"The act of a dying church"

As the General Synod of the Church of England waxes lyrical about the issue of women bishops, with the evangelical cause somewhat compromised by a necessary co-belligerence with Rome and fatally undermined by the fact that the Archbish-elect is described as both evangelical and in favour of women bishops, here (according to the BBC) is one contribution:

If the proposed legislation passes there will be those who say that the assurances they have been given are too weak - but those assurances will be firmly in place.

If the proposed legislation fails, the consequences I believe are far more severe.

Firstly, as a Church for the whole country we will be seen to have failed to do what is right and honourable; a Church with lower moral standards than the rest of society risks its right to comment on other issues.

Secondly, it will inevitably be seen as the act of a dying Church more wedded to the past than committed to hope for the future.

Here is a proud claim that by bowing to the spirit of the age we are in fact raising moral standards, a strange suggestion that by abandoning the teaching of God's Word we somehow give ourselves a claim to ethical and moral authority, a bold assertion that obedience to God will be the death knell of the church, all with a nice little pat on the head for the silly boys who are making a fuss about things. I just heard a lovely suggestion that we might be able to find a very Anglican compromise, masquerading as "grace," that will respect the "dual integrities" of the opposing parties. Our brothers within this body must be deeply grieved. It all smacks of the spirit exposed in Isaiah 5.20-21: "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!"

The Word of God rather gives the lie to these kind of claims being made by many at the Synod on issues like these. It is the very mark of a dying church to be wedded to the spirit of the age, proudly turning its back upon divine revelation, and that in the very sphere in which the truth is meant to be defended and proclaimed. A living church considers its ways, and turns its feet back to God's testimonies (Ps 119.59).