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From the Response Team’s Dismissal of Charges:
The complaints … against Bishop Sprague are a very serious matter, both
for Bishop Sprague and the Church. Indeed, the supervisory response team
recognizes this as a potential watershed moment in our denomination. The
response to the complaints could establish the cultural ethos and the missional direction of the denomination (particularly in the United States)
for the foreseeable future. The entire Church is watching. Critical
questions hang in the balance and frame the context of the complaints.
 Watershed Moment
It is important that we not allow the passing of what Bishop Ough’s
Supervisory Team has characterized as a "Watershed Moment" without examining
their dismissal of recent charges brought against Bishop Sprague. More
importantly, presentations and discussions such as this forum will allow
United Methodists throughout the Northern Illinois Conference an opportunity
to decide for themselves what they believe to be the Biblical Truth
about the doctrines that are at the root of this controversy.
The charges in the complaint against Bishop Sprague state that his
positions are contrary to the Statement of Faith in the United Methodist
Book of Discipline. This controversy became public when a transcript of
Bishop Sprague’s speech at Iliff Seminary was released in the summer of
2002. Subsequent to that, Chapter 4 of his book, "Affirmations of a
Dissenter" was released by Bishop Sprague on the NIC web site.
In the fall of 2002, the United Methodist Reporter published a
series of articles contrasting excerpts from Chapter 4 of Bishop Sprague’s
book with the published response of Bishop Whitaker.
In addition, various renewal groups officially within the UMC, as well as
other groups not officially connected, have covered various aspects of this
controversy on their web sites. They have published information and
opinions about the complaint that was made by a group of laity and clergy
late in 2002, and the subsequent dismissal in February of 2003. These
groups provide a forum for this and other issues of concern within the UMC.
NIC VOICE
offers concerned laity within
NIC churches an opportunity to become more INFORMED in order to confirm our
beliefs and participate more fully within our conference and denomination:
Pray for all of those in leadership, in our
church, our conference and our denomination so that we will be obedient to
God's leadership and renewal so we can glorify the name of Jesus in our
personal lives and as a church and denomination.
Become educated about these issues. To become
more fully informed about the book and the complaint,
NIC VOICE
has established a web site (www.nicvoice.org)
with resources for education, as
well as laity speakers to assist UMC laity in examining the theology
behind Bishop Sprague's controversial statements (see reverse side for
summary). One of the resources on the web site is a downloadable
Microsoft™ PowerPoint presentation which covers the history of the
complaint, the key doctrinal issues, the complaint's dismissal and
subsequent commentaries in order to provide balanced information within
the Northern Illinois Conference.
Upon invitation by interested congregations, the group
will send a speaker to facilitate discussion and give the presentation;
however, churches may elect to use one of their own members and utilize
the resources on the
www.nicvoice.org web site,
including the Microsoft™ PowerPoint presentation. The
NIC VOICE
presentation includes various
responses made by other Bishops and additional information pertinent to
all NIC churches. This is in harmony with the recommendations by the
Supervisory Response Team's dismissal of charges.
Elect theologically sound delegates from Northern Illinois to
General Conference and Jurisdictional Conference. Bishops are elected by
the Jurisdictional Conference while the General Conference sets the
direction of the entire church.
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Is Jesus "God with Us"
sent by God to earth conceived by the Virgin Mary, or did he have two
human parents, Mary and an unnamed father? |
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Bishop C. Joseph Sprague
Affirmations of a Dissenter: Chapter 4, "Fully Human
Jesus" (underlined added for emphasis) |
UMC BOD Articles of Faith
Article VII (excerpts with underlining for emphasis) |
Holy Bible (NIV)
Colossians 2: 9-10 |
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"Thus, if the Virgin Birth did not occur in a
physical historical sense, if Jesus were born of human parents,
as I affirm he was, and if Jesus did not possess trans-human
super-natural powers, as I do not believe he did, what sense can
we make of the miraculous stories about him in the gospel accounts?"
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"The Son, who is the
Word of the Father… of one substance with the Father, took man's
nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin; so that two whole and perfect
natures, that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood, were joined
together in one person…. was crucified, dead, and buried, to
reconcile his Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original
guilt, but also for actual sins of men." |
"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:
The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will
call him Immanuel". Isaiah 7:14
"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in
bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the
head over every power and authority."
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Was Jesus physically
resurrected to a glorified, physical body, or was his body buried,
stolen or lost and his resurrection spiritual? |
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Bishop C. Joseph Sprague
From transcript speech at Illif in Denver, Colorado |
UMC BOD Articles of Faith
Article III (excerpts with underlining for emphasis) |
Holy Bible (NIV)
I Corinthians 15:16-19 |
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"I affirm resurrection, the resurrection of Jesus.
God’s essence cannot be killed, buried, or kept from being alive in
creation or history. God is from everlasting to everlasting. But,
resurrection, including that of Jesus, does not include bodily
resuscitation."
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"Christ did truly rise again from the dead,
and took again his body, with all things appertaining to the
perfection of man's nature, wherewith he ascended into heaven, and there
sitteth until he return to judge all men at the last day." (Underlining
added for emphasis) |
"For if the dead are not
raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not
been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then
those also who have fallen asleep [died] in Christ are lost. If only for
this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all
men." |
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Is Jesus the way of
salvation offered to all people, or one of other ways to God? |
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Bishop C. Joseph Sprague
From transcript speech at Illif in Denver, Colorado |
UMC Book of Discipline Articles of Faith
Article XXI (excerpts with underlining for emphasis) |
Holy Bible (NIV)
Acts 4:12
John 14: 6 |
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"Having so affirmed Jesus as God’s unique and
normative revelation, I must dissent from Christocentric exclusives
which hold that Jesus is the only way to God’s gift of salvation. Such
an arrogant claim stands over and against the inclusive Jesus of the
synoptics and limits God in ways that humans cannot and must not."
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"… The offering of Christ
once made, is that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction
for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual; and there
is none other satisfaction for sin but that alone…" |
"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name
under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me'."
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Was Jesus’ death on the
cross a substitutionary atonement to pay for our sins and reconcile us
to God, or simply an example of discipleship? |
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Bishop C. Joseph Sprague
From transcript of speech at Illif and
"Fully Human Jesus" (underlined added for emphasis) |
UMC BOD Articles of Faith
Article VIII (excerpts with underlining for emphasis) |
Holy Bible (NIV)
Hebrews 9:14-15 |
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"Nevertheless, I find the substitutionary
atonement theory, which is but one of several Christian theories of
atonement, to be at odds with other images of God reflected by the
witness of Jesus and experienced by this writer."
"While sacrifice as an act of discipleship is
essential for all of us as it was for Jesus, the concept of blood
sacrifice to appease God is superstition at best and an idolatrous
allegiance to a non-Jesus methodology of God-human relationship at
worst." |
"The Son, who is the
Word of the Father… of one substance with the Father, took man's nature
in the womb of the blessed Virgin; so that two whole and perfect
natures, that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood, were joined together
in one person…. was crucified, dead, and buried, to reconcile his Father
to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for
actual sins of men." |
"How much more, then, will the blood of Christ who
through the eternal Sprit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse
our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the
living God! For this reason, Christ is the mediator of a new
covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal
inheritance--now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from
the sins committed under the first covenant."
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