The battle in the mind It is not enough to know what we should be … We must go further and set our minds upon it. The battle is nearly always won in the mind. It is by the renewal of our mind that our character and behaviour become transformed.

So Scripture calls us again and again to mental discipline in this respect. ‘Whatever is true,’ it says, ‘whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things’ (Phil. 4:8). Again, ‘If … you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God’ (Col. 3:1-2).

Yet again, ‘those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace’ (Rom. 8:5-6). Self-control is primarily mind-control. What we sow in our minds we reap in our actions… — John R.W. Stott

Regardless of the question of whether he has had his genitals amputated, Laverne Cox is not a woman, but an effigy of a woman. Sex is a biological reality, and it is not subordinate to subjective impressions, no matter how intense those impressions are, how sincerely they are held, or how painful they make facing the biological facts of life. No hormone injection or surgical mutilation is sufficient to change that. — National Review

Dear Brothers and Sisters
www.virtueonline.org
June 6, 2014

Gallup is out this week with its latest “moral acceptability” survey. On 19 issues, Americans were asked, “In general, do you find the following morally acceptable [?]” The responses were ranked on a scale from “highly acceptable” to “highly unacceptable.” There was one issue – birth control, with 90% approval – that rated “highly acceptable” and nine, with approvals from 57% to 69% that rated “largely acceptable.”

Of those 10 issues, seven ate in response to the case of the collapse of the family in America.

Of the seven issues that have direct impact on American families, along with birth control, there’s divorce, sex between an unmarried man and a woman (otherwise known as fornication), stem cell research using human embryos, gambling, out-of-wedlock births, and homosexual behavior.

Certainly not all of these issues involve things that are intrinsically evil. There can be a moral case made for both birth control and divorce in certain situations. Also, though out-of-wedlock births almost always are the result of an immoral act at some point, given the prevalence of abortion (which, according to Gallup, 42% of Americans deem “morally acceptable”) in our culture, choosing life is never the wrong choice.

Notice that, of the seven issues highlighted, six of them revolve around sex. This is no surprise in a culture obsessed with sex. As John MacArthur noted several years ago, the war that is raging between the City of God, or biblical Christianity, and the City of Man, or the satanic world system, surrounds one single area: sex. MacArthur observed that “Within the moral realm in our society the conflict is almost exclusively about sex.” Abortion, fornication, homosexuality, divorce, etc., he added, are all sexual issues.

*****

As you all know by now, The Episcopal Church makes a big issue about loving, committed, faithful monogamous same sex marriages while harping endlessly about homophobia that raises its ugly head trying to prevent such determined people from enjoying the worship of their loins with others of the same sex.

Recent research indicates that homosexual couples are more likely to be permissive of infidelity and open relationships. While progressives and liberals argue that homosexual “marriages” or unions are no less stable than heterosexual marriages, even if they are right, the monogamy of such relationships might nonetheless differ.

An article in The New York Times explains that recent research “reveals just how common open relationships are among gay men and lesbians…The Gay Couples Study has followed 556 male couples for three years – about 50 percent of those surveyed have sex outside their relationship, with the knowledge and approval of their partners.”

What is peculiar in these cases is not just frequency of outside sexual activity, but that partners are aware of, and consent to, such infidelity. In fact, the article cites a previous study which “concluded that open gay relationships actually lasted longer [than monogamous gay relationships].” Because monogamy is often not expected, and infidelity is consented to, by the other partner, outside sexual activity is typically not a likely reason for terminating a homosexual relationship.

In contrast with the expectations among “gay marriages,” recent research indicates that adultery is likely the greatest factor in causing divorce among heterosexual marriages. Thus, the expectations and norms regarding fidelity seem to differ greatly between heterosexual and homosexual couples. Perhaps defining stability in terms of the mere duration of the relationship is not enough to capture what ought to be the relevant factors when considering a “stable marriage.”

Perhaps the Rev. Colin Coward of Changing Attitude, the British gay Anglican organization, will tell us all, one day, how many “loving, committed” homosexual relationships he had before marrying at the age of 65 a black gay Nigerian man, one third his age! Ditto for a number of American Episcopal bishops.

