The ACoC’s bid to become the Sears of the Christian world.
From here:
The Anglican Church of Canada will launch a gift catalogue next year as part of a fundraising program that will allow donors to select items for their own purchase or designate them as gifts for recipients.
I’m looking forward to purchasing a used mitre.
Meanwhile, Archdeacon Pollesel said that staff at the national office in Toronto are looking at ways to make the upcoming General Synod in 2010 “different from the past” meetings. He said there is “a genuine intention that it (meeting) not be set out as an adversarial thing,” but instead one where conversations “feel safe and flow more smoothly so that we can hear one another and, as a church, move forward.” The 2010 General Synod is expected to discuss, among others, issues around sexuality, including whether the marriage canon (church law) should be revised to allow priests to marry all legally qualified persons.
“feel safe and flow more smoothly” sounds like an impending Indaba, designed to defuse opposition to the ACoC’s SSB agenda.
“as a church, move forward” is liberal-speak for “proceed with SSBs”; a conservative view of the church “moving forward” would be to uphold scriptural teaching on same-sex activity and concentrate on taking the Gospel to the lost.
Clearly the apostate leadership in the ACoC will do anything but tackle the cancer of apostasy that is quickly spreading through what was once a Christian church. Now it is nothing but a social club where everything goes except a stand for orthodoxy and the acceptance of the aurhority of Scripture.
Wasn’t the AC book store and ended up being turned over to the Lutherans? Since fewer actually want to tithe to this church this is nothing more than commercialism. Is this justified anywhere in the 39 Articles?
39 Articles – Steve’s (#2) question – Is this justified anywhere in them?
Article XXXV – Homilies. I just looked at a couple of them.
2nd. Homily: Against Peril of Idolatry. Full title is ‘An Homily Against Peril of Idolatry and Superfluous Decking of Churches.’ Quote – “- when, I say, they turn about from the preacher, to these books and schoolmasters and painted scriptures, shall they not find them lying books, teaching other manner of lessons, of esteeming of riches, of pride and vanity and apparel, of niceness and wantonness, and peradventure of whoredom?” This is speaking about idolatry, but what is an idol? Can it be a continual accumulation of material goods – whether for church buildings or homes? To name but one.
6th Homily: Against excess of Apparel: Quote – “And no less truly ought we to beware, lest under pretence of Christian liberty, we take licence to do what we list, advancing ourselves in sumptuous apparel, and despising other, preparing ourselves in fine bravery, to wanton, lewd, and unchaste behaviour. . . . whereby we shall learn to temper ourselves, and to restrain our immoderate affections . . .” It goes on – and on – the point being – what kind of things are on offer in a catalogue? In my experience, for the most part, things that are usually very nice, but also usually entirely superfluous to our daily (and Christian) existence. St. Paul has something about dressing modestly – and I think it goes beyond clothes – to houses, cars, the dining table -
Just having read #3 – what I implied (but didn’t say) is – the 39 Articles seem to be against this kind of thing. I suppose that a catalogue is, in a way, a bit like buying and selling in the temple.
I was in St Paul’s Anglican Church in Melbourne, Australia this past Feb, (lucky me), it is a large and amazingly beautiful church that has a gift shop in the back corner! I was suprised and didn’t know what to think. They also have a large number of services that are posted on a sign outside the main doors, as there are lots of tourists going by at all times. Who can say, it was the first time I had seen a shop in a church. (I didn’t buy anything, it just seemed too odd…)
#4 Margo
The money-changers in the temple were actually frauds, it wasn’t just buying and selling. There were a couple of things going on – Roman currency was viewed as idolatrous and unacceptable for use as an offering. So it had to be changed for temple money. Similarly, there was a racket attested to in sacrificial animals. First there was the sale of the doves – since the people were no longer living on farms, they couldn’t offer of their own flock, and had to buy at inflated prices. Second, some authorities state that if you brought your own lamb (for example) to sacrifice, it would be rejected and you’d need to buy one. But the seller of lambs would thoughtfully take the other one off your hands – to sell to the next sucker. See http://www.bible-history.com/gentile_court/TEMPLECOURTJesus_and_the_Temple.htm although no sources are cited.
#6 Henry: Don’t you think that Jesus was also concerned about the fact that the court used for buying and selling was the Court of the Gentiles? Where were the Gentiles supposed to worship if not there? As he cast the sellers out Jesus chastised them: “It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” He was quoting from Isaiah 56:7 which continues “a house of prayer for all people.”
As you said, buying and selling, themselves, were not the issue. Here Jesus was condemning the displacement of ministry to those outside the faith with worldly gain.
Hey, come to think of it, that is what the ACoC is doing with Gospel proclamation, despite Fred Hiltz’s protest that “The Gospel of God in Christ is faithfully proclaimed by Canadian Anglicans today”.
I wonder if the pursuit of Mammon is always a symptom of a dying religious organization?