One of the more bizarre sermons I’ve found lately comes from the presiding bishop of the Episcopalian church, which is the presiding church for Anglicans in the United States. This may a good example of why there is a shift in that loyalty and more Anglican movements are popping up in North America.

The full text needs to be read, but here some fun excerpts.

As she was talking about the need for diversity, she brought up the episode in Acts where Paul tosses out the demon from the slave girl. A drastic mistake, apparently.

“There are some remarkable examples of that kind of blindness in the readings we heard this morning, and slavery is wrapped up in a lot of it.  Paul is annoyed at the slave girl who keeps pursuing him, telling the world that he and his companions are slaves of God.  She is quite right.  She’s telling the same truth Paul and others claim for themselves,”

“But Paul is annoyed, perhaps for being put in his place, and he responds by depriving her of her gift of spiritual awareness.  Paul can’t abide something he won’t see as beautiful or holy, so he tries to destroy it.  It gets him thrown in prison.  That’s pretty much where he’s put himself by his own refusal to recognize that she, too, shares in God’s nature, just as much as he does – maybe more so!,” the presiding bishop said.

Paul, tossed into prison, had to repent of his attitude. This is what led to the earthquake, in her view.

But here is the really fun stuff: It is not JESUS that saves… it is DIVERSITY.

She concluded her sermon by stating that we are not justified by our faith but by our respect for diversity.

“Looking for the reflection of God’s glory all around us means changing our lenses, or letting the scales on our eyes fall away.  That kind of change isn’t easy for anyone, but it’s the only road to the kingdom of God.”

I know it is not ALL Episcopalians that believe this. (Blog titles are important to drive up my numbers.) 🙂

And the end of the article notes the harsh criticism.

But when the HEAD of your church is butchering the gospel…