*****

The Church of England announced this week that it is banning all clergy from the British National Party (BNP) and National Front. Now short of doing something both heinous and illegal, it has been almost impossible for a Church of England vicar to be defrocked; until now. Vicars who join either the BNP or National Front political party will be sacked. There is little doubt that both parties are a blot on the landscape of British politics – but, then, so is the atheistic Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist) and there is nothing preventing a vicar joining that party. In fact, Rowan Williams would probably have approved.

The reason given for the prohibition is that the parties are “incompatible with the teaching of the Church of England”, as if all the others are compatible. Come to think of it, a male vicar marrying another man is incompatible with church teaching, too, but the vicar in question is still employed.

Once again, the church of tolerance and diversity demonstrates that it is no more tolerant that the most fundamentalist Biblical literalist it takes such delight in despising.

From a news release here:

Church of England clergy face being defrocked if they are found to be members of the BNP or National Front after bishops ruled that their views are un-Christian and promote the “sin of racism”.

It is the first time Anglican priests have formally been banned from membership of any political party.

Bishops declared the two groups to be “incompatible with the teaching of the Church of England” because of their respective stances on “equality of persons or groups of different races”.

As one Church of England vicar observed, “I dream of the day when bishops start promoting Christian orthodoxy – as opposed to politically correct orthodoxy.”

*****

The news out of Lambeth Palace this week was revealing. VOL learned that Archbishop Welby’s proudly gay correspondence secretary, a certain Andrew Nunn, has been deliberately blocking information to the ABC, so the archbishop would not read anything contrary to this man’s pro-gay beliefs. The story got blown when ex-gay Anglican blogger Phelim McIntyre http://aflame.blog.co.uk/ accused Nunn of not telling the ABC about the real intentions of Stonewall, an organization whose anti-gay bullying resources conceals its true agenda — pushing homosexuality contrary to church teaching and statements from General Synod.

“Stonewall’s resources are contrary to science as it speaks of homosexuality as unchanging and fixed when research shows us that 98% of those who identify as homosexual at the age of 16 identify as heterosexual at the age of 17. Stonewall’s resources run the danger of forcing a sexual identity on young people before their sexual identity is actually fixed.”

When VOL blew the story, the feedback was naturally nasty and vicious, but an orthodox Anglican blogger in the UK, Julian Mann picked up on the story and ran a follow up story, “Homosexualist Campaigner at the Heart of Lambeth Palace Rightly Disclosed”. He revealed through more correspondence that Andrew Nunn is quietly campaigning for the homosexualist agenda.

In one exchange with McIntyre, Nunn stated, “In the area of homophobic bullying, the Church must stop telling people what the answer is and with humility listen to find out what the question is. As far as the majority of gay people in this country are concerned, the Church is the problem, not the answer. Archbishop Justin is understandably concerned about that and anxious to listen to their experience and to learn how to move forward with them.”

So why can’t the ABC fire this guy who deliberately blocks information? Maybe he can’t or maybe he won’t, but the other truth is that Nunn is an employee of the Archbishop’s Council, not of the Archbishop. These staff have all the legal rights of any secular employee, and to dismiss someone in the UK can be a tortuous and expensive process, unless they have committed a grave misdemeanor or have proved entirely incompetent, according to the standards set by secular law. So maybe Welby is stuck with Nunn and conveniently doesn’t want to know the real agenda of Stonewall, or he knows and is willing to overlook Stonewall’s real intentions and uses Nunn not to know the truth.

One hopes that when he faces his Maker, Welby has the right answer. You can read both stories in today’s digest.

*****

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby made a last minute visit to Nigeria on June 4 to offer his heartfelt sympathy for the recent events affecting the country, including the recent bombings in Jos and the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls who have now been missing for almost two months.

The Archbishop paid a pastoral call on President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja to express his personal pain and condolence about the ongoing terrorism affecting parts of North Nigeria. The Archbishop, the president, and the primate of Nigeria, the Most Reverend Nicholas Okoh, then prayed privately together.

