Episcopal Bishop Takes Stand for Decency

In the midst of the ECUSA's (Episcopal Church - USA) decline into anything-goes theology and morality, a defender of decency emerges in the person of the Rt. Rev. John Howe, the bishop of the Diocese of Central Florida. Read here for the story of the bishop's stand for chastity in a Christian high school where some in the faculty seem to have lost their minds.

Trinity Preparatory School had planned on performing the play La Cage aux Folles - a production that tries to normalize sexual practices that are clearly at odds with the Christian faith, while at the same time vilifying people who uphold a biblical worldview regarding marriage (people like the bishop of central Florida, for instance).

The article shows the mendacity of those who are deliberately pushing a sexual agenda on young people - and using a Christian high school as the medium in which to do it. Note these two quotes (not to mention the manufactured surprise and outrage) on the part of Janine Papin, the chairman of the fine arts department of the school and the would-be director of the play: "La Cage really isn't about a gay couple. It's about family....It's funny and endearing, and there's a wonderful message about being comfortable with who we are. And it really doesn't have to deal with sexuality."

Nice spin. It's just an innocent, heartwarming show about family. Nothing sexual here, of course. Nothing about a gay couple, it's just an endearing story about a family. It's all a misunderstanding. Right. Note that just a week earlier, the same woman admitted her agenda to the newspaper:

"Last week, Papin told the Sentinel she picked the show because she wants 'to push the limits so that there are very few shows that are off-limits for the kids because of sexual orientation or because of religious differences or whatever it is.'" So, there's a little more here than a nice, funny, endearing story about family.

Also:

"Papin had told Trinity Prep administrators of her selection and was asked to put a PG-13 label on promotional posters. Her news release explained the show involved a gay couple and said 'the audience should be age appropriate for the content.'"

This is a high school, for crying out loud. A Christian high school. Is it too much to ask that the high school play not have to have morality disclaimers and perhaps even turning the brothers and sisters of the actors away at the door because of sexual content? Again, this is a Christian school run by a Christian bishop.

This is a point that seems lost on people. Listen to the remarks of one deluded parent: "I would like the show to go on. It has absolutely nothing to do with the bishop... I don't think it has anything to do with the church."

Notice the total breakdown in logic. This is a church-run school. It certainly has to do with the church. In the Episcopal Church, the bishop has oversight over the church in his diocese. It has everything to do with the church and everything to do with the bishop. This is not a public school. It is a Christian school run under the auspices of the bishop of the diocese - who happens not to believe in the obvious agenda being pushed by Miss Papin.

Christian schools that are run by the church have the obligation to promote a Christian worldview. The church has every right to insist that the school not make a mockery of, or take contrary positions against, the church. If people want high schools that put on plays that challenge the Christian view of sexuality, why don't they either try it in a public school (good luck getting it off the ground funded by taxes) or start their own school dedicated to sexual deviancy (good luck getting parents eager to send their children to a school with an open agenda of not only sexuality, but of deviant sexuality).

Meanwhile, though I think he's tilting at windmills in staying in the Episcopal Church, and while I believe the ECUSA's decision to "ordain" women has led directly to the current civil war in the Episcopal Church regarding homosexuality (as well as the part played by the unrestrained theology of the "charismatic movement" that I understand the bishop is a part of), my hat is off to Bishop Howe for his courageous action to defend the integrity of Scripture, the continuity of the catholic tradition of the Church, and common propriety when it comes to educating young people with regard to matters of marriage and sexuality.

And likewise shame on the folks who are pushing to not only further sexualize young people, but who also have an obvious agenda and are hiding behind the skirt of "tolerance" in an bid to undermine Christ and His bride, the Church.