(The following is from the July 30, 2010 edition of the AAC's Weekly Email Update. Sign-up to receive this email.)
Dearly Beloved in Christ,
I learned much about life while playing fraternity football in the inter- fraternity league at the University of Maryland many years ago. I learned never to take my eyes off of the football, even while we were in the huddle, for the ball could be moved against us either by players on the opposing team or because of bad or malicious officiating.
Now, when I attend my grandchildren's soccer games, occasionally a stray soccer ball will careen across the field from somewhere else. It is important for the players to know which soccer ball is theirs, and to leave the other one alone. In today's world setting, there are seemingly many footballs or soccer balls on the field, and many of them are quite important and significant. It is often hard to know which one to pay the most attention to, and which ones to leave for others to cover.
Regarding our life in Christ lived out in both the Anglican Communion and for some of us, in the United States, there are several issues that are critical, and some of us need to be working on each of them as we are called. The first issue is holy worship done well, in a manner that glorifies God, and where men, women and children feel they are brought into the nearer presence of Almighty God, and are fed and nurtured from that encounter. The second issue is that the Gospel is preached and lived in such a way that men, women and children are desirous of accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior and their Sovereign Lord, and then can grow in that faith, experiencing the transforming presence of the Holy Spirit day by day.
Where these issues are in play in the Anglican setting touches on the new teachings and beliefs of many American Episcopal Church (TEC) leaders and the Presiding Bishop, where Jesus is a way, a savior, but there are many ways to God. In Episcopal and Anglican Church settings, the historic Gospel is in combat with the heretical Polytheism of the "many ways to God" belief of TEC leaders.
In the secular setting, those who live in the United States are accustomed to enjoying the freedom to believe and practice their religion, including certainly Christianity, but this is now under attack from the current national government administration. Secretary of State Clinton has made remarks about the right to believe your religion, with the implication that your right to openly practice and live it out is not guaranteed in the same sense as to privately believe it. If you wish to privately believe that Jesus said something, that is your business, but your ability to publicly let your beliefs affect your voting or decision making, or performance, is not a guaranteed freedom any longer in some administration minds. This is a huge shift and must be fought, for it impacts not only Christians but devout Jews and others. (Be sure to watch this enlightening video on Freedom of Worship by Chuck Colson on the AAC's Facebook Page.)
The Atlanta Journal Constitution, in an article published Thursday, July 29, 2010, reports that a federal judge has upheld Eastern Michigan University's right to kick a Christian student out of its counseling degree program because the student refused to counsel homosexual clients in the manner required by the program and national counseling groups - that is, the student refused to affirm a patient's homosexual lifestyle. The Alliance Defense Fund, a group of Christian lawyers who represent the student, Julea Ward, plan on appealing the decision.
In an alarmingly similar situation in Georgia, at Augusta State University, the same Christian coalition of attorneys is representing student Jennifer Keeton. This student was also in a counseling degree program and was told that her beliefs are incompatible with the prevailing views of the counseling profession. The state- run school said, defensively, that the university follows the American Counseling Association's Code of Ethics. Ms. Keeton's suit charges that officials violated her rights by ordering her to change her views which oppose homosexuality. She was apparently threatened with expulsion if she didn't complete a remediation plan that included diversity sensitivity training. It reminds one of the Communist Chinese re- education camps of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
This is the America that we live in today, and the time for passive observation is long past. This is not the area where the American Anglican Council has great expertise, but some of you as readers might well be called by the Holy Spirit to take up this area and join forces in the civil crisis that is developing. What you believe as a Christian is under attack and your, your children's, or your grandchildren's ability to live as a Christian man or woman and be free from discrimination and publicly- funded hostility is now over. Become active now or forfeit the future. The next example is even more worrisome, since it involves the U.S. Supreme Court.
For a Christian, the Holy Bible is the source of our knowledge for what God has done for us, and what He asks of us, what He blesses and what He condemns, and indeed, for how we come to be in a right relationship with Him. When one accepts the Holy Scripture on the terms of I Timothy 3:16, it has implications in your life as to how you live and what decisions you make. Although we would prefer that the battle to be over the uniqueness and Lordship of Jesus Christ, the contentious issue of homosexuality continues to press upon the devout Christian believer, and often forces the battle lines to be drawn in the area of sexuality and the practice thereof. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to uphold a California Hastings College of the Law policy that forces student groups to allow outsiders who disagree with their beliefs to become voting members and leaders. The U.S. Supreme Court decided that public universities may override a religious student group's right to determine its leadership only if it denies that right to all student groups. This means that the First Amendment portion of the U.S. Constitution dealing with religion: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" is now limited, and the University system of California is permitted to restrict student groups' free exercise of their religion.