The Archbishop, who has visited Nigeria on many occasions – including Jos and other parts of Northern Nigeria, where he worked while leading the reconciliation work at Coventry Cathedral – has previously condemned the abduction of the schoolgirls, calling it an atrocious and inexcusable act, and urging for them to be released immediately and unharmed.

*****

Twenty-eight percent of Americans believe the Bible is the literal Word of God. Many debates within Christian theology revolve around the origins of the Bible, who wrote it, the nature of its authority, and its relationship to the Divine. According to a Gallup poll conducted in May, a solid twenty-eight percent of Americans believe that the Bible is the literal word of God and should be interpreted accordingly.

That’s a 3% decrease since 2007, when about 1/3 of Americans answered that they believed the Bible was the actual word of God. However, in the late 1970s, 38% to 40% of Americans told Gallup that they believed in the Bible as God’s word.

*****

TREND SPOTTING WITH HISTORIAN PHILIP JENKINS. Sue Careless, an evangelical Anglican Canadian blogger reported on a conference, Christianity in the World City in Toronto recently and jotted down some answers to questions from the floor by the Distinguished Professor of History and Religious Studies at Penn State University, Philip Jenkins.

Q. Has there been a geographic shift in Christianity globally?
A. Christianity around the world is doing extremely well but, paradoxically, Christianity in its former centers of glory is doing extremely badly.

By 2050 the countries with the largest Christian populations will be the U.S., followed in no particular order by Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, the Congo, Ethiopia, Uganda, the Philippines and China.

The American Physics Society compiled another list of countries that would have “no religion” by the end of this century. They included the Netherlands, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria and Estonia. In the first list there is no member of the British Empire, and in the second, most were influenced by the Reformation. So the question to ask is not Has there been a shift in Christianity? But Has the world been wholly turned upside down?

Q. What is the world’s fastest-growing religion?
A. I have two simple answers: Islam, and Christianity outside Europe. If you subtract the dead weight of Europe, Christianity outside of Europe is by far the fastest-growing religion.

Q. Which continent has the largest Christian population?
A. Africa; no competition. In 1990 Africa had 10 million Christians, about 10 percent of the population. By 2000 they had 360 million, and it hit half a billion this year. By 2050 it should hit a little more than one billion. Looking to the next 20 or 30 years, I’ve seen nothing that would predict a slow-down.

Q. Why are these huge changes happening?
A. If you want to understand global changes in religion, look at demographics. Take the country that would become Kenya. In 1900 it had 1 million people, by 2000 it had 40 million, and it should have 75 million by 2050. So if half the population is Christian and you keep that percent, you are going to have far more Christian by 2050. It is partly a case of conversions but demographics matter, too. In 1900 Europeans on the planet outnumbered Africans by two and half to one; by 2050 Africans will outnumber Europeans two and a half to one.

Q. What obstacle could stop the growth of Christianity in Africa?
A. If you have religious wars, particularly one driven by resource conflict, there could be massive destruction of Christian populations.

Q. What role do women play in the African church?
A. Even if they are not ordained, women are key among the lay leaders. Women bring their menfolk in as converts. If a church doesn’t have a very strong female base and constituency, it is going nowhere.

Q. What is the most secular continent in the world?
A. Europe, But South America is moving in the same European direction regarding abortion and same-sex marriage.

*****

If you want to know how badly things are going in the Episcopal Church that reflects on what historian Philip Jenkins says, allow me to give you a glimpse into one diocese – the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, which is in the search process for a new bishop.

Here are some fast facts on this diocese that is a microcosm of nearly all TEC dioceses. The Diocese has 12,645 baptized members; in 1998, this number was 16,852. This number is really a fake number. Average Sunday attendance (the true indicator of diocesan health) is 4,328. There are 66 parishes with ONLY 26 full time clergy, 30 part-time clergy and 10 supply clergy. There are 28 canonically resident deacons, with 17 active clergy.

Fifteen parishes share clergy. In 2014, six parishes will move from full time clergy to part-time. About half of all parishes have half-time or quarter-time clergy. Other facts about the diocese are just as depressing. The next ten years will see massive closures. The diocese itself will be forced to juncture with another diocese in due course. This is the norm. Increasingly more dioceses have fewer full time clergy and more part timers and supply clergy.

