The Archbishop of Canterbury presented Hafiz Ashrafi with an award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation. It’s a special award for people who do outstanding work building bridges between people of different faiths. Ashrafi is the chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council — a group of high-ranking Islamic scholars.
Why would the Church of England give one of Pakistan’s most eminent Islamic scholars such an award? Was it because in 2007, as reported in The Guardian, he…
“ … had decided to honour Osama bin Laden. He is to be given the title of Saifullah, or Sword of God.”
Or perhaps Ashrafi was given the reconciliation award because in 2013 he was reported as saying that…
“ … suicide attacks in Afghanistan are lawful because NATO troops are invaders that have occupied the country.”
Ashrafi later said he had been taken out of context, claiming that suicide bombings were un-Islamic but that he could understand why Afghans were fighting back. Or maybe Ashrafi was given the award for interfaith reconciliation out of deep appreciation for his support, in 2014…
“… of Islamic blasphemy laws that condemn people to death if they insult Muhammad or disrespect the Koran.”
Afterall, nothing says I’m a leader when it comes to co-operating with other faiths than… if you disrespect us, you’ll be put to death.
The good news is that the Archbishop of Canterbury has withdrawn the award. Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi received the award for reconciliation and interfaith cooperation from Dame Sarah Mullally last week, on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Lambeth Palace faced a backlash after it emerged Ashrafi praised Bin Laden – the architect of the 2001 attacks – as someone who had “been fighting for Islam against the Russians, Americans and British”, in comments from 2007. Ashrafi also reportedly said he would give Bin Laden the title Saifullah, which means “Sword of God”. He told the BBC his remarks had been “totally taken out of context”.
Lambeth Palace now says “comments made by Imam Ashrafi have come to light that have led (us) to reconsider this award and we can now confirm that the award has been withdrawn”.
Is it any wonder why the Global Anglicans (GAFCON) have formally resolved to withdraw from the Anglican Communion.
Parachurch head leaves Church of England because it ‘no longer affirms biblical orthodoxy’
Rico Tice, a well-known Evangelical leader and former Church of England clergyman, has left the denomination in reaction to what he perceives as its growing departure from biblical values, especially concerning same-sex marriage and repentance.
Tice, best known for co-writing the evangelism course Christianity Explored and co-founder of Christianity Explored Ministries, cited the denomination’s recent decision to allow priests to bless same-sex couples and its lack of substantive response to concerns laid out by him and five other leaders of CofE-connected parachurch organizations last October.
In an interview with Evangelicals Now, Tice, the former senior minister at All Souls, Langham Place in London, explained that he now worships at the International Presbyterian Church (IPC) in Ealing, London.
“Last October, I was one of six Evangelical leaders of parachurch organizations with connections to the Church of England who wrote to [Archbishop of Canterbury] Justin Welby and all the bishops explaining our deep ‘heaviness of heart, soul and mind’ about the church’s onward trajectory toward affirming same-sex marriage, specifically the new Prayers of Love and Faith,” he said.
“We called upon the archbishop to resist the influence of cultural values when they are in opposition to those of the Bible. We did this because it was harming our ability to work with orthodox people from other denominations — how could they trust us? We received no substantive response from him, and that was a key moment in my decision to leave.”
CofE’s “Prayers of Love and Faith” are new guidelines enacted last December that allow priests to bless same-sex couples but don’t require them to do so, a measure opposed by many Evangelicals within the Church of England amid a growing divide within the Anglican community regarding same-sex marriage and biblical orthodoxy.
Tice said the move to the International Presbyterian Church in Ealing, London, was motivated by a desire to maintain alignment with his values. He has had a longstanding relationship with the church’s minister, Paul Levy. He said the congregation’s emphasis on eldership, Reformed theology and the Westminster Confession appealed to him. Tice still retains his permission to preach, which allows him to speak in CofE congregations.
“But I think it vital that I demonstrated clear separation from a church that no longer affirms biblical orthodoxy, especially concerning preaching repentance,” he said.
Tice’s role at the International Presbyterian Church includes evangelism and training on evangelism techniques like Christianity Explored, Hope Explored and The Word One to One. But he sees himself as an ordinary member of the congregation, attending services with his family and engaging in fellowship with other church members.
