Looking for a Ship

Posted by: Fr. C. | July 14, 2011

A Ship Not to Board

Bob Unruh of World Net Daily reports that Harold “Second Coming” Camping got more than he bargained for with his prediction that Jesus Christ would return to Earth to “rapture” his followers to heaven on May 21. Camping, 89, of Oakland, Calif.-based Family Radio, prognosticated that mankind had run out of time, and the Creator of the universe would arrive on that Saturday. Now, the executive director of a ministry that works with the persecuted church in the northern reaches of Vietnam says that the “prophecy” preacher apparently cost the lives of many tribal Hmong people who believed it.

The horrific aftermath of the unfulfilled prophecy was reported by James Jacob Prasch, a key leader of Moriel Ministries. Prasch routinely travels and meets with members of the Christian body worldwide. A recent trip took him to Vietnam, where a large number of the Hmong Central Highland tribal peoples known as Montagnards are Christian. These folks apparently had heard of Camping’s prophecy and not having sophisticated methods for evaluating its validity, took it literally, he explained.

The result, for many, was death, Prasch reported in an email to supporters. After listening to a translation of Camping’s prediction some 7,000 Montagnards gathered on a mountain praising God their suffering at the hands of the communist regime was about to end because Jesus was returning that day in May to establish a new kingdom. The police and military police slaughtered many of them at gunpoint – beheading two pastors. Others were arrested, and so many were shot dead that they were buried in mass graves bulldozed over.

Prasch reported that he spoke to a secret meeting of Hmong pastors to explain to them “false prophets and false teachers.” “Due to a combination of poverty, ignorance and persecution these poor Christians don’t understand much so they believed Camping’s shortwave broadcast which is how most get their teaching,” he said. “These people already suffering for their faith in Jesus had it bad enough. They are not like the undiscerning whackos in the West who should have known Camping was a crackpot and a proven false prophet and false teacher,” Prasch reported. “This is a persecuted church who just had no means to know any different. This is why … I warn so much about false teachers and false prophets.”

World Net Daily’s attempt request of Family Radio for comment predictably did not generate a response.

In a related incident, when Camping’s predicted rapture did not occur, International Business Times reported that Ms. Lyn Benedetto of Antelope Valley, Calif., slit the wrist and throat of her two daughters and then slit her own to prevent them from going through the “Tribulation” on May 21. Thanks be to God that a neighbor summoned an ambulance in time for them to be hospitalized.

Upon hearing the story, Camping was quoted as saying, “Murdering is terrible. It is contrary to everything the Bible teaches. That would have been a horrible thing if she has done that. That will make me weep. That will fill me with sorrow that she would do that. The Bible teaches that we are to save life, not kill. If it is going to be death, leave it to God. God knows who He wants to kill and make alive. That is His business, not our business.”

Asked if he would take responsibility for such incidents, Camping, of course, said no. “I don’t have any responsibility. I can’t be responsible for anybody’s lives,” he explained. “I am only teaching the Bible. I am not teaching what I believe, as if I am the authority. I am just simply teaching what the Bible says. And I don’t have spiritual rule over anybody.”

You bet, Harold. A world-wide radio ministry, billboards up and down I-95 among other locales, and a whole passel of media appearances and you aren’t holding yourself out as an authority. Owning up to responsibility for one’s actions is a Christian imperative.

Of course, Camping’s prediction that Jesus would return May 21 was not the first time he made a false prophecy. He previously forecast Christ’s return in 1994. In the aftermath of his little “error”, Camping has adjusted his prediction for the end of the world to Oct. 21 of this year.

Just a couple of thoughts from the 25^th Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew. ”And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” (v. 36)

If you are on this boat, disembark…right now. If it arrives in port, let it sail right on by.

Some Fun Summer Reading

Those who variously enjoy mysteries, Arthurian legend, the works of the Inklings, and historical pieces will want to include Looking for the King. It is 1940, and the Second World War has just begun. American Tom McCord, a 23-year-old aspiring doctoral candidate, is in England researching the historical evidence for the legendary King Arthur. There he meets Laura Hartman, a fellow American staying with her aunt in Oxford, and the two of them team up for an even more ambitious and dangerous quest.

