Episcopal Muslims, Buddhists & Druids

2 Timothy 4:3-4 ~ "3-For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4-And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."

The Episcopal Church USA led by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori (pictured below) has been an open door over the years to almost every type of apostasy possible. Much of what you'll read in this post is public knowledge and has either been resolved favorably or is the process of being resolved with some exceptions. Within this church, there are yet some questions that linger and the practice of homosexuality among clergy in the Episcopal Church is an accepted practice. For those who lead organizations or are considering beginning one, this church should serve as an example of what happens when you stop teaching, preaching and living the word of God in an uncompromising fashion and begin to teach a "social gospel" designed to make individuals feel comfortable in their sins.

Many Problems Begin At The Top

"God is, at the very least, a mystery,...God’s intention is for a restored relationship with all humanity. My job is to proclaim the good news of Jesus, but I cannot deny God is not at work in other ways,” ~ Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori Episcopal Church USA Church Of England News {in PEORIA, Il.-My back yard} 4/17/2009

"Christians understand that Jesus is the route to God. That is not to say that Muslims, or Sikhs, or Jains, come to God in a radically different way. They come to God through human experience—through human experience of the divine." ~ Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori Episcopal Church USA {NPR's "Here And Now" 10/18/2006.}

"We who practice the Christian tradition understand him as our vehicle to the divine"..."but for us to assume that God could not act in other ways is, I think, to put God in an awfully small box." ~ Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori Episcopal Church USA {Time Magazine 7/10/2006}

One can debate over whether a woman should pastor or lead and organization and point to that as the first problem with this church. I won't debate or set forth that issue here, but I will note that the preceding words from the Chief Apostle of the Episcopal Church is strong evidence of an obtuse and disingenuous reading and understanding of scripture. In fact they are strong evidence of a consistent but heretical position in which the Bishop feels that she can rewrite the word of God to suit her tastes. Borrowing from many of the more popular form critical assumptions of skeptical and critical scholars, the Bishop claims that Christians must rethink their ideas about how God could "act" among other religions and peoples. This is shades of the New Humanism that I outlined in a previous post that holds that new standards can be obtained and that historical standards and norms are obsolete especially when they are based on considerations outside of humanity.There are a bevy of problems associated with this line of thinking, and more specifically the Bishop's statements center around how a person can or could become acceptable with God.

The first fallacious thought that must be dispelled is that Christians teach that God can't or won't move among non-Christians. The scripture has said that God rains upon ie: provides for, the just and the unjust (Mt. 5:45). To think that God does not act in the life of sinners and non-Christian individuals is an overstatement. Even the Old Testament history, is filled with examples of God interacting and providing blessings to and upon non covenant peoples and persons.

However, the real point that the Bishop was making is that salvation or the right to access God has been given through other religions equally as well as Christianity. In other words, all religions lead to the same God with some variations and differing results or aims along the way. The thought that all of these different and varying spiritual and philosophical constructs can be molded into some sort of new multi-categorical practice or belief is called syncretism.

What About These Words Bishop?

John 14:6 ~ "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me".

The problem is that world religions DON'T lead to and through Jesus. In fact in many of those religions Jesus is only recorded as a good man or prophet but nothing else. In many of those religions Jesus can be no more than an enlightened mystic, who found his way to an elevated form of consciousness. Still others would only regard Jesus as one among many of the world's great teachers. With all the conflicts about what world religions actually teach as opposed to Christianity, the Bishop's statements simply can't be true. Either her statements are correct and the bible is wrong or the other way around. There is no middle ground within her assertion. I wonder who should we believe? The one who has demonstrated his power and authority over death, hell and the grave by laying his life down and taking it up again, or the one who ordains homosexuals, promotes another gospel, and believes and promotes religious pluralism? The answer is pretty clear cut to me.

The Episcopal Diversity

Obviously the Episcopal Church has suffered at the hands of what I consider to be heretical teaching and allowances of their apostate Bishop. The evidence is clear. As stated, her words speak for themselves and she has not recanted them. In fact she was recently in my city and restated her beliefs when asked by an audience participant.

