As Predicted: Suicide by Physician For Non-Terminal Conditions

The slippery slope of physician assisted suicide continues as predicted by many.

From Life Site News,

"October 9, 2019 (Euthanasia Prevention Coalition) — On September 11, a Québec court struck down the provision in Canada's euthanasia (MAiD) law requiring that a person be terminally ill to qualify for death by lethal injection."

"The court decided that requiring that a person's 'natural death must be reasonably foreseeable' was unconstitutional and they gave the government 30 days to appeal the decision, knowing that Canada was in the middle of a federal election."

"In a televised debate on French TV network TVA, among political party leaders Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Lib), Andrew Scheer (CPC), Jagmeet Singh (NDP) and Yves-François Blanchet (BQ), Trudeau stated that he would not appeal the Québec court decision that struck down the 'terminal illness' requirement and that he would craft a more permissive MAiD regime in the 6 months period ordered by the Court."

I have a new prediction: In the future, pharmacists will be allowed to dispense a suicide cocktail without a prescription, and if a pharmacist refuses, the pharmacist will be put on trial.

Spiritual Wellness

This Sunday's Gospel reading was from Luke 17:11-19 in which Jesus heals ten lepers,

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ When he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’

I was at a cancer survivor gathering the other day, and one of the survivors came up to the microphone and first and foremost gave thanks to God for having lived with cancer for fourteen years. She then thanked her doctors and nurses. I gave her hug and thanked her for keeping the Lord first. The next man who got up praised Jesus for his healing, and then the next did likewise.

I thank God that he placed me where he did. Those people are alive and well, some had been healed physically, and many had been healed in spirit. Those of us who were there left as witnesses to God's power.  

An LGBTQIA2S Hymnal

Over at Anglican Samizdat, you will find a post on "Songs For The Holy Other" which is essentially a hymnal for the "LGBTQIA2S" (don't ask me what all those initials stand for). I thought I would expand it a little bit by giving you a list of the song titles and an example of the text to one of their hymns.

A group called "The Hymn Society" produced this set of songs. Their goals are rather obvious.

To access a PDF copy I had to submit name, church, and e-mail information which will be used by The Hymn Society in order to send e-mails, and that information will be shared with other organizations, groups which most likely have a similar mission to The Hymn Society.

I created a new e-mail address which I quickly deleted.

Here is their introduction to the hymnal,

We who have been labeled as “wholly other” are claiming our holiness, and reclaiming our otherness as a prophetic witness to the church. Hymn writer and theologian Rev. Dr. Carl P. Daw, Jr., FHS writes:“Human otherness (of whatever kind) provides a sacramental reminder of the ultimate otherness of God, and openness to human otherness has the potential to enlarge our perception of and receptivity to divine otherness. It is also an essential element of human maturity to recognize otherness, i.e. to know where the self ends and otherness begins, whether that otherness be other people or non-human objects. From a theological perspective, “otherness” is a necessary dimension of themovement from the disappointments of self-sufficiency to the assurances of trust in God.”The gifts God has given us are not in spite of our otherness, our queerness, our LGBTQIA2S+ identities, but rather our identities are inextricably tied up in our God-given gifts, and are, in and of themselves, a gift to the church, as we reflect the rainbow diversity of God’s creation.This collection emerged from a desire to make queer hymns — hymns by, for, or about the LGBTQIA2S+ community — accessible to a wider range of congregations. While the idea emerged from the membership of the The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada

1. A Hymn for Self-Acceptance 
2. Alchemy of Healing 
3. All Belong Here 
4. All Colors of the Rainbow 
5. As Colors in the Sky 
6. Blest Be the Holy Other 
7. Christ Our Health 
8. Fearfully, Wonderfully Made 
9. For all the Children 
10. For Those Who Suffered 
11. God Calls You Good 
12. God Gave This World 
13. God Loves Us in Mysterious Ways 
14. God of Many Faces
15. God of Queer Trangressive Space
16. God of Queer Transgressive Spaces
17. God’s Limitless Imagination 
18. God’s Love is Boundless 
19. I Know That God Loves Me 
20. I Met a Stranger on the Road 
21. I Shall Not Leave from by Your Side 
22. Impartial, Compassionate God
23. Jesus, You Have Truly Called Us 
24. Like the Weeping Willow 
25. Love Astounding 
26. Love’s Rage and Grief 
27. Lovely, Needy People
28. New Patterns for Living
29. O God, Bestow Your Love and Care 
30. Pour Your Freedom Over Me 
31. Queerly Beloved 
32. Quirky Queer and Wonderful 
33. Rest in Power 
34. Rise Up Kim 
35. Sing a New World into Being 
36. The Dove Will Fly on Mended Wing 
37. The Heart Will Choose the One It Loves 
38. The Kingdom of God is the Queerest of Nations 
39. The Love That Goes Unspoken 
40. Transfigure Me 
41. We Are a Rainbow 
42. We Are The Hidden Slats 
43. We’ll Build a World 
44. Weary Seekers
45. When Comes the Time 
46. Who Is the Alien
47. With Open Hearts

Here is an example of the theo-illogic one can find in this songbook,

"Quirky, Queer and Wonderful" 

(Refrain) Quirky, queer, and wonderful, distinct, unique, and odd... all of our humanity reveals the face of God 

1. No normal can encompass or comprehend the range of all the kinds of people that God created strange! (Refrain)

2. From Jesus we learn riddles he said the last are first He tweaked received religion with roles that he reversed. (Refrain)

3. To Peter God presented untouchable cuisine and said, "Do not call dirty what I declare is clean." (Refrain)

4. In Christ the false divisions of gender, class, and race can never separate us from God's abundant grace. (Refrain)

5. The many parts that form us each serve a different role In Christ we are one body, made holy good and whole. (Refrain) 

God reveals the face of God.

