No moral authority
Episcopal bishop exposed denomination’s decline
The Rev. Marriann Edgar Budde, bishop of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., is at left. The National Cathedral was the setting for a prayer service on Jan. 21 to coincide with the inauguration of President Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States of America. Reuters via independent.co.uk
It was a golden opportunity with presidents and members of Congress from both parties in the audience.
Rebuke the overheated rhetoric from both parties and challenge them to behave for a kingdom not of this world. The Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., could’ve done that.
Instead, she exposed herself by butchering the plain meaning of a passage, and Budde exposed the Episcopal Church for decades of decline by prioritizing progressive politics that go against teachings of scripture and orthodox Christianity.
She chose getting attention over moral clarity to improve our political culture.
Budde called for national unity by using a passage from the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 7: 24-29 (ESV) says:
24 ‘Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.’ 28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
The Sermon on the Mount is the most renowned teaching in history. Jesus Christ focuses on believers examining their heart motives before God with topics on anger and murder, lust and adultery, and love and enemies, among others..
Yet, Budde torched its plain instruction. The house is someone’s spiritual life and the rain represents divine judgment. A person committed to obeying God’s Word withstands the storm and is steady through it all because of their faith and obedience to God. With this at the end of the Sermon, what is said before it is critical to the entire Sermon.
The Episcopal Diocese in Washington D.C. doesn’t even believe in the authority of God’s Word, which means it doesn’t believe the truth of God’s Word and has no moral authority on the issue of truth. The diocese website states the following:
While the Bible is our sacred text, we acknowledge that it is an ancient human document, full of all the contradictions and inconsistencies of humanity. We seek in Scripture spiritual inspiration, historical grounding for our faith, the teachings of Jesus and of the Hebrew prophets before him, and guidance for our own life of prayer and service.
The Episcopal Diocese of Washington D.C. doesn’t believe the nearly 40 authors of the 66 books of Scripture were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write truth.
Talk about a weak foundation.
The Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., delivered the message on Jan. 21 that called for national unity. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images via NBCNews.com
Budde identified three foundations to national unity: the inherent dignity of every person; honesty in private conversation and public discourse; and humility.
If you don’t believe in objective truth from God’s Word, how can you demand honesty anywhere? You don’t know the very foundation of truth.
That is just part of the theological crisis in the Episcopal Church that removes the moral high ground for her unity message. She stands on a foundation of sand on one of the key elements she declared is so critical to national unity.
She also has no grasp of irony.
However, Budde complicated her weak position when she dove into left-wing politics, talking about immigrants and the LGBTQ community.
The Episcopal Church is a Mainline Protestant denomination that has been in freefall for decades. The dive toward irrelevance started about 50 years ago. The following is a timeline that corresponds to a history from the Episcopal Church website;
In 1976, the General Convention adopted multiple resolutions supporting homosexuality.
In 1994, the church added sexual orientation to its non-discrimination canons for ordination.
In 2003, the church consecrated Gene Robinson as the first openly gay bishop in the United States.
In 2009, the church passed a resolution stating “God's call is open to all.”
In 2012, the church amended its canons to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and expression.
In 2015, the church amended its canons to permit any couple to be married.
In 2020, they added anti-racism training for Episcopal churches.
Budde also has communicated support for abortion.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey Walton wrote the following about Episcopal Church attendance during covid for Juicy Ecumenism in September 2023:
Optimists might protest that Episcopalians are still in the process of returning to church, but let me disabuse readers of that notion: they’ve transferred to another church that reopened earlier, traded weekly church attendance for some combination of yoga and/or brunch, or are deceased. If they failed to return to the pews in 2022, these Episcopalians are now gone.
Also, white evangelical Christians are often called too “political,” according to media narratives. However, Ryan Burge, America’s top religion researcher, says the data suggests otherwise:
I think it’s empirically defensible to say that liberal Christians are more politically engaged than conservative ones. However, it’s even more helpful to narrow that by saying that this is especially the case when it comes to white Christians. Liberals are much more politically involved than conservatives. And that disparity only accelerates when you throw church attendance into the mix. It makes liberal white Christians into highly engaged political actors in a way that is not true for white conservative Christians.
As Episcopalians dove into wokeness, they’ve become more politically engaged. The cost has been steep as their churches hemorrhage membership with no signs of growth.
They traded the truth of God’s Word for cultural approval, seeking to gain the whole world, while losing its soul.