Requesting help from a local C of E Bishop (last updated: 2nd June 2022)
Preamble
I was struck with the idea to try calling on the services of the local Bishop to help in some small way to propel our campaign of enlightenment forwards.
It has proved to be a futile exercise.
I should have taken on board the advice given recently by a senior member of the C of E clergy in response to one of our emails requesting help:
'Sadly, and shamefully, you are up against a status quo in the hierarchy of the C of E who do not like to rock the consensus boat.'
I did receive a polite reply to my initial email to the Bishop but no offers of help were forthcoming so I sent a second pleading email. So far we have not received a reply. It is shaping up to be a case of 'silence speaks louder than words'.
Extract from reply to 1st email:
'Your web site is impressive however I am not sure you need a campaign; a good number
of people look with awe at our magnificent world and find it hard not to believe in
a Creator. What people find difficult is a literal interpretation of Genesis, which
ties people in knots, and therefore find it easier to dismiss the 7 days as a myth
(as one of many creation myths) rather than an attempt to articulate how we came to
be as we are.'
If the Bishop had investigated a little more thoroughly she would have realised our claim is that life came about via an Act of Creation, substantiated by evidence from Intelligent Design research.
She seems to be suggesting that people are inclined to regard the Creation Story as a myth at least in part because the claims in Genesis lie outside the bounds of normal human experience, with the 7 days being particularly difficult to believe. In short, there are grounds for rejecting the story in its entirety, pinning one's faith instead on the alternative religion of Darwinian Evolution.
BE UNDER NO ILLUSION, ABANDONING THE GENESIS ACCOUNT HAS FAR REACHING CONSEQUENCES BECAUSE IT HAS LED SOCIETY INTO REJECTING GOD AS CREATOR. THE CHURCH SHOULD NOT DOWNPLAY THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS AS IT IS NOT SURPRISINGLY THE PRIMARY CAUSE FOR THE DECLINE IN RELIGIOUS BELIEF. NO CREATOR IMPLIES, NO GOD!
In fairness to God, it would have been impossible for Him to explain how He set about His Act of Creation, therefore the account in Genesis was made sufficiently simple to enable everyone to grasp its significance.
In fairness to the Bishop, Justin Welby the current Archbishop of Canterbury, like his predecessors, is mainly interested in politics and church finances.
The sad outcome of the experiment to turn Wigan's parish churches into "hubs"
He wishes to avoid becoming embroiled in arguments about the veracity of, for example, the truth of the Genesis account of Creation.
Issues such as that should be dealt with at the local level he advises. Although the public assume that archbishops are there to act as spiritual leaders for the Church they preside over, in reality they do not seem to relish that role preferring to leave it to local clerics to adopt any view they see fit. As a result there is no consensus of opinion in the Church on issues such as 'how did life on Earth originate'.
The public have therefore turned to the media to provide an answer to this fundamental question and we all know where this has led - a materialistic worldview based on naturalism that denies the existence of God.
In fairness to the Archbishop he is merely upholding the traditions set down by his predecessors, in other words he is maintaining the status quo.
As regards to the Catholic Church the public perception of the Pope is that he is a spiritual leader but there are many religeous issues that are left to the discretion of individual priests, including that of how life originated on the planet.
It seems that most, if not all, Christian denominations have taken the decision to move with the times, abandoning Biblical truths where they confict with the latest announcements from scientists.
Extract from article by Tim Stanley, Daily Telegraph:
'Today, politicised Anglicanism at least keeps the CofE in the headlines, but the downside is that the Church might be known better for its politics than its faith.'
And yet, in his diary, long ago in 1957, Harold Macmillan wrote that he dreaded his meetings with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher. 'I try to talk to him about religion, but he seems to be quite uninterested and reverts all the time to politics.' - so today's approach dates at least as far back as 1950's England!
Society tends to accept the proclamations of today's scientists without question, yet we argue endlessly about the word of God in the Bible. Genesis states in unambiguous terms that God Created the Universe and all life on Earth. The entire argument hinges on whether God actually spoke to His people in the past, and whether those chosen individuals comprehended what they were told, and accurately recorded the message they received. There is general acceptance that God does indeed communicate with individuals in today's World, so why do we doubt the recorded message given to God-fearing people in past ages?
