http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/nonchristiancult/ en-us Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:07:11 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2131118/posts At the end of the day, that might be the only place pansexual behavior is accepted. The culture seems to be on a march away from the gadarene slide towards the sexual abyss. If The Episcopal Church continues on its present pathway, it may find itself all alone galloping over the cliff edge... Catholic Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2131118/posts#comment Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:07:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2128830/posts On the night before the big election, I was done with campaigning and the last thing I wanted to see was another political commercial. My pre-election tension was high, as a Facebook friend wrote in her status that she felt “the same anxiety as on Christmas Eve when I was six-years-old and I had asked Santa for a bicycle.” I completely understood the sentiment and I needed relief. What better than a night out for trashy tales of sex and smut? And in the fullness of pre-election ambiguity, where better to go for bawdy fare than St. Mary the Virgin,... Diocese of California (The Episcopal Church) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2128830/posts#comment Sun, 9 Nov 2008 17:29:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2128516/posts A CHURCH GROUP WITH A HISTORIC TIE TO QUINCY HAS VOTED TO LEAVE ITS DENOMINATION. THE DIOCESE OF QUINCY, FOUNDED IN 1877 AND NOW BASED IN PEORIA, IS HOLDING ITS ANNUAL CONVOCATION AT ST. JOHN'S CHURCH ON HAMPSHIRE STREET THIS WEEKEND. IN AN EARLY SESSION, DELEGATES HAVE VOTED TO SEVER THEIR TIES WITH THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. THE NOW-RETIRED BISHOP OF QUINCY SAYS THE NATIONAL CHURCH HAS BEEN UNWILLING TO DEFINE COMMON GROUND WITH THOSE WHO HOLD TO TRADITIONAL CHRISTIAN TEACHING AND HAS REJECTED THE AUTHORITY OF THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION. THE DIOCESE, INCLUDING HISTORIC ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, WILL JOIN ANOTHER PROVINCE... 7KHQA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2128516/posts#comment Sat, 8 Nov 2008 08:25:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2120291/posts JOHN SHELBY SPONG, whose books have sold more than a million copies, was Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark for 24 years. His admirers acclaim him as a teaching bishop who makes contemporary theology accessible to the ordinary layperson. A longtime champion of progressive Christianit y, Spong is a visionary voice in the religious communit y, calling people to step beyond boundaries of tribe, prejudice, gender and even religion to create a new humanit y. He is a committed Christian who has spent a lifetime studying the Bible and whose life has been deeply shaped by it. Now he... Countryside Community United Church of Christ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2120291/posts#comment Fri, 31 Oct 2008 01:56:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2109552/posts The Bible has become banal and rock songs are often more effective in expressing Christianity, a leading bishop has claimed.The Rt Rev Nick Baines, Bishop of Croydon, has urged churches to use hits by bands such as U2 and the Beatles in their services. In a book backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, he argues that pop music writers can convey deep theological concepts in a way that is more accessible to the younger generation. Hundreds of evangelical churches have already turned to guitar-based songs instead of traditional hymns, but the bishop suggests that clergy still need... Daily Telegraph (UK) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2109552/posts#comment Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:58:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2097529/posts GetReligion notes that The New York Times (peace be upon it) has, remarkably, described the Episcopal conflict in language that is much closer to the truth than the "all about homosexuality" shorthand it and so many other news outlets have resorted to over the past several years: For a long time now, many reporters have based their stories on the assumption that all of this fighting began with the ordination of the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, the openly noncelibate gay bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire. Things were rolling along toward tolerant modernity and then the church... Stand Firm http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2097529/posts#comment Sat, 4 Oct 2008 19:16:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2082186/posts Leaders of the Episcopal Church of America will take a vote this week on whether to remove Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan from ministry. Duncan notified the Pittsburgh diocese Saturday of the vote, which be taken Thursday during a meeting of the Episcopal House of Bishops in Salt Lake City. Duncan is charged with abandonment of the Communion of the Church, a charge initiated by five priests and 16 lay people from the Pittsburgh diocese, Duncan said in a letter. The Pittsburgh diocese is scheduled to vote Oct. 4 on whether to secede from the U.S. branch of the Episcopal Church... TRIBUNE-REVIEW http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2082186/posts#comment Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:44:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2078529/posts San Francisco, CA (AP) -- The Episcopal bishops of Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area are opposing a November ballot initiative to overturn the California Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage in the state. AP via SFGate http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2078529/posts#comment Tue, 9 Sep 2008 22:44:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2079605/posts Statement on Proposition Eight by the Episcopal Diocesan Bishops of California As Episcopal Bishops of California, we are moved to urge voters to vote "No" on Proposition Eight. Jesus calls us to love rather than hate, to give rather than to receive, to live into hope rather than fear. On Tuesday, November 8th, voters in California will be given the opportunity to vote for or against Proposition Eight, which would amend the state's constitution to reserve marriage