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Why we left Episcopal Church

By WASHINGTON POST
Published January 10, 2007

WASHINGTON - We believe it is time to set the record straight as to why our church and so many others around the country have severed ties with the Episcopal Church.

The core issue is not women's leadership. It is not "Episcopalians against equality," as the headline on a recent Washington Post op-ed put it. It is not a "leftward" drift in the church. It is not even primarily ethical - though the ordination of a practicing homosexual as bishop was the flash point that showed how far the repudiation of Christian orthodoxy had gone.

The core issue is theological: the intellectual integrity of faith in the modern world. It is thus a matter of faithfulness to the lordship of Jesus, whom we worship and follow. The American Episcopal Church no longer believes the historic, orthodox Christian faith common to all believers.

First, Episcopal revisionism abandons the fidelity of faith. The Hebrew Scriptures link matters of truth to a relationship with God. They speak of apostasy as adultery - a form of betrayal as treacherous as a husband cheating on his wife.

Second, Episcopal revisionism negates the authority of faith. The "sola scriptura" ("by the Scriptures alone") doctrine of the Reformation church has been abandoned for the "sola cultura" (by the culture alone) way of the modern church.

Third, Episcopal revisionism severs the continuity of faith. Cutting itself off from the universal faith that spans the centuries and the continents, it becomes culturally captive to one culture and one time. While professing tolerance and inclusiveness, certain Episcopal attitudes toward fellow believers around the world, who make up a majority of the Anglican family, have been arrogant and even racist.

Fourth, Episcopal revisionism destroys the credibility of faith. There is little that is distinctively Christian left in the theology of some Episcopal leaders.

Fifth, Episcopal revisionism obliterates the very identity of faith. When the great truths of the Bible and the creeds are abandoned and there is no limit to what can be believed in their place, then the point is reached when there is little identifiably Christian in Episcopal revisionism.

These are the outrages we protest. These are the infidelities that drive us to separate. These are the real issues to be debated. We remain Anglicans but leave the Episcopal Church because the Episcopal Church first left the historic faith.

The Rev. John Yates is rector and Os Guinness is a parishioner of the Falls Church, one of several Virginia churches that voted last month to sever ties with the Episcopal Church.

[Last modified January 9, 2007, 21:17:33]