Author Archive
Written by: Rev. Dr. Philip Turner
Monday, October 19th, 2009
As you know, my subject is the Anglican Covenant. Is it really Anglican? Is it really necessary? Is it theologically defensible? Is it an effective way to address our present difficulties? I will get to these questions and others in due course, but first, to make sure we know what it is that we are talking about, I must take you on a little trip down memory lane. The first book I published was a collection of essays entitled “Crossroads Are For Meeting.” The date was 1986, and the particular cross in the road faced at that time by the Anglican Communion was the nature of its mission, and in particular its mission as a world-wide communion of autonomous churches. Previously, in 1963, The Anglican Congress had defined the inter-relation of these churches as being one of “mutual responsibility and interdependence in the body of Christ.” At this gathering, the assembled delegates took a dramatic step in defining the nature of Anglicanism as a communion rather than, say, a federation; but there were divisions over the Communion’s calling. If Anglicans are to understand themselves as bound by mutual responsibility and interdependence in the body of Christ, just what is the purpose of this communion under God?
The collection of essays I helped assemble revealed a profound division over this matter, one that is with us to this day. Is the mission of the Anglican Communion to join other Christian bodies in spreading the Gospel of reconciliation and redemption through Christ’s victory on the cross, or is it, with other churches, to join Christ in a sacrificial struggle to include the oppressed and marginalized and so to establish justice on the earth? Despite very articulate pleas that these two views need not be in conflict, they were in conflict then and remain so to this day. This conflict over the mission of the church has returned in our own time with such ferocity that it threatens any possibility of meaningful communion.
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October 19 2009 | Articles
Written by: Rev. Dr. Philip Turner
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
When I was much younger, I lived in Africa; and I lived there at a time when the British Empire was folding up. I was surrounded by people who had spent their lives in the colonies. These people were faced with a terribly painful and frightening question. What were they to do next? Where were [...]
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August 11 2009 | Articles
Written by: Rev. Dr. Philip Turner
Thursday, July 9th, 2009
My colleague Prof. Radner traces a significant history—one that locates the authority of Bishops as prior to that of the administrative structures into which they were later folded. The prior authority of the Episcopal Office, in the tradition of the church, rests not in its structural position within a hierarchical order but in self-expenditure on behalf of the church on the part of those who hold office. The self-expenditure of Bishops has through the ages assumed three forms. First and foremost is a pattern of holy life that reflects that of Christ; second, guardianship of the truth about God revealed in Christ; and third responsibility for the peace and good order of the church. Each of the forms of self-expenditure rests first of all in a form of personal agency rather than occupancy of a structural position.
It is to the priority of personal agency over political and administrative structure that Archbishop Rowan refers in his now well known and frequently quoted letter to Bishop John Howe of Central Florida. The Archbishop wrote, “The organic union with the wider Church is the Bishop and the Diocese rather than the Provincial structure as such.” Prof Radner’s research makes it clear that the Archbishop has history on his side.
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July 09 2009 | Articles
Written by: Rev. Dr. Philip Turner
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
Chief among the claims now made by The Episcopal Church (TEC) is that it is an inclusive church that is open to a variety of opinions and practices. This self-definition is an updated version of the traditional claim that Anglicanism represents a via media between extremes of one sort or another—Catholic/Protestant, liberal/conservative, modern/traditional, etc. The simple fact is, however, that the policies and actions of the progressive leadership of The Episcopal Church have exposed the false nature of these claims, at least as in so far as they are applied to TEC.
The false nature of the claim is easy to see. The logic used by progressive Episcopalians to explain and justify TEC’s “inclusive” agenda is in point of fact necessarily “exclusive” of contrary opinion. How so? The standard justification for the inclusive agenda is almost without exception stated in terms of justice. That is, behind efforts to change church practice in respect of the blessing of unions between persons of the same gender and the ordination in persons in faithful and permanent same sex unions is a firm belief that the rights of these brothers and sisters in the Lord are being violated by antiquated church practice—a practice that rests upon misinformation, fear, and prejudice. “It’s a justice issue” is a statement made again and again, and it is made in a way that is meant to end all argument and cast aspersions on the moral state of anyone defending a contrary opinion.
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June 30 2009 | Articles
Written by: Rev. Dr. Philip Turner
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
The posting of a stream of private emails that came from an unnamed source, including the correspondence of senior Bishops of this church and their lawyer, has added considerable heat to the debate that has followed publication on the ACI Website of the Bishops’ Statement on the Polity of The Episcopal Church.
To date, the discussion that has taken place on the Web has served more to cloud than clarify the significant issues now faced both by The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. If one reads carefully the comments of those who find themselves in disagreement with the Bishops’ statement a number of questions come to mind—each of which deserves a clear and unequivocal answer.