as only between a man and a woman. Since the California Supreme Court's ruling in May that civil marriage should be provided to... Walking With Integrity http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2079605/posts#comment Thu, 11 Sep 2008 02:14:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2078649/posts The Episcopal Church in California is taking up arms against Proposition 8, an amendment that would change the California constitution to preserve the integrity of marriage as being between one man and one woman. In the process the U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion is clashing with a huge interfaith coalition, including Christians, Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Hindus and Sikhs, which is simultaneously launching a campaign to promote the proposition. Voters will have an opportunity on the 2008 California General Election ballot in November to support Proposition 8, which will reinforce the wishes of 61% of California voters who supported true... Catholic Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2078649/posts#comment Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:56:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2063986/posts CANTERBURY, UK, August 18, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Gene Robinson has castigated a fellow Anglican bishop for publicly disapproving of his crusade to inculcate "gay" values into the Anglican Communion. In an interview with SXNews, an Australian homosexual news website festooned with explicit sexual advertising, Robinson complained that the Sydney archdiocese is "bigoted" because its archbishop, Dr. Peter Jensen, boycotted the Lambeth conference, held this month in Canterbury, England. Gene Robinson is the active homosexual whose consecration as Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire caused a crisis in the global Anglican Communion. He called the Sydney archbishop's defence of Christianity "ironic" given... LifeSiteNews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2063986/posts#comment Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:15:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2062113/posts Eye of the storm Wednesday, 13 August 2008 By his very existence, the Reverend Gene Robinson – the openly gay Anglican bishop of New Hampshire – is an agent for change in his church, and society at large. He spoke with Peter Hackney. He is friendly, mild-mannered and avuncular. He doesn’t seem like someone who’d tear an entire church apart. Yet Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the history of the Anglican Church, has been accused of doing just that. So controversial is he that at the recent Lambeth Conference, the decennial conference of Anglican bishops from across... SX News (Australia) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2062113/posts#comment Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:39:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2058542/posts Rowan Williams believes that gay sexual relationships can “reflect the love of God” in a way that is comparable to marriage, The Times has learnt. Gay partnerships pose the same ethical questions as those between men and women, and the key issue for Christians is that they are faithful and lifelong, he believes. Dr Williams is known to be personally liberal on the issue but the strength of his views, revealed in private correspondence shown to The Times, will astonish his critics. The news threatens to reopenbitter divisions over ordaining gay priests, which pushed the Anglican Communion towards a split.... Times Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2058542/posts#comment Fri, 8 Aug 2008 13:31:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2057691/posts An explosive article appeared Wednesday in the London Times entitled “Rowan Williams: Gay relationships 'comparable to marriage'”. Ruth Gledhill, the Religion Correspondent of the Times may have blown the lid off of the perceived pause in the internal battles threatening the the Church of England after the Lambeth Conference. Ms. Gledhill wrote: “Rowan Williams believes that gay sexual relationships can “reflect the love of God” in a way that is comparable to marriage, The Times has learnt. Gay partnerships pose the same ethical questions as those between a man and woman and the key issue for Christians is that they... Catholic Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2057691/posts#comment Wed, 6 Aug 2008 23:21:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2055877/posts It's not about gays. Episcopalians keep insisting it's not. But, as American Episcopal bishops return home from an international religious conference this week, it's clear that the "gay issue" is one that continues to split the Episcopal church. Since the 2003 consecration of the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson, Anglicans have been divided over their approach to gay priests, gay marriage and who holds ultimate authority in the communion of 77 million followers around the world. The once-a-decade Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, England, which ends today, showed no ability to suture those wounds. Although the conference was not... Waterbury Republican-American http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2055877/posts#comment Sun, 3 Aug 2008 20:55:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2055784/posts <p>New York (AP) -- The spiritual leader of the world's Anglicans is urging an extended ban on consecrating another gay bishop until their troubled fellowship can be healed.</p> <p>Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams made the plea Sunday, the final day of the Lambeth Conference, the once-a-decade Anglican meeting in Canterbury, England.