Anglican Perspectives

Pro-Life Anglicans

Last week, about ten Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) bishops and Archbishop Bob Duncan joined in the March for Life on the anniversary of the tragic Roe v. Wade decision. In my inexpert, but right, opinion, that decision by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is one of the very worst decisions ever made by the Court. Equally horrid was the decision against prayer in school. In both of those decisions, the Court took it upon itself to depart from more than a thousand years of jurisprudence. Decisions used to be made based on precedent. In other words, a new court case takes into consideration the understanding of the law of previous court decisions. Rather than doing that, in these two cases, the court cut new law out of whole cloth.

 

 

 

God is observably a life-giver. He loves life and claims it for Himself. In their dietary law, the Jews were forbidden to consume blood because “the life is in the blood.” (Lev 17:11) If we are submitted to His Lordship, we will cooperate with His call to honor life. So, last Wednesday, we joined with more than 500,000 of our closest friends and marched through Washington, D.C. to the Supreme Court building. The happy throng did not require any crowd control from the Capitol Police. People were gentle and orderly. Interestingly, a huge portion of the crowd was under twenty-five. Last year I heard that they estimated that the under twenty-fivers made up 80% of the marchers. This year could not have been less. Additionally encouraging were the vast numbers of them who were wearing “I’m worth waiting for” buttons, declaring their commitment to sexual purity as well as being Pro-Life. Their presence is a huge encouragement to the hope that the abortion holocaust might actually end.

 

I’ve written before about the unintended consequences of abortion. Social Security is going bankrupt because we have 50 million too few workers paying into the system. This is chilling when juxtaposed with the fact that there have now been 55 million abortions in the United States. Canada is proportionately suffering under similar tragic numbers for their population.

 

When Americans get on their high horse and criticize other nations for genocide or tribal violence, I always cringe. Our national horror is a manifestation of sin in our lives just as other violence is in other nations. The answer is the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That message should capture our full energy. It is the hope that can help people navigate through the most painful waters of their life. The Gospel is the inspiration that can soften our hearts to love people in practical ways, and it is the power of God unto salvation. When we realize the depth of what God has done through the Cross of Jesus Christ, it should captivate us. A friend of mine says, “The Gospel is so wonderful, so compelling, why would people want to talk about anything else?” What Jesus has done is amazing. He does not offer icing for life’s broken cakes, He offers life for the dying. He offers an end to empty religion; the power to experience transformation to actually become more like Him.

 

For me, the fruit of participation in the March for Life is a challenge to see how we can become more faithful to the kerygma—the passionate proclamation of the Good News—and become more faithful to the Great Commandment, to share Jesus with others. In our parishes, we should be looking for concrete ways to love people so those who are in a state of panic or pain don’t give up. There are countless ways to be able to truly be pro-life. It is a worthy pursuit. It’s what faithful Christians do.

 

On another front, across the Atlantic, there was painful news. The Archbishop of West Africa has died. It seems that he just collapsed while playing tennis and could not be revived. I first met Archbishop Tilewa Johnson at the 1998 Lambeth Bishops’ Conference. We had just begun talking as some of the notable bishops were passing by. “That one,” he said, “Is one of the smartest bishops.” Pointing to another he said, “That one is one of the bravest.” Pointing to another who was passing by he said, “And that one is one of the most prayerful. I on the other hand, am the TALLEST!” and collapsed into gales of infectious laughter.

 

Since then, when we have been in touch, I always said, “And how is the tallest bishop?”

 

He would respond, “Still tall!”

 

We got the chance to spend a good bit of time in the lead up to the GAFCON 2 Conference in Nairobi. In front of the multi-purpose building where most of the meetings were held, there are some steps. I was able to stand up several steps higher than he and for the first time, see eye-to-eye. I said, “Oh. I’ve never seen your face up close!” We laughed about that.

 

Speaking about those gathered for the GAFCON meetings, his observation was telling, especially since Western liberals were always trying to manipulate things in his Province. He said, “Look at these people. Listen to what they are saying. There is life in this group. Other gatherings are empty. This is the life we need to pursue.”

 

God bless you Archbishop Tilewa. You did indeed stand tall. May you enter in to the joy of your Father’s Kingdom. I will miss your laugh and your insights.

 

This article by Bishop Bill Atwood first appeared in the January 29, 2014 edition of the AAC’s International Update. Sign up for this free email.

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