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April 28 2009 | Articles
Written by: Rev. Dr. Philip Turner
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009
In 2006 Ephraim Radner and I published a collection of essays entitled The Fate of Communion. In that collection we sought to address the threats that now hang over the Anglican Communion. We sought to indicate that the crisis in which Anglicans find themselves, though theological and moral at its root, in fact involves church order as well. We attempted, though too briefly I believe, to raise a question about the adequacy of our forms of governance and the way in which we understand and use them.
Much has happened since the appearance of The Fate of Communion, and a great deal of what has transpired concerns the way in which the Communion is ordered and governed. There is a need now to say more than we did then about the way our common life is to be ordered, and this need presents a real challenge. Polity is a much-neglected subject, particularly on the part of those who teach theology and theological ethics. It is thought to be unimportant—indeed, something of a nuisance that detracts from the really important stuff. As a result, it has been removed from theology and ethics and shoved to the periphery of the formation given our clergy. Few either understand or appreciate its importance. However, as is often the case when important matters are neglected, they come around to bite us on the backside.
If our seminaries were institutions for the teaching of political science or political philosophy a mistake like this would not be made. Questions of polity would lie near the center of their concerns. Indeed, polity is a major subject in moral philosophy. Just pick up a book by John Rawls, or Michael Sandel (not to mention Plato, Aristotle, John Locke or John Steward Mill.) You might even pick up the writings of Richard Hooker, Martin Luther, John Calvin or Menno Simons, and there you would find also that the question of governance plays a very important role in what they were thinking and writing about.
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February 22 2009 | Articles
Written by: Rev. Dr. Philip Turner
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
I have been asked to lead a discussion of a matter of central importance both to The Episcopal Church (TEC) and the Anglican Communion (TAC). It is a matter whose outcome will determine whether or not Anglicanism remains a credible form of Catholic Christianity. Its outcome will also determine whether or TEC remains a part of that catholic expression of Christian faith and practice or becomes no more than another denomination in the fan of liberal protestant options that make up America’s religious map. I speak, of course, of the proposed Anglican Covenant.
I hope to stimulate our conversation by means of three presentations each of which will be followed by a period for questions, responses and discussion. The first will delve into the background of the covenant proposal. The second will place in view the proposal now being considered by the Covenant Design Group (CDG) and soon by the Anglican Consultative Council. The third will take a look at objections, defenses, and possible outcomes. My hope and prayer is that we can have an open and charitable discussion of these matters if for no other reason than the life and health of our church and our communion depends upon a faithful grappling with the issues the proposed covenant presents.
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February 10 2009 | Articles
Written by: Rev. Dr. Philip Turner
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
How is a space in time in which conflict can be overcome and unity preserved to be, if not created, at least marked out? How is this task to be accomplished when the collegiality of bishops has unraveled to an alarming degree, and there is no centralized political and/or juridical order to fill the gap left by its decline? Or, to put the question in a more positive manner, how is the koinonia of the various Provinces of the Anglican Communion to be preserved and promoted at the same time the autonomy of each province is recognized, even celebrated?
The proposal now before provinces of the Communion is by means of a covenant that calls for placing autonomy within the encompassing and limiting context of communion. I have chosen to term this proposal “The Grand Design” for the simple reason that it is an ambitious and inventive proposal to preserve communion and catholic identity within a broad expanse of both space and time.
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February 10 2009 | Articles
Written by: Rev. Dr. Philip Turner
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
I have argued that TAC and TEC stand at a cross roads in their respective histories. We are faced with a classical question that St. Luke states simply and clearly. “What then shall we do?” Are we to covenant or are we not to covenant? That is the question. That the question is a live one became obvious in the responses given to TSAD by the Bishops of our Communion when last they assembled at Lambeth. Those responses are now in the public domain, and I urge their careful study. They provide an excellent introduction to the push and pull that now defines the torn fabric of our Communion. They serve well to take us through the dilemmas we face, and they provide an excellent format we can use to assess the value of the covenant proposal.
The first question, one that like the others I will list in fact expresses an objection, is this: why do we need a covenant at all? The answer lies first of all in the history of our Communion. Over the past 150 years God has blessed the missionary efforts of Anglicans in various parts of the world. Anglicans now form the third largest body of Christians on the globe. Of greater importance is the fact that Anglican churches in Africa and Asia have emerged as Spirit-filled Christian communities that are in no small measure responsible for the explosive growth of Christian belief and practice in those areas of the world. The covenant thus does more than address the strains brought about by TEC. It seeks to address how Anglicans from around the world, though no longer bound by ties to England and North America, can honor and share the gifts they have received and maintain their unity in the face, not only of often conflicting national interests but also of diverging forms of belief and practice.
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February 10 2009 | Articles
Written by: Rev. Dr. Philip Turner
Sunday, November 30th, 2008
I am pleased that my article “The Subversion of the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church” has generated the discussion it has. A number of the responses simply display the toxic atmosphere that sadly prevents the blogs from realizing their potential for furthering genuine debate. There have, however, been a number that are serious in their intent and deserve a measured response.
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November 30 2008 | Articles
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