The response of the revisionist bishops to the most gracious and caring resolution on human sexuality passed at Lambeth [TLC, Aug. 30], a resolution which named the sin and expressed compassion and welcome for the sinner, was just as predictable as was their failure to censure the outrageous statements against faithful African bishops by their leader, Bishop Spong. Even now, seeds of deceit and confusion are being sown as some bishops attempt to explain and rationalize their crushing defeat at Lambeth. The day of the vote on the sexuality resolution may have been a very disappointing one for the Bishop of El Camino Real [TLC, Sept. 6] but it was not so for the "whole Communion of Anglicans around the world," as he reported. Rather, for more than 80 percent of the Communion, it was a day of humble thanksgiving and praise to God. To report otherwise is grossly deceptive.

Bishop Griswold is right when he says "...we must explore more fully the whole question of what is compatible and incompatible with scripture." It will, however, be a frustrating, one-sided quest if the foundational issue of revelation is not addressed and resolved first.

At the bottom of the wide, conflicted chasm within the Episcopal Church, and between some Episcopal leaders and the vast majority of the Anglican Communion, is the question of the origin of the biblical record. Who is responsible for the Bible and, therefore, who is its authority? Is human reason the source of revelation data or is it a faculty of discernment given by God who already has revealed his unchanging truth? Are we to sit in judgment on the Bible or is the Bible to judge us?

As the church enters the 21st century, the majority of Anglicans have made their choice. They prefer to live under the authority of a gracious and loving heavenly Father who has not left them confused and wondering, "Did God really say ... ?" Believing in a God-given revelation that is trustworthy in its plain meaning, they reject the shifting sands of late 20th-century thought, and they will continue to resist the efforts of Bishop Spong and his friends to return them to the 19th century.

(The Rev.) R. James Tasker

St. Barnabas Church

Bay Village, Ohio