Sunday
Sep042022
Just Let This Sink In
Embryo Parson Posted on Sunday, September 4, 2022 at 07:50PM From an Anglican priest I know who left Continuing Anglicanism for the Neo-Anglican/Pentecostal hinterlands:
I love that my niece has become a pastor and is fearlessly preaching the good news of the gospel. She's following in the footsteps of Saints like Photini after her encounter with Jesus at the well, Mary Magdalene on that first Easter morn, and so many others.
As anyone who follows the debate over women's ordination should know, it is a whopper of a non sequitur to argue from the Gospel witness examples of SS. Photini and Mary Magdalene, et al. that women may therefore be ordained to the pastorate or the priesthood.
Reader Comments (7)
As someone who pretends to be the voice for all of Anglicanism, and even Christendom, it’s amazing that you can’t take an extra five seconds to do a little search to see that this Bethel Church is not the same as the famous Bethel Church. Just as there are multiple St Peter’s churches, there are multiple Bethel Churches. However, that would require you to actually want to be honest in your engagement with issues. But this isn’t really about engaging with an issue but taking someone’s personal social media post and sharing it to poke fun at him. You are an embarrassment to your office. You claim to be a priest but the way you interact with everyone on social media tells more about you than you think it does. I guess your denomination doesn’t believe in discipline. I am embarrassed for you.
Fr Christopher C. Little,
I haven't the foggiest idea why you choose to lurk and stalk my personal Facebook page looking for something to devour. In fact, it appears that on at least six occasions you've decided to copy/paste my content onto your blog and then comment on my ruminations and such without properly attributing them to me. What a shame.
As a fellow Anglican priest, formerly in association with the Orthodox Anglican Church (which you are currently affiliated), there's no need to hide our connection.
That aside, while I am flattered that you seem to have an infatuation with me, and have since before I departed the OAC, I kindly ask that out of Christian charity you do not include the names of my family members as you did above when you decided to copy/paste my content.
Also, as Embarrassed mentioned... Do a little research, because in your haste to copy/paste and bash, you seemed to intentionally miss a step or two in information as you climbed the steps to your high horse.
Furthermore, as you've played this game long enough and can't attribute said content to myself, your access is hereby withdrawn.
Thanks for playing. Now kindly do move along.
Grace and Peace to You,
The Revd Fr Jason A. Hess
(former OAC priest)
Hello, Fr. Hess:
Regarding your first paragraph: You mean back like in October of 2021 when you copied some stuff from Fr. Jay Rice's page and criticized him in an argument on your FB page about religious exemptions from taking the COVID frankenccines? You didn't ask his permission, nor do I remember you giving him attribution. He only learned about because I was watching both his discussion and yours, and I saw you had used some of his stuff. He hadn't, so I sent screenshots to him asking if he had seen your discussion. Fr. Rice promptly posted a responsive comment at your discussion, after which you blocked him and then deleted the discussion.
Now, I have to think that if you've done this once there is a chance you have done it more than once, and so I would merely direct your attention to Matthew 7:1-5.
Let's be honest: People commenting and debating on the Internet often make use of links and pics and snapshots from other pages or sites than their own. I do it. You have done it. And the reason, Fr. Hess, I have never named you in any of those posts where I referred to the content of your posts critically is because I do have a personal history with you and I therefore wanted to spare you the embarrassment. Truly. As you know from reading this blog, I defend trad Anglicanism here and I accordingly often post examples of what true Anglicanism and what it isn't. I also post items about certain Anglicans who embrace political folly. Ask Fr. Robert Hart. So please let me disabuse you of the notion that I have an "infatuation" with you or that I "lurk" at your page, and, a real howler this one, that I am "stalking" you. I scour a number of sources for content showing what trad Anglicanism is *not*, and instances of Anglican political folly. I look at your page maybe 4 times a month.
Concerning the Bethel Church matter: my bad. I have deleted the two references to Bethel Church, and I kindly thank both you and "Embarrassed" for highlighting my carelessness. I will strive to be more careful in the future.
Speaking of "Embarrased" - and I think I may know who the person is here posting anonymously - you write:
"You are an embarrassment to your office. You claim to be a priest but the way you interact with everyone on social media tells more about you than you think it does. I guess your denomination doesn’t believe in discipline. I am embarrassed for you."
