Eight Congregations Split from Episcopal Church in Northern Virginia

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Causation or Correlation? Homosexuals are taking over the leadership of the Episcopal Church. And the main stream church is losing membership.

Rodney Stark in The Victory of Reason reminds us that the Episcopal Church lost 55% of its membership from 1960 to 2000.

Gary Bauer emails,

For the Episcopal Church, the breaking point was the 2003 ordination of an open homosexual as a bishop and the willingness of other church leaders to embrace same-sex “marriage.” For those who believe in the church’s historical teachings on human sexuality, teachings firmly rooted in the Scriptures, this was a bridge too far, and it set in motion what appears to be a major schism within the church.

The Reverend John Yates, rector of the 275-year-old Falls Church, told his congregation, “This whole situation isn’t about us. It’s about the next generation and the next and the next. … For the sake of the children, we must be faithful to Christ.”

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The Yoest’s visiting Truro Episcopal Church December 2005

Mainstream churches, like Mainstream media are declining and dying. But not conservative churches such as the Presbyterian Church of America. Of which we are members, of course.

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Thank you (foot)notes:

Karl Rove mentioned in off the record remarks heard by Your Business Blogger, that he read and recommends Rodney Stark’s book. Which would be another reason liberals will hate it. And normal people will love it.

See the Washington Post.

More on Rodney Stark at the jump — he’s proof that something good can come out of the University of California, Berkeley.


From notconformedthough,

In Western culture today it is all too common for Christians to be marginalized and looked down upon as being “ignorant”. We are often painted as being against progress, science and cultural arts. Obviously nothing could be further from the truth, but that has not changed the world’s perception of us. This book, though, helps the discerning reader understand that it is only through the Christian faith that such progress is even possible. This is a message the world needs to hear and understand. Rodney Stark does a great job presenting it clearly and thoroughly, covering all of the different angles in painstaking detail. Indeed, I only wish other Christians understood their heritage and legacy like Stark does.

and points us to this memorable Stark quote,

To sum up: the rise of the West was based on four primary victories of reason. The first was the development of faith in progress within Christian theology. The second victory was the way that faith in progress translated into technical and organizational innovations, many of them fostered by monastic estates. The third was that, thanks to Christian theology, reason informed both political philosophy and practice to the extent that responsive states, sustaining a substantial degree of personal freedom, appeared in medieval Europe. The final victory involved the application of reason to commerce, resulting in the development of capitalism within the safe havens provided by responsive states. These were the victories by which the West was won.

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8 Responses

  1. Now they can split off from all those heathens who permit the consumption of shellfish!

  2. Good post Jack! I am the Senior Warden at St. Paul’s Episcopal in Medina, OH.

    Yes there is some real prayerful struggling going on in the church. Most people don’t realize that this church is very democratic. The members elect all positions, New Hampshire ELECTED the Gay Bishop, he was not appointed. This means a majority of the electors chose for his election.

  3. Pat Patterson says:

    It’s utterly amazing that the Episcopalians went from being the official church in many of the original states in the 17th and 18th centuries to its rump status now. I fear the events of 2003 brought additional stresses to the church but it has been in decline since the bulk of the clergy chose to remain loyal to the British monarchy in the Revolution. Some of these recently split off congregations were some of the oldest in the nation and its wealthiest. Sadly its like watching scavenging and starving dogs fighting over a bare bone. The meat was long ago consumed.

  4. Jack says:

    Steve, yes, the church membership did elect the homosexual bishop.

    And members are leaving…

    The Episcopal Church is becoming like the Democrat Party, where Ronald Reagan said that he didn’t leave his political party; his party left him.

    Thanks for the reminder,

    Jack

  5. Jack Yoest says:

    Pat, you are so right: A traditional church is a terrible thing to waste.

    Thank you for your insight,

    Jack

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  7. People who approve of homosexuals’ ordination have taken over the leadership of the Episcopal Church. I’m not sure how that entails that homosexuals are themselves taking over. That strikes me as a strange inaccuracy in how you’ve chosen to headline your post.

  8. Episcopalian13 says:

    I don’t remember getting a ballot. I never would have voted for an openly gay bishop. Further, the Episcopal church doesn’t even allow a divorced person to serve on the vestry. I don’t see how homosexuality is any less of a sin