In an article in Christianity Today the Episcopal Church's battle with syncretism among its clergy was examined and the evidence that has presented itself is shocking. We all know the church's most famous homosexual, V. Gene Robinson Prelate Of New Hampshire, who was affirmed by the majority of Bishops in the church to continue his immoral practices and abomination from a highest ranking local position within the church, simply because he was said to be a "nice guy". The GLBT community certainly has its apostle of change in high ranks of the Christian church. I said in a previous post that atheists were even holding out for ordination. Well, if this keeps up, it won't be long that atheists will be pastoring and preaching messages from local pulpits with evangelistic fervor.

Aside from all that, the Episcopal Church has had Druids, Muslims, Wiccans, and Buddhists in the ranks of clergy who declare their Christian ministry and actually lead congregations. WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THAT?

Druids and Baal Worshipping Priests:

• "In 2004, two suburban Philadelphia Episcopal priests, the Rev. William Melnyk and his wife, the Rev. Glyn Ruppe-Melnyk, were investigated by their bishop for being "practicing druids." The two were found to have been authors of a "Eucharist to our Mother Goddess" published on a Wicca website (and, for a while, on the Episcopal Church's Office of Women's Ministries site). Writing under the Druid and Wiccan names Oakwyse, Raven, Druis, and Glipsa, the liturgy evoked the Babylonian deity "Bel" and offered prayers to the "Queen of Heaven": a reference not to the Virgin Mary but to Ishtar, the consort of Baal. In an internet chatroom writing under the pseudonym "Druis," Melnyk stated he had been a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids since 1998. "My spouse and I are both Druid graduates of the training course. We are also both priests in the Episcopal Church. Between us, we lead two groves, some call them 'congregations,' of Christians learning about Druidry numbering about 1200." ~ "Muslim Priest and Buddhist Bishop-Elect Are Raising Questions About Syncretism" Christianity Today, George Conger 3/27/09

Here we have Episcopal priests who believe in ongoing human sacrifice, reading signs of the future by the way that blood runs when someone is slaughtered...believing in metmepsychosis or some form or variation of reincarnation...mixing all of that with the practice of Wicca, Baalism and Christianity. Sounds like a fairy tale? Reality is sometimes stranger than fiction.

What About This?

Deut. 18:9-14 ~ "9-When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. 10-There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11-Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12-For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. 13-Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. 14-For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do."

In fact, wasn't Baalism one of the practices that got the Canaanites expelled from the land of promise and that stirred the wrath of God against Israel as they erected the pole of Ishtar (aka:Ashtoreth) next to the Tent Of Meeting to represent God's cohort or wife? It was these very practices that caused God to remove his glory and scatter Israel by placing them in bondage to heathen nations.

Thankfully (after being pressured and defrocked) the Melnyk(ies) repented, they stated that they had got involved in the Druid practices "to help others who had lost connection to the Church to find a way to reconnect." OooooKaaaayyy!

Then Come The Muslim Priests

I believe that this is what happens when your faith and practice of Christianity becomes dry, mundane and inexpressive. It leads to a lethargy of spirit.

"The way I understand Jesus is compatible with Islam,...I was following Jesus and he led me into Islam."~ Former Priest Ann Holmes Redding Muslim/Christian The Seattle Times 6/17/2007

This particular defrocked priest (Yes, the church did remove her) ministered in the Episcopal Church for 20 years and reverted to Islam because of a Clerics prayer in which he laid out prostrate on the in a worshipful manner appearing to render his total self to God. She was also impressed with the rigorous prayer life and appearance of piety. This priest was so impressed that in March 2006, she said her shahada — the profession of Islamic faith — testifying that there is only one God and that Mohammad is his messenger.

Now I have many Muslim friends and admit that order in worship and piety are an attractive element of Islam, but they aren't attractive enough for me to forget that Jesus is GOD. The piety of Islam is certainly not enough for me to forget that Jesus is the final revelation of God to man and that without faith in HIM alone none can be saved. Islam doesn't make me forget that Jesus was sinless, (Mohammad was not) physically died on the cross (it wasn't a replacement) and that he exercised his sole authority over life and death by dying and raising himself three days later. How can any Priest struggle with any of these basic significant differences simply because someone looks good when they pray? That is called apostasy!

Salvation Through Nirvana, A Christian Zen Buddhist Bishop-Elect???

