In today’s Clarion-Ledger, embedded among the ads welcoming locals to various Easter Sunday services, was the following “open letter” to Episcopaliams from “The Rt. Reverend” Scott D. de Hart, Ph.D. It’s pompous and full of annoying conventions (like the overuse of italics and lots of CAPITAL LETTER YELLING), but take a moment and force yourself to slog through it:
What saith the Scripture? This is the question that ought to be asked in the midst of social changes and cultural upheaval when it concerns the Church of Jesus Christ. Instead of heeding the voice of Holy Scripture and aligning itself with the time-tested truths of the Bible, the Episcopal Church USA has chosen another path.
To the credit of the leadership in the Episcopal Church USA they do not hide their agenda … [and] they openly confess their opinion that the historic beliefs of Holy Scripture demand new interpretations and the voting voice of the people to teach new truths! This is a denomination for the new age and for those seeking a religious institution that is not afraid to take a stand on new ideas, ethics, and values…
Where do you turn if you believe that the Bible is sufficient to teach what is necessary for Salvation? Where do you turn if you believe that the Bible speaks the same truth for all generations? Where do you turn if the church of your grandparents, the church of your parents, and teh church that you now raise your children in has left the path of Holy Scripture? What do you do if your values, ethics, and beliefs are founded on the Bible alone? If these questions stire within your heart and mind then it is time to TAKE A STAND UPON HOLY SCRIPTURE and worship where your convictions are supported by local leadership. There is a choice!
And here, my reply:
An Open Letter to St. Stephen’s Traditional Episcopal Church:
In the “Right Reverend” Scott D. de Hart’s letter, he commends the Episcopal Church USA for not hiding their agenda and for openly confessing their belief that modern challenges demand a re-examination of the church’s interpretation of Scripture.
He should also commend them for at least one other thing — for having the courage to be frank about the topics they’re discussing. It’s a courage The Right Reverend apparently lacks, as his letter fails to mention the words gay, homosexual, or even the name of Dr. Gene Robinson, whose appointment apparently gives The Right Reverend a major case of the willies.
The Right Reverend makes much of his belief that the Bible speaks the same truth for all generations, and that his beliefs (and, presumably, those of St. Stephen’s), “are founded on the Bible alone.”
Some questions, then, for The Right Reverend:
1) When will the good people of St. Stephen’s start stoning to death those young women who have lost their virginity prior to marriage, as the Bible commands in Deut. 22:13-15, 20-21?
2) On which Sunday will the good people of St. Stephen’s schedule the execution by stoning of everyone in the community who has committed adultery, as the Bible commands in Deut. 22:22?
3) Has St. Stephen’s committed to the practice of forcing rapists to pay victim’s father’s fifty bucks … and then forcing victims to marry their rapists, as the Bible commands in Deut. 28:29?
4) Several men in the community will probably be interested in the practice of keeping concubines in addition to their wives (See Gen. 21). Does St. Stephen’s support this?
5) Women in the community may want to know whether St. Stephen’s will force them, in the event their husbands die, to marry and have intercourse with their brothers-in-law, as the Bible commands in Deut. 25:5-10. Does St. Stephen’s support this?
These are clear Biblical teachings. If we can, indeed, take the Bible at its word, they should require no special interpretation. If we are to assert that Scriptural Truth is Truth “for all generations,” these scriptures must be as applicable today as they were centuries ago.
So tell me, Right Reverend … does St. Stephen’s base its teachings on the whole Bible, as you claim … or just parts?
Curious,
Mark
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