The American Anglican Council: Agitprop in Action

I get the weekly update from the American Anglican Council. I read it with some care, for mixed in with the sometimes good news about the successes of a Christian church  (not part of the Anglican Communion) are a variety of propaganda bits, the purpose of which is to agitate the readers to greater allegiance to the wonderful work of the big THING that is being promoted. In this case, the effort is to stir up the readers to believe that The Episcopal Church is awful and that the Anglican Church in North America (the big THING)  and (so called) Orthodox remnants in The Episcopal Church are the salvation of Anglican folk in North America,  And should there be any question in the rest of the Anglican Communion, the AAC is glad to let them know that they too could fall prey to the evil that is The Episcopal Church's "agenda" and that they need too to be watchful.

So here is the agitprop for the week: Ready?  The whole thing is HERE.

From David Anderson (president of the AAC):

"The AAC is currently involved in several research projects, mining data about the American Episcopal Church's activities globally and Anglican groups working with or affected by them. It is astonishing how pervasive the covert theological and spiritual infrastructure of TEC has become. TEC is establishing financial "friendship" links with dioceses and provinces in the Global South, and many of the priests and bishops affected are personally orthodox, but believe that they can take the money and not drink the poisoned "Kool Aid." When you really need money for your churches and your parishioners are hurting, it is very tempting and seductive to let TEC priests and bishops come for a visit and bring you gifts and relief funding, and think that you can then stop their further infiltration into your church. These are some of the very difficult choices a leader must make."  (highlights are mine)

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So.. The Episcopal Church is involved in a covert effort to infiltrate your church.  I don't know... there is nothing covert about it. TEC provides considerable help to churches in the Communion quite independent of whether they agree with us or not. And yes, of course we think that perhaps help given to those who do not agree with us might serve a good end - at the least they receive help, and perhaps they will also receive us.  As for infiltration, give me a break! This plays on the old agitprop idea that if you let "those people" in at all the next thing they will be wanting your women (or men) and of course you will be powerless to stop them. This is so terrible it is almost comic. Except of course that it is not.  The play on the fears that, "my God, next thing they will be marrying our children" is precisely one of the big fears about same-sex marriage. The propaganda against all this has been the same: Next thing you know they (Jews, Blacks, Gypsies....Queers) will be running off with our children.  Nice to see that the AAC is able to do the fear mongering thing with such gusto.

Then we have the words of Phil Ashey, the COO of the AAC. Quoting an article he wrote in 2009,

"A false gospel has overtaken and consumed TEC. We have documented this false gospel, the resulting numerical decline of TEC and the trajectory of continued decline in our report to the Primates of the Anglican Communion." 

"If not contained, this disease and dysfunction will spread to the rest of the Anglican Communion..."

 "...TEC believes that its "Manifest Destiny" is to share its convictions with the rest of the Anglican Communion, and to convert the Anglican Communion to the false gospel which lies behind its repudiation of confessional Christianity, personal salvation through Christ alone, Communion teaching on human sexuality and holy orders (as stated in Lambeth Resolution 1.10) and the moratoria on gay bishops and same sex blessings. Consider this quote from the Wednesday, July 8, 2009 publication of The Consultation - a coalition of 13 diverse "peace and social justice organizations" helping drive the agenda of General Convention...

[To bad...Ashey,  the Consultation in question is The Chicago Consultation, not "The Consultation, a coalition...."  He got that wrong when he first wrote this and has not bothered to correct it.]

'The Consultation believes that the most accurate way to summarize the basis for the reform movement taking place in the church, and most specifically in the North American Anglican Churches of Canada and the United States, is to say that the early church's baptismal theology has been rediscovered and is steadily, if all too gradually, being actualized in the life of the church. We believe recovery of the early church's baptismal ecclesiology is God's will for our time and that it is an important part of the special vocation of the Episcopal Church.' (note well the last sentence).

Make no mistake: this revised baptismal theology which asserts that all of the baptized are entitled to all of the sacraments all of the time will be spread [throughout the Anglican Communion] through the "Indaba listening process," financial aid to other Provinces, seminary exchanges, and inter-Anglican ministry networks..."

"All of the baptized entitled to all of the sacraments all of the time"? This is an obvious distortion and revision of the Church's universal teaching on Christian baptism, its meaning and its consequences for the lives of those who receive it. This distortion and revision of Christian baptism is at the heart of The Consultation's theological manifesto,"We will with God's help."

But this manifesto is no longer driving just the actions of TEC within North America - it is driving their agenda to exchange the faith once delivered from the apostles for a false gospel and practice throughout the Anglican Communion.

Less than two weeks ago, in the study centre of the Canterbury Lodge adjacent to Canterbury cathedral, representatives of the International Anglican Liturgical Commission (IALC) met August 1-6 to continue work on Rites Relating to Marriage. In response to a formal request from the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music from TEC, there was a "consultation within a consultation" in which the US delegation, led by Prof. Ruth Meyers of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific and Bishop Thomas Ely of Vermont, offered a theological rationale for same-sex blessings.

And what was their "theological rationale"? The Consultation's Manifesto on Baptism.

Further, over the protests of some of the orthodox present, the US delegation offered a sample of one rite, with two female members of the delegation serving as spouses.

Our predictions from July 2009 are coming true. The disease and dysfunction is seeking to spread itself....

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OK. Got it? Ashey believes his predictions of 2009 are coming true. The Episcopal Church is diseased and dysfunctional and is out to spread this disease and dysfunction throughout the Anglican Communion.  This D & D is being infiltrated into the Anglican Communion by, of all things, support given to churches in need, exchanges of people, visits, conversations, sharing of table fellowship and even getting reactions to possible ways of being church in the United States.

This stuff is great propaganda. It is also misleading and meant to energize for hate. The object of these bent and warped charges of infiltration, disease and dysfunction is to provide the basis for taking up the sword of righteousness, etc. 

This would all be just sad, except that the AAC weekly newsletter is read, I suspect, by people who may well take it as gospel truth that The Episcopal Church is diseased and dysfunctional, perverse and cruel, filled with a false Gospel.  

And that is a lie.