From John's Gospel: 'All things were made by him, and without him nothing was made that was made' (John 1:3).
Paul testified: 'For by him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through him and for him' (Colossians 1:16).
Mark 10, in particular verse 6: 'But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female'. This statement from Jesus is pretty unambiguous isn't it, or do we choose to ignore it because we know better now as a result of listening to people like Richard Dawkins? If the Church continues to cherry pick the Bible it will only be a matter of time before the entire Bible is rejected as being out of date, and out of tune with modern, ever changing, thought. This would signal the end of Christianity as we know it. A leading member of the Catholic Church concerned about the direction of his own church recently declared that he believes the C of E is in terminal decline! If the Church continues to reject the recorded word of Jesus this scenario will become increasingly the case.
People have complete freedom to accept or reject the message. It is the Churches responsibility however to convince their parishioners that God is indeed the Creator, but of course this is difficult if the clergy doubt it themselves.
The Church should set out to convince parishioners that life on our planet began via an Act of Creation, in order to help rescue them from floundering in a sea of fog, and if the leaders have any doubts they should spend a little time exploring the evidence for themselves. In simple terms:
'God Created life on Earth at the beginning, including the first human beings, just as He said He did.' - ID revelations leave little room for doubting this.
'it happened over a period of 7 days' - AN ACT OF FAITH, and will remain as such.
'it happened circa 7000 years ago' - ACT OF FAITH, however there is a growing body of evidence being uncovered by renowned scientists to support the notion of a young Earth.
The 2nd email
Dear ...,
I really appreciate receiving your encouraging and detailed reply. Thank you.
I fully understand that church leaders are very busy people, with lots of
responsibilities with considerable pressures on their lives, and that the
Bible is not just about the Act of Creation. I think you will agree
however that it is a much neglected part of the Bible because of the
considerable doubt cast on it by Darwin's Theory of Evolution back in the
mid 1800's. The Church resisted being drawn into the debate at the time
but slowly over the course of several years began to accept his ideas at
least in part, hence Theistic Evolution, the compromise ideology that most
denominations adhere to today.
You will appreciate, having explored our website, that we totally reject
explanations based on Darwin's theory as an explanation for life's origin.
Our standing is based on firm evidence from molecular biology now called
Intelligent Design (ID) theory. In essence life came about through an Act
of Creation, there being no other plausible explanation.
I have circulated the website which has the dual purpose of not only
raising awareness of the implications of ID research but also offering
parishioners the opportunity to publish testimonies for the benefit of
others, widely to the C of E. Many hundreds of church leaders have visited
the site but none have offered to introduce their congregations to it,
understandably perhaps because they do not know me from Adam. This is why
I am approaching your good self.
Basically the only way to make further progress is to address Church
leaders and their congregations in person and I was wondering if you would
be prepared to meet me and help draw up a plan of action. It would be
difficult for me to organise this on my own. You are well known and
respected in the area and could possibly open doors. I would seek your
approval for the contents of any talks that I planned to deliver.
Regarding my employment one of my roles was as a College lecturer over a
period of 28 years, and a College middle manager in the latter part of
that time. More recently over a period of about 7 years I enjoyed running
a life group with a large group of older people at the ... Church,
... , so I am used to speaking to people.
My suggestion would be to start by meeting members of the clergy within
the diocese informally in small groups, possibly one to one, with a view
to gaining their approval to give talks to interested parishioners at a
later time. I don't envisage delivering the good news at the pulpit unless
this was what was wanted. The message needs to focus on God's love rather
than on delivering technicalities via a lecture, the website does that in
abundance. The overall aim is to place the Creation story back on the
agenda, resurrecting it from the obscurity where it has resided for many
years, so that it becomes a talking point once more. There can be little
doubt that we will have God's backing for this because we will be putting Him
back where He belongs as our adored Creator of life, including people. We
will need to acknowledge our error of judgement , seek His forgiveness for
trusting in the word of man rather than His word in the Bible, and restore
to Him the honour He is due.