Meanwhile the TREC, the Task Force for Reimagining the Episcopal Church trucks on. “We are the engagement sub-group of TREC (formed by General Convention Resolution C095), and tasked with finding ways to engage members in re-imagining our church community, and in discerning what God has in store for us,” quoth Gay Jennings HOD President.

“We have been conducting 90-minute engagement sessions consisting of group discussions with Episcopalians throughout the church, and listening to (and recording) what you believe to be aspects of our life together we must strengthen and hold onto, and what we need to let go off and change.”

Psst. Try the Good News about Jesus. Drop all the gay stuff. That is getting you nowhere except emptying churches. Don’t hold your breath, however, for any substantive changes.

*****

The retired Anglican eco-cult Archbishop, giggling guru,Desmond Tutu has pronounced the Alberta oil sands “filth”. He must have flown from South Africa to Fort McMurray, where he intoned his disapproval, using jet fuel distilled exclusively from nice clean Saudi oil, the country where women are not allowed to drive, Christians are persecuted, rape victims are caned and girls are likely to have their genitals mutilated. He remains obstinately silent about that; much easier and more profitable to whine about Canadian oil sands.

From new release here:

Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu has called Alberta’s oil sands “filth” created by greed, and has urged all sides to work together to protect the environment and aboriginal rights.

“The fact that this filth is being created now, when the link between carbon emissions and global warming is so obvious, reflects negligence and greed,” Tutu told more than 200 rapt attendees a conference.

*****

Christians make the least faithful spouses, according to a new survey. A new survey conducted by Ashley Madison — a dating website for people already in relationships — sought to discover the link between religion and infidelity by asking 105,000 of its members about their religious affiliation.

It turns out, one in four members described themselves as “born again” Evangelical Christians, making them the least faithful bunch; Catholics comprised the next largest group at 22.75 percent, followed by Protestants (22.7 percent).

“People who have faith often use it as an outlet for forgiveness” said Dr. Eric Anderson, a sociologist at the University of Winchester in England, “so they’re more likely to cheat and less likely to feel guilty.”

Some of the most faithful spouses appear to be those with the least faith, considering only 1.4 percent of the philandering members identified as Atheist. But Hinduism really takes the faithful-cut; despite making up 13.8 percent of the world population, only 0.3 percent of those surveyed identified as Hindu.

Here’s the entire breakdown:

Evangelical 25.1%
Protestant 22.7%
Catholic 22.75%
Agnostic 2%
Mormon 1.6%
Muslim 1.5%
Jewish 1.4%
Atheist 1.4%
Jehovah’s Witness 0.5%
Hinduism 0.3%

*****

PLANNED PARENTHOOD has issued a statement of beliefs that should come as no surprise. They include:

We believe that clergy have a special responsibility to bear witness in support of reproductive rights so that the public and their elected representatives may understand the theological and moral basis for reproductive rights.

We believe that family planning and responsible sex education are the most effective methods of reducing the need for abortion. Clergy must help parents reach and teach their children by providing medically accurate and age-appropriate sex education in their congregations and in their local communities and schools.

We believe that both men and women have an inherent right to reproductive freedom, that this freedom includes the right to abortion, and that abortion is a complex moral and ethical issue that cannot be resolved by solutions that are simplistic or cruel.

We believe that ultimately the decision about abortion is a matter between a woman, her conscience, and/or her God, and that those close to her should offer support in any way they can.

The Vice Chair of PP is none other than The Rev. Susan Russell, All Saints Episcopal Church, Pasadena, CA. She stands alongside another Episcopal luminary, The Rev. Katherine Hancock Ragsdale, Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who once opined in a sermon that abortion is a “blessing” for the women who undergo them. She also thinks that the people who run abortion clinics are “heroes” and even “saints”.

Ms. Ragsdale said that “when a woman becomes pregnant within a loving, supportive, respectful relationship; has every option open to her; decides she does not wish to bear a child; and has access to a safe, affordable abortion – there is not a tragedy in sight – only blessing.”

