One grim finding for Anglicans in the new British Social Attitudes survey is how few find religion after not being born into it. So says the ‘concerned’ Nick Spencer in The Guardian.Read the rest here.
But even grimmer for Anglicans are ‘inclusive’ Christmas carols services – you know, the sort that bend over backwards to be all things to all people in order that by any means possible none may be offended. In fact, it is these sort of gospel-lite and theology-free services which are largely responsible for people not finding Christ – even at Christmas.
Royal Holloway College, in the University of London, held its Christmas carol service in its own College Chapel, presided over jointly by the College's Chaplain – an Anglican vicar, the Rev'd Cate Irvine, and a Roman Catholic chaplain from the local church, Fr Vladimir Nikiforov.
And what did the assembled festive throng hear? The prophecy of of Isaiah? 'For unto us a child is born...'? The Gospel of Luke? 'There went out a decree from Caesar Augustus...'? A reading from Micah, perhaps? 'But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be Ruler in Israel'?
No, none of the above. Instead, they got the Qur'an:
HT: Blog reader John L.
It occurred to me recently that one of the key aspects of apostasy is isolation from other churches - Rome at the end of the first millennium entered apostasy and heresy due to a kind of relative isolation coupled with its fantastic papal claims; anglicanism now despite its early odd balancing act between relatively orthodox belief and the variety of protestant heresies. Without accountability to sister churches, it is apparently impossible to keep the faith. This article is just so sad.
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