from this article at Virtuosity
“It was, I suppose, a courteous gesture for the Windsor Report to invite the revisionists in ECUSA to withdraw from communion if they were unwilling to call a moratorium on and express regret for certain actions. But frankly, to expect revisionists to withdraw from Eucharist is to expect them to deny the very foundation of their faith. For gnostic Christians, the Eucharist is the preeminent symbol of the gnostic religion. It is the “coincidence of opposites” made visible. Accusing them of heresy has little effect. They believe doctrines are secondary. The only option left to the orthodox, given that calls to orthodox theology and practice have consistently failed, is to not share Holy Eucharist with the revisionists. That is the only action that will make sense to the revisionists, but not only them, all of us. Both Scripture and tradition require this. Anything less is to fail at the critical point. It fails because sharing Eucharist with gnostics affirms the gnostic heresy.”
Robert J. Sanders
It is a bit odd that he seems to endorse the Alpha course. Am I misreading him? Or maybe I just don’t know much about the Alpha course, but I thought it was a kind of charismatic thing?
Yes, it is a bit charismatic but it’s written by evangelicals. I’m not a big fan of it but it’s moving in the right direction.
Okay. I think you can figure out the reason I ask, but just to be certain, it’s because Rev. Sanders mentions charismaticism as being gnostic as well. So given the tenor of the piece, it just seemed strange to me that he’d endorse Alpha.
They are teaching the Alpha course at my parish right now. I am not in the class, but the only objection I have is that its content should be known by any 12-year old in the church. However, if some of the people in our parish don’t know these things yet, then I suppose it is a good thing. Anyhow, our priest thinks that there is some good in it.
I reckon that when they get up to the Delta or Epsilon course, I may start sitting it (wink).
The Alpha course is supposed to be an outreach to the unchurched! You guys are using it as Sunday School?
Apparently so. I think the strategy is to have the parish go through it once, so they can then run Alpha courses out of their homes, for their unchurched neighbors.
Will this really happen?
I don’t know … most Episcopalians don’t seem to be the world’s greatest at talking about the faith to their unchurched neighbors. We shall see.
Hehe. 😀