Sexual relationships outside heterosexual marriage are regarded as falling short of God’s purpose for human beings.”

A marvel! This is from the Church of England. The old girl is still capable of surprises. Good for the bishops. That’s stronger than I would have expected (and, as the Catholic UK reader who sent that item to me said, stronger than what one would expect these days from the Pope). Ah, but there is dissent:

Linda Woodhead, a professor in the department of politics, philosophy and religion at Lancaster University, said: “The C of E is unable to get over its fixation on homosexuality, which is driving the the national church into a position more like a fundamentalist sect and does not speak to the vast majority of younger people today.”

A “fundamentalist sect,” for believing what all Christian churches have believed for nearly 2,000 years, and what most Anglicans in the world today believe. If anybody here is a fundamentalist sect, it’s the liberal Anglicans.

The sad fact is, for a variety of reasons, all Christian churches, wherever they land on the morality and theology spectrum, are having trouble connecting with young people today. But it is a special conceit of progressive Christians that if only they make themselves more like the world, especially on sexual matters, the young will beat a path to their doors. How’s that working out for the Episcopal Church, the main American branch of world Anglicanism, which has gone super-progressive, and is still declining: average age, 57. 

It is also funny that progressive Christians within the various churches have been the ones who have put homosexuality front and center, and loudly — yet blame church conservatives for being obsessed with the matter, simply because they refuse to abandon Scripture and Tradition. I think of the older Baby Boomer priest at my Catholic parish in Fort Lauderdale, 1995-98, who preached at least two sermons on the evils of homophobia, and how the Church is so hung up about homosexuality. In 13 years of faithfully attending mass on Sundays and holy days, the only time I ever heard homosexuality spoken of from the pulpit was from this old dude banging on about how unhealthily obsessed the Church was over homosexuality.

It’s kind of like this:

“Good evening, I would like to order the rib eye, medium rare.”

“I’m sorry, sir, this is a seafood restaurant. We don’t serve steak.”

“But I want the rib eye.”

“Sir, this is a seafood restaurant.”

“Did you not hear me, waiter? I said I wanted beef. Bring me a steak!”

“Sir, I beg your pardon, but I cannot do that. We only have fish and shellfish.”

“BRING ME A STEAK! I came here tonight hungry. Steak is what I want. What is wrong with you that you will not let me have what I want to eat?”

“We have been here for a long time, sir, and have always been a seafood restaurant. Perhaps you would be happier, sir, at the steakhouse on the next block.”

“This is where I wanted to eat tonight, and I am entitled to steak! Why do you hate me so much that you would deny me what I want? Isn’t the customer always right?”

“Sir, here is our menu. Look, right here on these pages. There is fish, and there is shellfish. There is no beef anywhere on this menu. No beef, sir! You cannot have beef because it is not on the menu. There is no beef in this restaurant. We are a seafood restaurant, sir. If you do not wish to enjoy seafood, then you should dine elsewhere this evening. I cannot bring you a steak. That is final.”

“Waiter, I just don’t understand why you so obsessed with steak.”

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