Well, several things. 1) It's lucky for me that God, and not some jaundiced and partisan person commenting anonymously, will be the judge of whether or not I am an embarrassment to my office; 2) That you are embarrassed for me *personally* means nothing to me, for the same reason. I stand before God's judgment, not yours. As for the way I sometimes interact on social media, well, I guess that's why I appreciate the example of St. Jerome so much. He didn't mince words. (I could probably invoke Jesus and St. Paul here too) ; 3) My "denomination" does believe in discipline, but our Archbishop and the bishops of other Anglican jurisdictions give their scrappy priests some leeway when it comes to online debates in which they involve themselves. Hope that helps.
The Embryo Parson
Thank you for your response. You use the words “partisan” and “jaundiced” with such enthusiasm. You mention to this Fr Hess that you used his material to show what is not traditional Anglicanism. If that is true, then why would you bring up about his relative and her relationship to an Assembly of God church.
It is one thing to be a scrappy priest fighting for the truth of Christianity. And I am thankful we have previous believers like St Jerome. It is however interesting that your Archbishop approves of the way you treat people. There is a difference between being scrappy and being hateful. Going after men like Fr. Hart for their political beliefs shows that you are the one who care more about partisanship and politics than being a prophet to those who are not yet believers. But then again, your disdain for evangelicals and Protestants has been quite clear for sometime. The fact that you continually berate them makes one believe that this Anglican Orthodox Church that you are a member of approves of these beliefs.
Chris+
Again, a lack of research. And for God's sake get off the high horse.
On September 17, 2021 (Not October as you attest), I posted on my Facebook wall concerning "religious exemption" letters for Covid-19. In that post, OAC priest Joshua Gilliam commented. In my exchange with him I shared in a screenshot from the newly received OAC priest Jay Rice that included his name and picture. The screenshot consisted of his post declaring he would write an exemption letter for those in need.
Again, it was a comment exchange with the now Bishop elect Joshua Gilliam (ask him, if you doubt). Gilliam+ commented on the post saying that Rice+ did not speak on behalf of the OAC. In fact, let me quote the Bishop elect, "...I know of no document in the OAC that supports not getting vaccinated as a bona fide religious exemption concerning vaccines. ... If Father Rice is asked for an official stance on the vaccination that is produced by the OAC he will discover that document does not exist, at least to my knowledge."
You are correct about one thing though, I did delete his comment and subsequently blocked him. Just as I blocked you in the past when your vitriol became toxic and harassing. It was out of Christian charity that I unblocked you when you reached out to me about a health crisis with a senior priest in the jurisdiction. However, you've demonstrated that you lack Christian charity, so consider yourself blocked once again.
While I don't need to go out of my way, I will gladly provide the proof of my citation and exchange with the now Bishop elect Gilliam.
I tire of your trite justifications and self-righteousness.
Good day.
Grace and Peace to You.
Well, it seems "Embarrassed" and Fr. Hess are team-tagging me, right about in the same space of time.
For "Embarrassed" first. (I'll get to Fr. Hess' recent comment later in the evening.):
"You mention to this Fr Hess that you used his material to show what is not traditional Anglicanism. If that is true, then why would you bring up about his relative and her relationship to an Assembly of God church."
Maybe because he thinks Anglicanism and Pentecostalism + Women's ordination are compatible?
"It is one thing to be a scrappy priest fighting for the truth of Christianity. And I am thankful we have previous believers like St Jerome. It is however interesting that your Archbishop approves of the way you treat people."
I am happy that we have *saints* like St. Jerome too, not "just previous believers". If there is hope for a saint like him, there is hope for me. ;>)
"How I treat people." If you're referring to a relative handful of critical posts on my blog, my Facebook page (where I think you may be a friend), or anywhere else, as the basis of your assessment of how I "treat people" generally speaking, then I would advise you to brush up on the "hasty generalization" fallacy. If you could somehow gain temporary magical powers to look into how I relate to my family members, personal friends, parishioners and hospital patients, you'd have a better assessment - a less jaundiced assessment if I may say so again - of how I "treat people". My Archbishop knows me and and has seen my pastoral ministry, and he observes what I write on my personal Facebook page and a couple of Anglican discussion pages, and probably here. He knows that I can be edgy online, but he knows me WAY better than you do, Sir or Madam, and he therefore knows how I "treat people."
"There is a difference between being scrappy and being hateful. Going after men like Fr. Hart for their political beliefs shows that you are the one who care more about partisanship and politics than being a prophet to those who are not yet believers."
If you think I went after Fr. Hart *solely* because of his political beliefs, then you haven't carefully read what I've written on the matter. I encourage you to revisit that.
