ACNA, condemning the courts and the administration, taking on the martyr's role

Several posts by leaders of the Anglican Church of North America, combined with an essay, "A Call to Martyrdom"by Peter J. Leithart, raise the question, is ACNA posed to take on the martyr's role?

Here are the pieces:

David Virtue in an interview with Bishop Derek Jones, Bishop of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincies for ACNA, writes the following:

"The bishop overseeing military chaplains in the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) says President Obama is targeting Christians and hates Religious Liberty when he says he will veto any bill that seeks to strengthen religious protections for military members.

The Rt. Rev. Derek Jones who is the Bishop of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy, a soon to be diocese of the ACNA said, "I state without reservation that Mr. Obama and this administration is the most corrupt we have seen in modern history. He continues to bypass Congress by using expanding government, executive orders and directives to accomplish his objectives; and he dismisses those who speak against his anti-republic agenda as though we are extremists and out of step."

Later in the same article Virtue quotes Jones, "We ARE on the precipice of a full-on persecution of Christians and loss of all Religious and Civil Liberties - all in the name of "fairness" "security" and any other good sounding word they think they can use. EVERYTHING Mr. Obama does is to gain power, strength, and authority over Religious and Civil Liberties." 

Read the whole interview HERE. 

At the ACNA provincial gathering this last month, Bishop Jones, in yet another interview with Virtue, had the following exchange: 

"VOL: In a culture that is rapidly moving away from the Christian faith, many would say post-Christian with a valueless Millennial generation of Nones, why is a military chaplaincy so appealing?

BISHOP JONES: I agree that our Republic has been turned into a democracy and that is not a good thing... democracies can be as tyrannical as a dictatorship. While many claim to be Christians in our nation, we are now living in a post-Christian society where scriptural precepts and doctrine no longer carry the weight of influence in law or of being the moral compass. In this culture as people face life-altering events and death outside of a church relationship, Chaplains become the instrument by which an unchurched nation and populace can find hope, love, comfort and salvation. This is what the chaplain ministry is all about..."


Meanwhile, over in ACNA headquarters in Ambridge, PA, the Archbishop of all things ACNA opined, in reference to the Supreme Court rulings re same sex marriage, " The Church has countered the culture throughout most of its history.  We find ourselves, both sadly and increasingly, in this position in a nation once seen as a “light upon a hill,” and a “hope of all the earth.”

Canon Ashey, of the American Anglican Council, mouthpiece for ACNA, wrote the an article which is worth the read in its entirety HERE. (Some parts echo the desire to act on the basis of our faith in the public square, a commendable idea.)

From it I lift the following:

 "The problem is that this opinion represents a worldview among the ruling elites in our democracy that is increasingly hostile to Judeo-Christian faith and morality.  …

How do the five justices of the US Supreme Court characterize those who defend the traditional and biblical definition of marriage between a man and a woman for life?  How does this ruling elite describe those who defend what God has ordained?  They describe them - Christians - as people who interfere, injure, harm, and stigmatize others…

 There you have it.  What do we as Christians do when the ruling elites characterize us as “enemies of the human race?”  How can we remain engaged in public discourse that has become so antagonistic to the Christian faith?"

So ACNA leaders have been of the opinion that 

(i) President Obama "is targeting Christians and hates Religious Liberty,"

(ii) " EVERYTHING Mr. Obama does is to gain power, strength, and authority over Religious and Civil Liberties." 

(iii) "...our Republic has been turned into a democracy and that is not a good thing... democracies can be as tyrannical as a dictatorship."

(iv) "The Church has countered the culture throughout most of its history.  We find ourselves, both sadly and increasingly, in this position..."

(v) "The problem is that this opinion (The Supreme Court opinion) represents a worldview among the ruling elites in our democracy that is increasingly hostile to Judeo-Christian faith and morality."

These tidbits place ACNA's leadership on a clear course to say, as a matter of conscience, that the President and the Supreme Court are acting counter to Christian faith, and are in some sense "the enemy."  

Additionally, in the matter of the ACNA Bishop for the Armed Forces, there is a problem of conflict of interest here, in that he is the chief pastoral officer for the chaplains serving in the various services through ACNA (some 120 or so). These chaplains are commissioned officers in the Armed Forces and, I believe, subject to the same provisions of the law, namely, that the President of the United States of America is the commander in chief of the Armed Forces.  Chaplains are constrained ( I believe) from such criticism as would undermine the authority of the Commander in Chief, and I wonder if that applies as well to the Bishop who supervises them?  At what point does Bishop Jones in his criticism of the specific presidency of President Obama cross over into a place where he will loose accreditation or access to the chaplains?

And, just for the record, does ACNA support Jones' opinion that "our Republic has been turned into a democracy and that is not a good thing"? There's a counter to the "culture", the proposition that democracy is not a good thing.

Well, these opinions certainly will set ACNA as counter to the culture. To the pastoral credit of the several persons quoted here, ACNA's leadership does understand that running counter to the "democratic" or "popular" or "social" culture will get them in trouble. They are preparing their followers for troubles ahead. The hints are there. In the cause of righteousness there will be tough times.

Which leads us to the essay, "A Call to Martyrdom."  Read it HERE.

One quote, "This (decision) will force a major adjustment in conservative Christian stance toward America. We’ve fooled ourselves for decades into believing that Christian America was derailed recently and by a small elite. It’s tough medicine to realize that principles inimical to traditional Christian morals are now deeply embedded in our laws, institutions and culture. The only America that actually exists is one in which “marriage” includes same-sex couples and women have a Constitutional right to kill their babies. To be faithful, Christian witness must be witness against America."

ACNA is carefully aligning itself with the notion that true Christians are those who must be witnesses (martyrs) against America.

"we are (writes Leithart) servants of God. He opens our ears to hear, and he gives us tongues to speak truth. If that means we are insulted and marginalized, if it means we yield our back to the smiters and our face to those who spit on us, so be it." 

I have great admiration for people willing to stand up for what they believe.  At the same time I have little positive to say about those who wrap themselves in the martyr's mantle.  

Martyrdom is something best ascribed by others to what we ourselves might best describe as our joy.  If it is our joy to stand for the truth as we know it, then fine. We take on what that entails and go from there. If we become self proclaimed martyrs then we not only claim to be the true witnesses but by our suffering claim that as the surety of the claim itself.  That way lies mad bombers and ungodly religious passion. 

we are servants of God. He opens our ears to hear, and he gives us tongues to speak truth. If that means we are insulted and marginalized, if it means we yield our back to the smiters and our face to those who spit on us, so be it. - See more at: http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/leithart/2013/07/02/a-call-to-martyrdom/#sthash.fWV2A7Yn.dpuf