Tice expressed disappointment and sadness, describing the situation in the CofE as “utterly heartbreaking.” “In retrospect, I was naïve about our current culture in the Church of England because I never thought I would see such a clear, pervasive denial of the Christian’s need to repent of each and every sin they commit,” he said.
What we see happening in the institutional churches confirms end-times Biblical prophecy of a great falling away, the church compromising with the world and its values. Worse is yet to come as Jesus revealed in this Scripture.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.“Matthew 24:9-12
Church of England OKs blessings for same-sex couples
The vote came at a meeting of the General Synod, the church’s governing body, where the compromise approach was described in a variety of ways: as a breakthrough, a flawed compromise, or an outright mistake.
For background, the Church of England is enormous, boasting 85 million members located in 165 countries. As you may have heard, they have been in the news recently for charting a course that can only be described as consciously divorcing themselves from the historic teachings of the Christian faith.
“I know that what we have proposed as a way forward does not go nearly far enough for many but too far for others,” said Bishop of London Sarah Mullally, who has overseen the development of the proposals. But, she added, “This is a moment of hope for the Church.”
The text of the adopted motion begins with a stark acknowledgment, as the synod’s members said they “lament and repent” the historic harm done to LGBTQI+ people by the Church of England, in its failure to welcome them.
The church’s leaders spoke about the years of work it has taken to reach Thursday’s vote. And as they celebrated the moment, they also sought unity.
“For the first time, the Church of England will publicly, unreservedly, and joyfully welcome same-sex couples in church,” Archbishops Welby and Cottrell said.
They called for a new beginning and a continuation of thoughtful debate. “Above all, we continue to pray, as Jesus himself prayed, for the unity of his church and that we would love one another,” the archbishops said.
To remove any doubt, this move wasn’t a clarification that the Church’s doors are open to everyone because we all fall short of the glory of God, but an assertion that same-sex couples attending their parishes can now “dedicate their relationship to God and receive God’s blessing.”
The vote was 250-181, and in many ways wasn’t that surprising, especially considering the Church of England ordains homosexual priests under the promise that they remain “celibate.”
Steven Croft, the bishop of Oxford, praised the “significant and historic step” because “same-sex couples will become much more visible and their relationships will be celebrated publicly,” which, he expects, “will continue to change attitudes within the life of the Church.”
For their part, archbishops Welby and Cottrell punctuated the “historic step” of the vote by declaring that, “above all, we continue to pray, as Jesus himself prayed, for the unity of his church and that we would love one another.”
It’s like they grabbed the Apostle Paul’s list of vices to avoid in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and are using portions of it as a roadmap for what conduct they ought to “bless” from the pulpit.
Paul writes, “Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Corinthians
Forget “homosexuality” for a moment. On what basis could the archbishop and his ensemble preach against greed, adultery, extortion, or any other unbiblical behavior mentioned above if they’ve already taken their white-out pen to the parts of Scripture that make them uncomfortable? If they’re being consistent, they couldn’t.
That inconsistency aside, however, what’s truly maddening about this entire ordeal is that these purported representatives of the “cloth” are openly deceiving their parishioners. And one day these parishioners will have to account for their actions before the Supreme Judge of the world.
“But my bishop told me I could do it” won’t cut it as a valid excuse before a Holy God.
Equally as troublesome, by obfuscating such direct biblical truths, these imposters are robbing those under their authority of experiencing genuine Christian “love.”
Recall that the Apostle Paul doesn’t end 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 by rattling off a condemnatory list of sins, and then leaving it at that. Nope. He offers the hope of the Gospel.
“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:11
That’s how the Bible delineates “love,” with God the Father sending Jesus Christ to endure the brutality of Calvary to rescue us from the “domain of darkness” and transfer us “to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).
Instead of this powerful presentation of God’s “love,” we have the Church of England telling the people who populate their pews that they should embrace their sin, reject God’s gift of salvation, and continue to transgress His law with impunity.
Whatever “love” these bishops are uniting behind, it isn’t Christianity.
As J. Gresham Machen would say, they’ve started something “entirely different from Christianity as to belong in a distinct category.” That much is clear.
