A church that lies to itself
by Miles R Tagoe, Sojourner:
In recent weeks I have been contacted by Atheists, Agnostics, Muslims and Christians to discuss the recent statements made by the priests and bishops of the Church of England (C of E). The recent announcement by the House of Bishops that they will change the teaching of the Anglican church to allow same sex unions to receive ‘a blessing’, the media coverage of the church’s first non-binary priest (based in my home city of Liverpool), and this week’s release regarding the use of ‘gender neutral’ terms to describe God has led many to ask two questions: first “What is going on with the Church of England?” and secondly, “Are Christians changing their view on these issues?”. To understand the ideological battle and changes that are taking place, we first need to examine the state of our culture and its influence upon these decisions.
In ancient cultures, many people worshipped gods based upon different aspects of life: the life of the individual or the life of the community. Egyptians who were struggling to have children offered worship to Isis, Greeks who wanted success in marriage would petition Aphrodite, West Africans in search of financial success made sacrifices to Aje and Romans called upon Mars for victory in war. Gods such as these demanded sacrifice and loyalty, with many cultures going to great lengths to please them; time, money, blood and even child sacrifice are some of the acts of worship ancient peoples practiced to grasp their god’s promises of a good life and to ward off disaster.
Our modern society is not very different to those of the past. Every culture worships its own idols and pays tribute with its own rituals and sacrifices. In the modern world you will find shrines everywhere; from the tower blocks dedicated to finance and business where people sacrifice their hours and energy for material gain, to the gyms and aesthetic shops dedicated to the worship of the body and appearance, and the sports stadiums where teams and stars are praised with joyful love songs, and offered the financial sacrifices of fans. Child sacrifice for the sake of prosperity is readily available at your nearest NHS abortion clinic. Our society still worships many idols. All of these idols are underpinned by the religion of our age and its many faced deity: the god of self.
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