In this lawsuit, attorneys with the Christian Legal Society (CLS) and Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) represented a student chapter of CLS at the Hastings College of the Law. The title of the lawsuit is "Christian Legal Society v. Martinez." The suit was filed in 2004 after the law school refused to recognize the CLS chapter because the group requires all of its officers and voting members to agree with its basic Christian beliefs. According to the college's rules, now upheld by the Supreme Court, the Christians have to permit atheists not only to join but to hold leadership office in their Christian organization. Does that make sense? Are the Gay, Lesbian, Bi- sexual and Transgendered (GLBT) groups in California college and university settings prepared to have an orthodox Christian believer not only join, but insist on voting and holding office as well? Some things are so nonsensical that you wonder who is leading this country. This decision feels like a huge betrayal of the American people, both Christians and others, by jurists at the top of the power pyramid. Our readers in other parts of the world will understand this, as many have experienced similar unfairness. This decision also places religious groups on the same footing as groups with other interests, interests which do not have a First Amendment right, whereas religion does.
The Supreme Court decision was 5- 4. I have to wonder what the 5 affirmative jurists were thinking. What it will mean is that Christian groups will have to move off campus for now to preserve their rights, and they will lose any equality of benefits that the universities bestow on official campus organizations, such a meeting space, and public announcements. Will the next step be for a college or university to determine that mere membership in an organization which requires belief in certain tenets as a condition for membership is so exclusionary and discriminatory that such membership is prima facie reason for dismissal from the educational program? Or from University employment? If no one pushes back and speaks common sense into the situation, that could be next.
Many Christian believers, not only in the USA but also in other areas of the world, are feeling a sense of betrayal by their national governments, by presidents and prime ministers, by jurists and local politicians and council members. Christianity in the world, and indeed within Anglicanism, is under attack. Although this is not a new experience for many Christians in some countries and cultures, it is a dramatic shift in Western culture. What will life look like in the future if one's very country and government is the chief persecutor of Christian individuals, telling you where you can practice your beliefs, what fields of employment you will be barred from, and what groups and individuals you may associate with?
Many Anglican Christians are feeling a sense of betrayal in their Church governing bodies as well, by their bishops and other leaders, going right up to the top. As small pieces of information begin to leak out of the recent Standing Committee meeting, it is apparent that the resignations of the godly Archbishops and Primates have been taken in stride, and actually capitalized on, such that the homosexual agenda supported by TEC becomes the unstated and accelerated agenda embraced by the Standing Committee. It is also becoming clear that the Archbishop of Canterbury's slap on the wrist of TEC was only that, and that any serious action by him to discipline TEC in a meaningful and limiting way will not be forthcoming. One must surmise that previous concerns about the ABC's commitment to orthodoxy in the area of human sexuality were well- founded, and that he is not going to stand in the way of the homosexual agenda's progress in the Anglican Communion.
When it comes to representing the voice of Anglican orthodoxy in the USA and internationally, the American Anglican Council is one of only a few that are effective, and when it comes to an aggressive fight against heresy and duplicity in the Church, confronting and speaking the truth in unpleasant situations, the AAC is particularly effective and worthy of your support in prayer, in financial gifts, and in organizational assistance. This is not a time for everyone to wait for someone else to do something; if you are in TEC or the Anglican Church in North America, you can play a role by partnering with the American Anglican Council. This is a pitched battle that the faithful are in, and the AAC is pushing back in many areas: diplomacy; advocacy; news gathering and reporting; and assistance and counsel to congregations and clergy under persecution and distress. Educational programs are being designed to assist congregations in growth and renewal and to help clergy in pastoral leadership. Come be a part of us.
May our Lord God strengthen and sustain you in Jesus Christ,
The Rt. Rev. David C. Anderson, Sr.
President and CEO, American Anglican Council