"But then again, your disdain for evangelicals and Protestants has been quite clear for sometime. The fact that you continually berate them makes one believe that this Anglican Orthodox Church that you are a member of approves of these beliefs."
First of all, it's the Orthodox Anglican Church, not the Anglican Orthodox Church.
My "disdain for evangelicals". I guess that would explain what I posted below about the guy at The Ten Minute Bible Hour's interview of Fr. Gordon Hines, what I wrote about Evangelicals in my post "The Life and Times of the Embryo Parson", what I have posted in my page here "Make Baptists Anglican Again", and the give-and-take with my Evangelical friends on my Facebook page.
Which I'm guessing you may have read.
No, Sir or Madam. I do not have "disdain" for Evangelicals. I am *critical* of their theology and practice. Disdain and criticism are two different things.
I would encourage you just to take a deep breath and try to dispassionately consider my response to you here, and what you think you know about me.
Fr. Hess:
"Again, a lack of research."
My research is sound on this one, as we'll see.
"And for God's sake get off the high horse."
I am not any more on a high horse than you are when you post critical comments on "Christian Nationalism" and any other number of topics on your FB page. Stop being a hypocrite. You don't speak for "God's sake."
"On September 17, 2021 (Not October as you attest), I posted on my Facebook wall concerning "religious exemption" letters for Covid-19."
Duly noted. It was almost a year ago, Jason, and my interactions with Fr. Rice were in late October, I suppose because that's when I first saw the discussion (because, doncha know, I "lurk" and "stalk" you there. The point, which you try to so deftly evade here, is that you stand as a hypocrite when you fault me for snatching things from other people's pages when you have done the same thing. Fr. Rice called you on that, which is why I'm sure you blocked him and then deleted the post.
"In that post, OAC priest Joshua Gilliam commented. In my exchange with him I shared in a screenshot from the newly received OAC priest Jay Rice that included his name and picture. The screenshot consisted of his post declaring he would write an exemption letter for those in need."
And you did so critically - without telling him - in defense of Christians being morally compelled to take the vaccine, just as you argued that Christians are morally compelled to wear masks in the face of all the evidence that they don't inhibit the transmission of respiratory disease, and are harmful to people and the societal and political order besides . I have screenshots.
"Again, it was a comment exchange with the now Bishop elect Joshua Gilliam (ask him, if you doubt). Gilliam+ commented on the post saying that Rice+ did not speak on behalf of the OAC. In fact, let me quote the Bishop elect, "...I know of no document in the OAC that supports not getting vaccinated as a bona fide religious exemption concerning vaccines. ... If Father Rice is asked for an official stance on the vaccination that is produced by the OAC he will discover that document does not exist, at least to my knowledge."
I don't doubt it. Like I told you I was following both discussions.
"You are correct about one thing though, I did delete his comment and subsequently blocked him."
You bet I'm correct. You blocked him merely because he called you on it, and then tried to sweep the discussion under the rug.
"Just as I blocked you in the past when your vitriol became toxic and harassing."
But he was not toxic or harassing in his response. He merely called you on it.
Yeah, Jason, you have told me I'm "toxic." Do you remember my response to you? I said, while I might be "toxic", according to you, in some of my criticisms, you and your fellow woke Neo-Anglicans are *dangerous*. Dangerous to Anglicanism, dangerous to the Catholic Faith, and dangerous to the societal and political order here in the United States. I'd rather be "toxic" in my online criticisms of theological and political folly than dangerous like you folks. Chesterton wrote that the good soldier of Christ does not fight so much because he hates what lies before him, but rather that he loves what lies behind him. And that principle applies to my approach to you and others who have gone off the rails theologically and politically. I defend the faith and practice of the Catholic Church, which is why, for example, I've criticized your embrace of the abominable practice of women's ordination. (I recently learned that Susan Warnke, the wife of Michael Warnke who made tons of money based on a lie, is a "bishop" in your communion. So, it's not just that the CEEC ordains female pastors, but even purports to bestow *Catholic orders* upon them. It is an absolute monstrosity.)
"While I don't need to go out of my way, I will gladly provide the proof of my citation and exchange with the now Bishop elect Gilliam."
No need. Like I said, I have all the screenshots.
"I tire of your trite justifications and self-righteousness."
As I do yours.
"Grace and Peace to You."
Jason, enough of the sanctimony. You do not truly wish me "Grace and Peace", and everyone reading this exchange knows it. So do you.