</p> AP via SFGate http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2055784/posts#comment Sun, 3 Aug 2008 17:09:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2055523/posts Cardinal Kasper’s address to the Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops was straight and to the point. LONDON (London Times) - The Roman Catholic Church has finally ended all hope that Anglican priestly orders will ever be recognized as valid. In an address to the Lambeth Conference of 670 Anglican bishops from around the world, the cardinal who heads the Council for Christian Unity said the dialogue between Anglicans and Catholics would be irrevocably "changed" as a result of the ordination of women and the recent vote to go ahead with consecrating women bishops. Cardinal Walter Kasper also reiterated the Vatican's... London Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2055523/posts#comment Sat, 2 Aug 2008 21:56:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2055082/posts When people begin studying the history of the church, the result frequently is disillusionment. It is quite a messy business. Even the great councils that devised the foundational doctrines of Christianity resembled political conventions more than a solemn assembly of priests speaking in hushed tones. People who only months before were being fed to lions by the Romans debated points of theology with similar ferocity, and in some cases the meetings devolved into brawls. Closely held beliefs, when they clash with others, held just as passionately, will produce sparks. It's all too easy to pronounce the other side heretical, and... theledger.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2055082/posts#comment Fri, 1 Aug 2008 21:27:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2054253/posts The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has challenged an American woman bishop to produce evidence to back up her claim that bishops beat their wives. Other bishops also criticised the US Episcopal Church's Bishop Catherine Roskam after she said at the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury that men beat women "because they can". She said: "We have 700 men here. Do you think any of them beat their wives? Chances are they do. The most devout Christians beat their wives... many of our bishops come from places where it is culturally accepted to beat your wife." About 670 bishops, nearly... Times Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2054253/posts#comment Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:56:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2051907/posts CANTERBURY, England -- Gene Robinson's bodyguard didn't have to worry this time. The 40-year-old man who rushed over to Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the worldwide Anglican church, just wanted to shake his hand. "Thank you for bringing the church into the 21st century, for moving things forward," said Martin MacCiarrain, a government employee. The bodyguard, a retired policeman who trails the American bishop because of death threats, eased back. On Sunday during a sermon Robinson delivered in London, a long-haired man had suddenly leapt up screaming at the American bishop: "Repent! Repent!" Since Robinson, 61, was consecrated... The Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2051907/posts#comment Sun, 27 Jul 2008 01:36:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050290/posts History's humongous wheel turns and turns and turns again. Over time, mud and sludge accumulate on even the sprucest institutions. Take the 500-year-old Anglican family of churches, Christianity's third-largest, after Rome and Eastern Orthodoxy. With Anglicanism's biggest family event under way - the every-10-years gathering of bishops and archbishops in England - what the world sees, accurately or not, is a family in moral and spiritual disarray. --snip--For all that, Anglicanism's public troubles proceed from the takeover of Western Anglicanism by theological activists whose purpose is the remolding of Christianity into something less like the old-time religion than like the... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050290/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:38:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050334/posts The Bishop of Rochester Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, one of just two bishops in the Church of England to boycott the Lambeth Conference entirely, insisted today that he is being true to biblical authority. Explaining a decision that he admits has been painful for a man who sought refuge in Britain from persecution, and who has been at the heart of the two previous convocations at Canterbury – first as Coordinator in 1988 and then as a Member of the Steering Committee in 1998 - he said it was a matter of ‘conscience and logic’. He said that ‘persistent false teaching’... Lapido Media http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050334/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:48:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049687/posts The Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan today declared that Gene Robinson, the openly gay Bishop of New Hampshire, "should resign for the sake of the church." In a press conference at the decennial Lambeth Conference, the Most Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul said that homosexual ordination "is not what is found in the Bible" and that it is "not the norm of the Anglican world." Catholic Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049687/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:53:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049150/posts A leading Anglican bishop has condemned conservatives as "demonic" for using his church as a punch bag. The Bishop of Washington, the Right Rev John Chane, a leading liberal in the Episcopal Church in the United States, accused conservatives of leading the church in a "dangerous" direction. *** "I think it's really very, very dangerous and I think it's demonic ... the Episcopal Church has been demonised. It has been a punching bag and I'm sick of being a punching bag as a Bishop and I'm sick of my church, my province being a punching bag. Times Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049150/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:52:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2047600/posts James Tramel went from convicted murderer to priest while in prison, a transformation that the Episcopal Church used to successfully lobby for his parole and celebrate him before politicians and the press. But the church is now grappling with the sexual abuse of a parishioner under his care. Tramel has been suspended for sexual misconduct, temporarily stripped of his priestly authority and left searching for a new job. The San Francisco-based Episcopal Diocese of California now faces questions of whether, in its haste to proclaim Tramel's story, it redeemed and promoted him too quickly. Convicted of second-degree murder in a... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2047600/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:57:36 GMT