This misappropriation of what is first and foremost a theological matter only solidified as political parties in North America and Europe polarized and some Christians did, in fact, conflate their faith with partisanship. And while we are called to speak the truth we have received to the state, politics cannot feed our faith. Faith, however, can and should help inform our politics.
The process of restoring life issues to an appropriate place in our congregations as primarily faith issues-issues our priests are duty-bound redemptively to address -- will not be easy. Nor will the restoration happen overnight. Yet because so many seminaries have followed cultural rather than biblical norms, it is critical that we begin the process of educating our clergy and their laity on the ancient Christian theology of life and their role as Christian apologists to stand for what we know to be holy in God's sight.
Briane Turley is Rector of Church of the Holy Spirit Anglican in Tulsa, Oklahoma and recently joined the Board of Directors for Anglicans for Life, http://www.anglicansforlife.org/. Turley also serves as an adjunct Professor of cultural geography at West Virginia University and has served for four years as a Senior Coordinator for the West Virginia State Birth to Three (Early Intervention) Program. Turley received his PhD in Modern European and American Religious History from the University of Virginia. He has been married for thirty years to his best friend, a pro-life activist, Ann. They have been blessed with a son, Christopher, a high school junior.
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