"I was drawn to meditation because these elders in our own tradition suggested it as a resource. It can deepen our own closeness to Christ. I find it a very helpful tool. I am not a Buddhist, or a Buddhist priest. I am someone who as a Christian is very grateful for having been taught by the Zen community how to sit...The lay ordination was a welcoming rite for me to commit myself to the path to discover why I suffer or why other people suffer, and to use the practice of meditation to help that suffering."" ~ Bishop-Elect Kevin Thew Forrester Diocese Of Northern Michigan Episcopal Church USA. The Times Magazine

Bishop-elect Forrester known also by his Buddhist name, "Genpo" (which means "Way of Universal Wisdom"), was led into Buddhist meditation by ELDERS IN HIS TRADITION??? WOW! You mean that there are others but he is the poster child because he is the one that was caught? You mean that these "elders" totally overlooked the biblical construct of meditation to submit and direct others to a Godless construct and worldview?

On his own, ( I suppose) the Bishop-Elect holds that Buddhism is a not a theological construct and does not conflict with the practice of Christianity. Is that true? In line with his opinion, Buddhism does not believe in a supreme being or otherwise named God. It does however teach that the world is evil, full of suffering and can only be overcome through a higher state of consciousness called Nirvana. This state of enlightenment has NOTHING to do with Jesus, the word or the power of God. In fact in Buddhism, the true "higher power" is SELF and what one can attain through "self-efforts" In essence, the god of Buddhism is self or self actualization.

Rom. 7:18 ~ "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not."

One thing is consistent. When a minister's concepts of biblical truth and sin are shaky or devoid of biblical understanding, one is left open to all sorts of doctrines of devils such as this. The following are the Bishop-Elect's thoughts on sin:

• "Sin has little, if anything, to do with being bad,...It has everything to do, as far as I can tell, with being blind to our own goodness."~ Bishop-Elect Kevin Thew Forrester Diocese Of Nothern Michigan Episcopal Church USA

The Bishop-Elect's ideas on sin are in strange alignment with those of mystic Eckhart Tolle as explained in my post The New Enlightenment Pt. 3. In his book, "The New Earth" Mr. Tolle describes sin as simply "living unskillfully". In the world of the mystic everyone is good but just doesn't know it.

Let's further examine how a Christian Minister become a Zen Buddhist. Well the story goes a little like this (in addition to what was stated above)..."drawn into the Christian-Zen Buddhist dialogue through centering prayer and his desire to assist persons in their own transformation in Christ."

That sounds familiar. It sounds like...The Melynk(ies) story...They were drawn into Baalism, Wicca, and Druidism while trying "to help others who had lost connection to the Church to find a way to reconnect."

Wait a minute...Is this the playa, playa', pimpin' da pews or what??? I mean these priests get involved into ungodly and immoral practices then blame it on the members of the church they were trying to reach??? What is that???

Num. 32:23 ~ "But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out."

These Priests and other must take responsibility for their own sins, actions and behaviors. Not only do these priests not take the blame for their practices and place it squarely upon their shoulders, they claim that God and their desire to better serve God has opened these doors. Unfortunately, at no time do they equate their actions with sin. I guess when one can look over the obvious SIN of homosexuality and promote it along the way, then any practice is at least fair game. After all, Buddahism and Druidism isn't specifically listed as an abomination in the bible whereas homosexuality is, yet the practice of homosexuality gets a pass and even a promotion within the church whereas adherents to other practices get defrocked...Go Figure!

Short of the long, there's nothing new under the sun and it's all been done before. Remember Saul? After having been give explicit and specific instructions to destroy ALL...

1 Sam. 15: 9 ~ "But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly."

But then when Saul was confronted with the truth, because his sin spoke for itself, he blamed the people for his actions:

1 Sam. 15:24 ~ "And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice."

He "feared the people" and "obeyed their voice". In other words he admitted that he was the one through whom sin had been actualized BUT the people were responsible for his violation of the instruction of the Lord. The results of such actions were clear then and they should be clear now:

1 Sam. 15:22-23 ~ "22-And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 23-For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king."

And ultimately:

1 Sam. 15:35 ~ "And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel."

Final Thought:

This blog has centered on the Episcopal Church leadership, but it may has well be the Church Of God In Christ (of which I am a member) Apostolic, Assembly Of God, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Evangelical Luteran, Catholic or otherwise. There is no exemption for any of us who have failed the Lord miserably regarding these issues and others. The denomination isn't the key here, apostasy is. When any people turn from the true and living God unto fables and myth, the community is in trouble because the church is powerless. Thank God for an opportunity to turn and be set free!

Blessed!