Not Standing With Bishop Budde
A local pastor posted an open letter by a “progressive” preacher John Pavlovitz urging all pastors in the nation to stand in support of Episcopalian Bishop Mariann Budde for her remarks made to President Trump at the National Cathedral (1-21). Count me out.
Another progressive pastor Paul Raushenbush featured on C-Span (1-29) claimed that Budde preached “the pure gospel.” I heard the falsified gospel of moralism, not the true gospel of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection as God’s power for the salvation of everyone who believes.
Look “underneath the hood” of what Bishop Budde represents in the Episcopalian Church where the cockeyed dogma of liberal theology lurks. The diocese of the Episcopal Church in Washington DC on its website makes these statements:
1. “While the Bible is our sacred text, we acknowledge that it is an ancient human document, full of all the contradictions and inconsistencies of humanity.” Does that sound like trust and confidence in the Bible or a muddled makeover of Scripture by the puffed-up superiors of modernity and post-modernity?
2. “While we feel called to follow Jesus, we don’t presume that all people are called to the same path.” Does that express trust in the narrow way of Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life or the broad way of coming anyway you like?
3. Under Equity and Justice, the Episcopal site has tabs for:
– Reparations (Wasn’t the blood spilt for the end of slavery in the Civil War enough?)
– Gun Violence Prevention (Does that include legal self-defense? Shouldn’t the focus be on criminal violence rather than gun violence as in the case of domestic violence without a gun?)
– LGBTQIA+ (Faulty man-made social constructs consisting of desires, behaviors, and proclivities directly attack the basis of person-hood as defined in the Bible. Male and female both made in the image of God constitute what makes up a person, not sex-drives and orientations. These unbiblical constructs of man’s evil devising justify unholy, ungodly and corrupt sexual practices, behaviors, and relationships.)
There’s no tab for the Sanctity of Human Life or mention of the evil of abortion. Are lives in LGBTQ in greater danger than the unborn? Is the equity-preaching Episcopalian church as merciful to unborn children as it is to LGBTQ?
Finally, on their site, it says, “As a sanctuary diocese, following the way of Jesus, the Diocese of Washington takes seriously the Biblical mandate to honor the immigrant in our midst as one of our own (Leviticus 19:34) ” Yet, the Episcopal Church dismisses the injunction against same-sex sexual relations in Leviticus 18: 22 which God specifically calls detestable.
The “honor the immigrant” verse which the diocese cites was specifically directed to Israel. The verse in Leviticus 18: 22 located in the context of the evil behaviors practiced by cultures and countries around Israel has, in effect, become ignored, canceled and irrelevant among Episcopalians.
Bishop Budde’s tone to the President was delivered gently, not nastily. Frankly, I wish the President’s response to her would have been better in tone and wording.
Her message, though, mixed evil (anti-biblical constructs) with good (mercy). So, I stand with another local pastor posting spot-on remarks by a non-cleric discerning Christian saying, “True ministers are to point people to the truth; the whole truth that aligns with the Word of God. Advocating for mercy and care for others should never blend in with compromising God’s design or His moral standards. Real love rejoices with the truth. Jesus’ message is about transformation and will never be about affirmation of sin. There is no compromise.”
The Rev. Mel McGinnis is a Frewsburg resident.