Sunday 30 December 2012

Welby-watch: the incoming Archbishop of Canturbury describes God's love as a leak!

*

Naturally, I am keeping an eye on the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury; firstly to see if he might be a Christian.

So far, things do not look promising.

On his Christmas day sermon at Durham Cathedral, Justin Welby gave an extended metaphorical treatment of God's love that is either anti-Christian, or simply crazed:

**

Bishop of Durham - Christmas Sermon - Durham Cathedral 2012


"The Triumph of Love" Bold emphasis added by me, my comments in [italics in square brackets].

http://www.durham.anglican.org/news-and-events/the-bishop-of-durham.aspx

*

This is the triumph of love that challenges all our triumphs of votes and politics, of energy and manoeuvring, of Commissions and conferences. This is the triumph of God’s wisdom in the face of our despondent hopelessness or cheap victories. This is the true triumph, of utter vulnerability that in weakness overthrows every apparent strength.

And those truths make this such good news for a church struggling, amidst a world in need of a church triumphant. The work of God is not done through strength and efficiency, but through those who having seen the baby, leak out the love that they receive.

It is very easy to be despondent about the church [it is dishonest not to be despondent, unless 'the church' is seen as purely a bureaucracy.]

Some speak of division and even of betrayal [They do indeed, because there is division, and there has been betrayal - of conservatives.]

The processes we go through are agonisingly wounding for many. [By 'agonisingly wounding', he refers to the fact that priestesses are upset about hearing challenges to their unscriptural and anti-traditional ministerial and priestly status, and - especially - about damage to their career prospects; since their access to Bishop's jobs has been delayed.]

*

There are profound differences of opinion about the nature of Christian truth and its place in society, about the right of an ancient tradition to dictate or even to advocate ethical values around the end of life, around marriage, around the nature of human relationships, inequality [!], our duty to each other...

[No need to read further, since this usage of 'around' is is sufficient evidence of secular Leftist lying.]

*

[Inserted poem by radical Leftist Bishop.]

*

The shepherds leaked the love of God into the world through their obedience to the command to worship the baby, to recognise who He was...

Glorifying God, leaking into the world the love that he leaks into us through the wounds and breaches and gaps of our own lives, is a severely practical and down to earth activity.

*

Christians reach to the jagged edges of our society, and of the world in general [!]. Food distribution, places for rough sleepers, debt counselling, credit unions, community mediation, support for ex-offenders, support for victims of crime, care for the dying, valuing those who have no economic contribution to make, or are too weak to argue for their own value. All this is the daily work of the church , which goes on every day and everywhere.

[In other words, according to its leader, the 'daily work of the church' of England and Anglicans is to function as a sub-branch of the Leftist state bureaucracy.]

*

We leak out into the world the love that God leaks into us. 

[Repeated for emphasis; just in case we missed the heresy first-time-round.]

God comes to us through the breaches and wounds of our lives because He comes in utter vulnerability. We are to be those who allow Him to make us vulnerable, welcome the weakness we have, and who will then be astonished by the strength with which God changes the world around us.

[If this means anything at all, which is somewhat doubtful, it is that we should personally be weak and submit to the State, observing with grateful astonishment the inexorable strength of historical inevitability in the triumph of secular Leftism as it changes the world around us. Which I further reduce to a covert statement by the Archbishop elect that Satan is winning and our duty is to celebrate the fact. Maybe I go too far in this?; maybe not.]

**

Here we have a novel theology of Christian love - a love of leaks.

The general tenor of this sermon of love coming through leaks is to fill the hearer with passive, weak, submissive hopelessness; the only apparently-genuine passion is that rhapsodic list of Leftist causes which is described as the daily work of the church which goes on every day and everywhere.

*

So, is Justin Welby a Christian?

I'd say not, in fact I'm pretty sure not; either he profoundly misunderstands Christianity - hence all the nonsense about God's love leaking here and there; or else he understands what is Christianity, but chooses to lie-about and subvert it. 

Most likely, a mixture of both.

In which case, the Anglican communion is in the hands of a weak, submissive but passively aggressive and spiteful anti-Christian... 

Happy New Year!

*

5 comments:

George Goerlich said...

Leaked (past participle, verb): (of a container or covering) Accidentally lose or admit contents, esp. liquid or gas, through a hole or crack.

It appears God's love is passive and accidental.

This sounds like what I was taught as a youth at Presbyterian church in the US, and something that definitely turned me away from Christianity at the time. Perhaps the Anglicans are just "catching up?"

George Goerlich said...

Not to copy your work, but what really stood out to me is the utterly feminine (in a very stereotypical way: weakness, "breaches", vulnerability) nature of this work. The Bishop suggests we should act this way in everyday affairs. That is, the church is lead by a very effeminate man. Where women may not be the Bishop, he has become one. He also appears to be attributing and reinterpreting God as having these same feminine qualities.

"This is the true triumph, of utter vulnerability… The work of God is not done through strength and efficiency, but through those who having seen the baby, leak [passively] out the love that they receive… around… around… around… The shepherds leaked [passive, weak, accidental?] the love of God into the world… leaking… leaks… wounds and breaches and gaps… leak… leaks… breaches… wounds… He comes in utter vulnerability [God is vulnerable?]… make us vulnerable… weakness… "

Bruce Charlton said...

@GG - I entirely agree about the feminine style; but to be fair to the man (qua man) he has had six children, one of whom died in infancy. So he is a patriarch, in the primary sense. But the modern bureaucrat is indeed feminized - when not actually a female.

JP said...

I agree with George; the author impresses me as effeminate. Moreover, the repeated use of "leaking" conveys the impression of senescence. God (and the ideal Christian) are ineffectual, dribbling, incontinent old folks. What a great way to attract new converts to the faith!

Bruce Charlton said...

@JP - Absolutely. It galls me that we are supposed to 'pray for' him - well, okay; but in the same sense as we pray for the repentance and conversion of the infidels. I would rather focus my prayers on the remaining Christians within the Anglican fold and under his leadership; pray for their strength, faith, courage, discernment.