Not surprisingly both women are active lesbians.

*****

Primate’s Daughter Ordained. Members of the Episcopal Asiamerica Ministries’ Korean Convocation paused on June 4 during their four-day meeting in Los Angeles to attend the ordination of Yein Esther Kim, daughter of Archbishop Paul Keun San Kim, Primate of Korea.

Bishop Bruno ordained Esther Kim a deacon as her father participated in the service, also attended by Bishops Suffragan Diane Jardine Bruce and Mary D. Glasspool and a number of clergy of the Diocese of Los Angeles.

Hosted by Bishop Bruce, the Korean ministry representatives came from as far away as Virginia, Vancouver, and Korea. In addition to meetings and discussion, they took several field trips to view ministry in action, notably to Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles to witness Korean chaplain interns at work there in a program started in 2012 as the result of a conversation between Archbishop Kim and Bishop Bruce.

*****

Anglican primates elected for Japan and the Philippines. The Most Rev. Nathaniel Makoto Uematsu has been re-elected as primate of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai (the Anglican Church in Japan) at its 61st Synod which met May 27-29. He will serve until the next Synod in 2016. He is currently rector of St. John’s Church in Kanazawa and head of the affiliated St. John’s Nursery School.

The Anglican Board of Mission has reported that the new prime bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines is the Rt. Rev. Renato Mag-gay Abibico, bishop of Northern Luzon. No official confirmation of this has yet been received by the Anglican Communion Office.

*****

A Kuujjuaraapik woman becomes first female Inuk priest in Nunavik. Annie Napartuk-Ittoshat from within the Diocese of the Arctic, to complete a Masters of Divinity program.

Growing up in Nunavik, northern Quebec, Annie Napartuk-Ittoshat always thought she’d become a social worker. Her plans changed during a college Christmas break when she was visiting family and she had a dream.

She knew that Inuit could get training through an Anglican Church program in Pangnirtung, Nunavut. One day, when she was practicing her sermon in an empty church in Pangnirtung, she realized that it was the job for her. She moved her family to Toronto where she spent two years completing the Master of Divinity program at Wycliffe College.

Napartuk-Ittoshat graduated in May. As soon as her children finish their school year, she will return to Nunavik to work. Annie says she strives to incorporate elements of her culture in her sermons.

*****

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada welcomed new legislation on prostitution this week. In Ottawa, the EFC commended the government for taking seriously the task of crafting new laws in the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision to ensure that prostitution is not decriminalized.

“Our desire is to ensure vulnerable and at risk persons are protected, and that all forms of sexual exploitation be eliminated,” says Bruce Clemenger, President of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC). “The two-pronged approach of criminal law reform and programs assisting women and youth in exiting prostitution is critical to ending prostitution.”

Bill C-36, Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, targets the demand for paid sexual services and prohibits profiting from the sexual exploitation of another person.

“In crafting this legislation, the government has taken a big-picture view of the issue of prostitution and courageously challenged the belief that men are entitled to paid sexual access to women’s bodies; or that any person’s body can be considered a consumer good to be bought, sold or traded,” says Julia Beazley, policy analyst with the EFC. “The law is a teacher, and this law will teach coming generations of boys that it is both unacceptable and criminal to buy sex.”

*****

Whatever we are doing to educate you, whatever we have done in the past, whatever we will do in the future – all of it requires a budget. We are in the midst of our spring fund raising appeal and we hope you will make a tax deductible contribution to VOL to keep us going. Thousands of you go each day to VOL’s website but only a small group support us. I don’t understand that. Ask yourself what you pay for newspapers, magazines, TV, Internet service and more. Then ask what does VOL give you that you won’t find anywhere else? We only exist if you the reader support us. Please get behind us. You can send a tax-deductible donation, of any amount, to the address below or through PAYPAL.

Please remember to keep VOL in your prayers.

VIRTUEONLINE
570 Twin Lakes Road
P.O. Box 111
Shohola, PA 18458

VOL’s PAYPAL link here: www.virtueonline.org/donate.html

You can follow VOL on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VirtueOnline

You can follow VOL on FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/virtueonline/

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

David