Aided by the Inklings-that illustrious circle of scholars and writers made famous by its two most prolific members, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as the lesser-read Charles Williams-Tom and Laura begin to suspect that the fabled Spear of Destiny, the lance that pierced the side of Christ on the cross, is hidden somewhere in England.

Tom discovers that Laura has been having mysterious dreams, which seem to be related to the subject of his research, and, though doubtful of her visions, he hires her as an assistant. Heeding the insights and advice of the Inklings, while becoming aware of being shadowed by powerful and secretive foes who would claim the spear as their own, Tom and Laura end up on a thrilling treasure hunt that crisscrosses the English countryside and leads beyond a search for the elusive relics of Camelot into the depths of the human heart and soul. Weaving his fast-paced narrative with conversation based on the works of the Inklings, author David Downing offers a vivid portrait of Oxford and draws a welcome glimpse into the personalities and ideas of Lewis and Tolkien, while never losing sight of his action-packed adventure story and its two very appealing main characters.

You will feel that you actually have met Lewis, Tolkien and Williams and shared a story with them. There are themes of chivalry and faith inter-woven into the tale, and the level of dialogue and narrative are well-above that of the mass market pot boiler. You also won’t have to worry about offensive language, vivid sexual imagery or anyone wielding a chainsaw. It is a good bet for the beach, poolside or an armchair in air-conditioned comfort. A word of warning, though. Once you start this book you won’t want to put it down until the finale!

Baby, Don’t Go

A friend of “The Ship” offered some interesting reasons for remaining a traditional Anglican rather than cross the Danube or whatever river one crosses to go to Orthodoxy. Having known a number of folks who have “gone East” (even where East is a Western Rite), The Ship thought that these comments were most interesting and worthy of summarizing here, even though the editor doesn’t necessarily agree with them. Comments anyone?

Observations on Remaining Anglican by Fr. X.

I had worked diligently for corporate reunion with Rome. I thought it could be accomplished, among other reasons, because: 1.) Rome had signed the Joint declaration on Justification with the Lutherans. 2.) Pope John Paul II issued Ut Unum Sint, which appeared to offer to rethink the papal ministry with non-Roman Catholic Christians to make it more acceptable to them. 3.) JPII had said, “At the dawn of the third millennium, if we are to overcome the divisions of the second millennium, we must return to the consensus of the first millennium.” 4.) I understood from my various sources and contacts that this would be reunion, not submission, a “patching up of things up between brothers”; 5.0 that the Anglican/Roman dialogue was with an eye to the East; and that JPII wanted to prove to the East that there could be reunion without submission or absorption.

Sadly, it all appears to have died with JPII. In April 2006 (if my memory serves me well) the Roman authorities completely changed their tune. They would still “take us” but there would be no more doctrinal discussions, and it would be submission not corporate reunion. I could not embrace an unreformed papacy and an unreformed Roman Catholicism, and that is why I dropped out of the dialogue. Anglicanorum Coetibus followed later, proving that I was correct in many of my thoughts. What many people do not realize is that the Anglicanorum Coetibus “bait and switch” will ultimately set Roman/Eastern Orthodox dialogue back many years and renew a distrust for the West.

The truth is that Rome is not a “safe place” for Anglicans. Few Romanists even attend Mass, and only about one third believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. The lower clergy on a whole are liberal and the laity are for the most part uncatechized. The ongoing clergy sex scandals in America and around the world are shocking. And now we have the revelations of the double life of that champion of Roman orthodoxy, John Corapi. Frankly, I wouldn’t trade our problems for theirs.

