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February 21, 2006
Apologetics- Need of the hour
Its become a bother to respond to a liberal revisionist view of a local ECUSA priest, who has been strutting his liberal agendas that question the very foundations of Scripture and tradition, given his take on both of them.Hope someday he will know the amount of damage he is causing to his readers. Its imperative that we make our stand clear on where we stood with regard to our faith and belief. Letter to the Editor:Important Read the second one too
Neither Roots nor Wings
Rev. Grisham’s Monday, Feb. 20 column, “Roots and Wings,” prompted an unknown person to cut it out and drop it in St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church’s mailbox. This unidentified person wrote, “Thou shalt not kill,” alongside Grisham’s claim, “There is nothing in the Bible about abortion.” To this anonymous person, I'm not sure Rev. Grisham will buy the idea of the Ten Commandments as he claimed in a previous Roots and Wings column that they “cause anxiety” and are “not necessary for salvation.”
To this person and to anyone else who wonders where St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church stands in relation to Grisham’s columns: We stand far from them. Grisham speaks for himself, and not for the whole Christendom, and certainly not for all Episcopalians. As a minister of Christ, one needs to speak what people ought to hear and not what they want to hear. They need to speak not what they want to say but what God wants them to say. If Christ had been a weathervane, then when the political tide turned against him, he could have easily evaded the passion and his death. He had guts and a message. Of course Christ was compassionate, but He was also full of conviction. He embraced the sinner, yet abhorred sin, giving the repentant sinners grace and freedom to be children of God. In our context, we need to listen to what God says and follow it in our heart rather than invent some extempore interpretation that has neither roots nor wings.
We are Episcopalians who stand for the faith and morals that once belonged to the Episcopal Church, whose tryst with liberalism has necessitated the birth of continuing churches, as St. Gabriel’s is. We embrace the sanctity of life. We are for those who feel betrayed by their church because of its apostasy. Our members have let their goods and kindred go in search of preserving the faith that supported them, uplifted them and continues to direct them. This is the faith for which millions have shed their blood. The faith that the scriptures teach can not be watered down. Coming from a country where people are martyred for their Christian faith, I can ascertain that witnessing to one’s faith in a mission land will give one a better sense of appreciation of it.
So, to the person who left the copy of Grisham’s column, thanks for being the voice of the voiceless. We are not with them. We are with you in fostering the faith, based on scripture, guided by tradition and fostered by right reasoning that is still the hallmark of faithful Episcopalians.
Rev. Leo Michael, Rector of St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church, Springdale
Posted by frleo at February 21, 2006 8:25 AM
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