Monday, September 3, 2018

English bishops: a quiet and unnoticed scandal

From Christianity Today-

There has been much thankfulness among many Anglican evangelicals about the church's newest bishop.

The announcement that Philip Mounstephen, who currently heads the Church Mission Society (CMS), is to be the next Bishop of Truro has generally been reckoned as good news for evangelicals in the Church of England.

Philip Mounstephen is widely recognised as someone who will do the sorts of things bishops do with godliness, kindness and competence. In a statement accompanying the announcement, he said: 'The Diocese of Truro exists to love and serve the people of Cornwall in word and deed in the name of Jesus Christ and in the power of his Spirit – and my job is to lead the diocese in that calling.' And who could argue with that? Moreover, Anglicanism in Cornwall has sometimes seemed quite hostile to evangelicals, so his appointment can be seen as a bit of a breakthrough for them.

But amid all the rightful praise, an awkward question was posed in one of the online discussion groups of which I am a member. And the query was simply this: 'Is he a complementarian?' It was an astute point. For those of you who don't keep up with theological language, there are basically two views of men's and women's ministries in Anglicanism. The first might be termed 'egalitarian' (men and women are equal and their roles within the church should thus be identical, with both being bishops); the second is 'complementarian' (men and women are equal but different and therefore their church roles should be different; women should not have 'headship' over men in the church).

More here-

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/english-bishops-a-quiet-and-unnoticed-scandal/130335.htm

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