O veste a zgudiut lumea crestina din Canada si din alte parti. Unul din cei mari mari teologi ai secolului a parasit in semn de protest biserica din face parte.

Evenimentul da ocazia unor intrebari:

Ce ar trebui sa faca biserica din care faci tu parte ca s-o parasesti?

In cazul lui Packer a fost vorba despre moralitatea legata de sfintenie, ca un atac la caracterul lui Dumnezeu. Dincolo de problema in sine (homosexualitatea), Paker s-a vazut nevoit sa paraseasca o biserica care nu mai este ancorata in autoritatea suprema a Scripturii.

Exista insa si motive mai serioase, legate despre doctrina mantuirii (soteriologie) care ar trebui sa-i faca pe multi sa verifice invatatura bisericii din care fac parte.

Oricum am lua-o, Paker trebuie aplaudat pentru atitudinea lui. Un teolog care paraseste o biserica (cu “b” mic) pentru a ramane fidel Bisericii (cu “B” mare) si Capului ei, Isus Christos.

http://blackreformingkid.wordpress.com/2008/05/04/ji-packer-quits-anglican-church-of-canada/

J.I. Packer Leaves the Canadian Anglican Church

“One of the world’s most famous evangelical theologians quit the Anglican Church of Canada this week because he believes many of its bishops are “arguably heretical” for adhering to “poisonous liberalism.”

James (J.I.) Packer, whom Time magazine recently named as one of the planet’s 25 most influential evangelicals, said he hesitated before using the harsh terms to describe the Anglican bishops, but believed he must do so in the name of truth.

Packer, 81, said he can no longer serve under Vancouver-area Bishop Michael Ingham, who in 2002 sanctioned a diocesan vote that eventually permitted the blessing of same-sex couples at eight out of 67 parishes.

“He is a bishop who appears heretical,” Packer said, comparing Ingham to high-profile progressive U.S. Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong and Scottish Episcopal Church Bishop Richard Holloway.

Known for the way he does not sugarcoat his conservative Christian beliefs despite his soft-spoken, gracious demeanor, Packer said the Bible is the “absolute” authority on divine truth, which clearly describes homosexuality as a grave sin.

Opening his English Standard Version of the Bible, of which he was chief editor, Packer read out passages from 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, in which the apostle Paul compares “men who lie with men” to drunkards, thieves, slanderers and adulterers, none of whom will enter the kingdom of heaven.

Dixon said Packer is adopting a “literalistic” reading of the Bible when he takes Paul’s 2,000-year-old words as proof for all time that the Supreme Being condemns homosexuality.

“It’s the same process of logic that leads to supporting slavery,” Dixon said, noting that the apostle of Jesus also did not oppose slavery.

“It’s important for people to understand that the Holy Scriptures is a very nuanced document. I think we need to allow people room to come to a new understanding,” said Dixon.

Well…a couple of thoughts.

First off, I have a lot of respect for J.I. Packer. “Knowing God” is still a Christian classic in my mind.

Here we have J.I. Packer saying the bible teaches that homosexuality is sin…(he is right)…yet we have his bishop and others saying that it isn’t sin. Apparently it is a matter of interpretation.

Yet Packer still hangs on to the rule that the bible is the ultimate authority. It must be for him. He is now leaving his church towards a new ecclesiastical authority that more closely interprets the bible the same way he interprets the bible.

comments:

Anonymous said…

Thank you Rev Paker for leaving a apostate church and having the courage to do so. Many churches are now leaving the Word of God behind them as they seek to be more pleasant to the World.

You give much encouragement to those who are seeking to do the same in many Christian Churches across the worlds stage. May God bless you richly for being obedient to His Word and not bowing to pressure from within.

Cheers Tina-Marie Edwards, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia.

May 1, 2008 2:24 PM

Clare Walker said…

As someone who was raised Church of England(Anglican)I was greatly encouraged to read that Rev.J.I.Packer had decided to leave the Anglican Church which sadly seems to have departed from the Word of God.I attend a small Church which meets in a home that is committed to God’s Word.We are praying for Dr.Packer and also for many others who need to come out from under the false teaching which seems to be characteristic of the North American Church today.The sad truth is that there is more of the world in the Church than the Church in the world.I pray that God will bless Rev.Packer for having the courage of his convictions.
Clare Walker.Delta.British Columbia

May 1, 2008 5:48 PM

Diocese Threatens to Suspend J.I. Packer

Observers: It’s not a surprise, but it’s news.

Ted Olsen

Prominent theologian and Christianity Today senior editor J. I. Packer has made no secret of his break with the Anglican Church of Canada’s Diocese of New Westminster. More than five years ago, he wrote a Christianity Today article explaining why he left the diocese.

The story has developed a bit since then. Earlier this month, his Vancouver church, the largest Anglican congregation in Canada, voted to leave the Anglican Church of Canada to join the Province of the Southern Cone, which is based in Argentina.

Now New Westminster Bishop Michael Ingham has sent Packer and seven other clergy members a “notice of presumption of abandonment of the exercise of ministry.” He says he wants them to declare “whether they have left the ministry of the Anglican Church of Canada, and if they are seeking admission into another religious body outside Canada.”

Seems like Packer and the others have been awfully clear on that point.

The news that Ingham may suspend Packer is getting a lot of buzz in the Anglican blog world. As always on these Anglican news bits, see TitusOneNine and Stand Firm, though the lead on this story came from the Canadian site LambethConference.net.

Frankly, this story isn’t terribly newsworthy in the traditional sense. It’s predictable, and any suspension would be irrelevant. Packer will continue his ministry just as he has been doing since he left the diocese.

But as Nicholas Knisely notes on the left-leaning Episcopal Cafe (the official blog of the Episcopal Church’s Diocese of Washington, D.C.), Packer’s name will give the story attention it might otherwise not have received.

[While] Packer’s teaching and writing is not commonly encountered the Episcopal Church, it is widely known and respected by Evangelicals in the Anglican Communion. The possible suspension of Packer may create a bit of a problem for both the Archbishop of Canada and the Archbishop of Canterbury given the reaction that could be expected from many parts of the Communion.

It also has potential to make non-Anglican evangelicals worldwide more interested in the Anglican crisis. If you’re one of those who has been skipping the coverage until now, start with Packer’s story. More CT coverage is available here.

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