It was good to hear some encouraging news from the Church of England, reported by Robert last week.

However, little good seems to come from the The Episcopal Church (TEC) in USA.

The Church of England Newspaper (27 February 2009) reported that the Anglican Communion’s first Anglican-Buddhist bishop was recently elected at a special convention of the Diocese of Northern Michigan.

Concerns had been raised about the suitability of a professed Buddhist who said he had received Buddhist “lay ordination” and was “walking the path of Christianity and Zen Buddhism together” as well as the fact that he was the only candidate on the ballot paper. However, when it came down to the vote, the Rev Kevin Thew Forrester received the support of 88 percent of the delegates and 91 percent of congregations. Mr Forrester is also known by his Buddhist name, “Genpo” which means “Way of Universal Wisdom”.  The newspaper also noted the bishop-elect’s non traditional views, evidenced by the diocese’s newsletter where he stated: “Sin has little, if anything, to do with being bad. It has everything to do, as far as I can tell, with being blind to our own goodness.”

Kevin Forrester’s election needs to be confirmed by a majority of standing committees and bishops in the TEC before he can be consecrated.  It will be an interesting test for the TEC.  Will they stand for the uniqueness of Christ? Will they recognise that Buddhism and biblical Christianity are mutually exclusive?