Verse three is a classic example of revisionism. Acts 10:9-16 involves Peter's vision of unclean foods which God commands him to eat. God therefore is the one who decides what is clean and fit to eat. In this hymn, the suggestion is that LGBTQIA2S sexual activity has been declared clean, but by whom? Man has declared that such acts are "clean". God has done nothing of the sort. The dietary laws were cleaned up, but not the sexual morality codes regarding same-sex activity or cross dressing etc.

This song book shows how far some people will go to justify sinful behavior.

I have found that it is far easier to admit my sins, to confess them, and to pray for forgiveness than it is to rationalize them away.

I suggest the LGBTQIA2S do the same.

Teachings About Faith and Humility That We Might Not Like

This Sunday's reading from Luke 17:5-10 contains two lessons, one about faith and the other about humility,

The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea”, and it would obey you. 

 ‘Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from ploughing or tending sheep in the field, “Come here at once and take your place at the table”? Would you not rather say to him, “Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink”? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!” ’

 The mustard seed is a tiny thing. When I traveled through India last year, I past acre after acre of mustard plants in bloom, and in the city markets I found large amounts of mustard oil for sale. I wondered how many seeds were needed to make an 8 ounce container of oil and my guide said, "A lot." A jar of our table mustard is made from one thousand seeds. So, faith the size of a mustard seed must be more powerful than enriched uranium. Since most of us need a shovel and manual labor to uproot a mulberry tree and toss it into the sea, our faith must be far less than the size of a mustard seed. In fact, I do not know of one verified instance of someone uprooting a mulberry tree except by manual or mechanical work. None of us likes to hear that our faith is so small.

In the second half of today's reading, Jesus tells us another thing we don't want to hear, that we should remain humble to the point of self deprecation when he recommends us to say, "We are worthless slaves...".

I don't know about you, but Jesus sure put me in my place today.

New Name, Same Mission

Following a ruling by the court, The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina was forced to change its name to "The Anglican Diocese of South Carolina".  Their new web page can be found here. The mission, "Making Biblical Anglicans for a Global Age" is the same mission we learned about at the Mere Anglicanism conferences that were held in Charleston a few years ago. It is a mission statement that is anathema to many Episcopalians. Let us pray that they too may become Biblical Anglicans someday.

Hell is Real

In this Sunday's Gospel reading from Luke 16:19-31, Jesus reveals some of the harsh realities about Hell.

‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.” But Abraham said, “Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.” He said, “Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.” Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.” He said, “No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” He said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”

As Jesus describes it, Hell is a place of fire and torment. There is no escape from Hell.

Many times I have heard Hell denied by revisionist priests or the concept of damnation whitewashed as "separation from God". I can only imagine what their sermons today will be about. Let's see, maybe they will cast President Trump as the rich man being tormented and burned.

Yeah, that's it. Hell is where you cast your political enemies.

 

Episcopal Decline: Living it Locally

The statistics reported by the Episcopal organization are further confirmation of what we have been witnessing and discussing on these pages for the past decade. Others are reporting on the 2018 data , so this is getting plenty of attention on the web. You can mine the data yourself at 815's official pages.The organization is in decline and will continue to do so as predicted by myself and by many. Like the small Church in Wales we reported on earlier, funerals outnumber baptisms in many dioceses, and at least one diocese reported zero baptisms in 2018.

Here in South Carolina, the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina has lost nearly 2000 Sunday worshipers over the past decade despite a marked growth in the population of the state. The losses are being felt most painfully in the smaller cities and towns. In my area, which is in one of the most rapidly growing regions of South Carolina in terms of overall population, the declines are seen in every parish, and there are a couple of parishes that reported an average Sunday attendance in the single digits in 2018, and one witness reports that zero cars were seen at one parish for the past 8 Sundays.

In the lower half of the state, cumulative statistics for the Episcopal Diocese in South Carolina (the remnant that did not leave with Bishop Lawrence and The Diocese of South Carolina) can not even be pulled up at 815's web site while individual parish stats are available. I wonder why?

The denomination is dying, but does anyone care?

Does the Devil care? I think he does. After all, part of his plan was to infiltrate the Church and to destroy it from within, planting the seeds of Biblical revisionism and a false gospel narrative, but in so doing, the parasite winds up killing its host and thus killing itself.  A Church cannot survive because it cannot evangelize an interpretation of the Bible that very clearly contradicts God's inspired word. Yes, there are other denominations to feed upon, but at some point they will be gone too. No, the Devil needs to keep the Episcopal organization alive on its deathbed in the vain hope that the revisionist stench emanating from its rotting corpse will attract new converts to his cause, ensuring the continuation of Satan's fiendish plot to undermine the integrity of the Gospel.

Does God care that the denomination is dying?

I believe he does, but like the tree that produces no fruit, he knows that it must be cut down, and it is being cut down.