I can understand an attraction to Western Rite Orthodoxy. I love Anglicanism because I sincerely believe that (when it is true to itself) it is Western Orthodoxy, so I am a strong supporter of corporate reunion with the East. That said, Western Rite Orthodoxy is something else. It hasn’t worked. The Antiochene Archdiocese has had a Western Rite since 1958 (or ’59), and they have about 18 small congregations to show for it. The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad is gaining a lot of clergy lately, but few laity. Further, many of these clergy seem to be coming from vagante groups that wouldn’t even be taken seriously amongst “continuing” Anglicans.

As a Western Rite Orthodox one would be able to use a Western liturgical rite, but that is all. You lose everything after 1054. Can you imagine not just discarding the Carolines, Tractarians and other Anglican champions of Christ, but Bernard of Clairvaux, Francis of Assisi, Peter Lombard, Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas,Thomas a’Kempis, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Therese of Lisieux and more? Also, in ROCA you would even have to use the Julian Calendar. Now that’s a real plus for evangelism! Insisting that to be “Orthodox” you must use a calendar that is so inaccurate that if time goes on long enough you will be celebrating Spring festivals in the fall will look just plain foolish to educated people.

In addition, I invite people to think about other theological issues. The Orthodox do not recognize the significance of the fall and the seriousness of Original Sin, and that is why they have problems with Pelagianism and Semi-Pelagianism. Many are very weak on the Atonement, holding a position very similar to Peter Abelard’s exemplarist theory, and that is without even mentioning the Toll Houses and other problematic teachings. Orthodoxy is just not as Orthodox as they like to claim.

In addition, Anglicans lose your entire heritage. After more than 300 years in America the Easterners remain in a ghetto. Do you think you can effectively preach the Gospel and bring people into a Russian or Syrian Church in the United States? You would be “Western Rite Orthodox,” but the general public wouldn’t have a clue that you even exist.

The Western Rite sounds good but it has not worked and cannot work. Frankly, if you want to spread the Gospel, win souls, and build the Church, you won’t do it among the Orthodox. They are not growing. Demographically they are isolated and shrinking. They are losing their second and third generations in the West to Western Churches, and in the East they are not having babies, and they really aren’t evangelizing anywhere. When “Western Rite Orthodox” move to a city without a “Western Rite Orthodox Church” they almost invariably end up in an Anglican congregation. University studies in Russia indicate that Anglicanism will surpass Eastern Orthodoxy as the second largest Church in Christendom during our life time. (Editor’s note: We haven’t identified these studies as yet.) Corporate reunion? Yes in fulfillment of Christ’s prayer in John 17. Submission and another dead-end street? No.

So, baby, don’t go.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. X.

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Posted in Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Western Rite

Posted by: Fr. C. | July 11, 2011

Our Reason for Being

Welcome to Looking for a Ship. In a world of increasing challenges to the Christian faith and competing denominational choices, this blog will explore theological issues and items of interest. Why, in this world of thousands of blogs with these topics, is there a need for one more doing such things? To be blunt, there isn’t. The issue is not one of “need” but of viewpoint.

Too many writers water down the issues, and institutional blogs and websites are simply impossible. Even the websites of self-identified “traditional” churches have become prone to political correctness. As well, their investment in asserting purity of doctrine and triumphalism prevents honest discourse. Such coloring of the lens prevents honesty in the discourse.

What does one do when, traveling happily along on the via media, you are run over out there in the middle of the road? Will it be the barque of St. Peter or the ladya of St. Nicholas? Do you trade the Real Presence for real absence, Byrd for banjo, or liturgical chant for liturgical dance? What if you’re really comfy being the filling between the wafers, but occasionally wonder whether you actually have a faith at all? Or, how about a little warning about the nice folks who sincerely would like to see you turned into a falafel because of your faith in that Jesus fellow?

On this site, we are going to throw some issues and facts up on the board and see what arouses interest. The approach of the blog is decidedly old school as in ancient church. Comments will be posted at the complete discretion of the blog owners, and religious jingoism, bigotry of any stripe, and other sorts of cloddish behavior will not be allowed, although occasional bits of lunacy may appear.

Here’s hoping that you find your ship.