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The Analogy of the African Clawed Frog and the Church in Wales

 

The disciples and the master passed along the Welsh coast on their way from Cardiff to Swansea.  About halfway, they spent several days in the region of Dunraven Castle, enjoying the ruins, beaches, and cliffs.  One day, sitting amidst the grounds of the old, ruined castle, a discussion arose among them about why the Church in Wales was crumbling into ruin as well.  ‘More than ten Anglican churches close each year,’ one of them said.[1]  Another commented, ‘Some say that it will be extinct by 2040, if not before.’  A third said, ‘Two years ago, the clergy voted in favour of blessings for same-sex, so-called “marriages” and civil unions.  The bishops support pride marches, homosexual unions, and transgenderism while denouncing the historic teaching of the Church.’[2]

The master said, ‘Now that is a point worth noting.  Almost all the old denominations in Wales are in decline, indeed, it is so throughout the United Kingdom and the Americas.  The Welsh Presbyterians, United Reformed, Church in Wales, Welsh Independent, Roman Catholic, Scottish Episcopal, Methodist, Church of Scotland, Church of England, Baptist, Salvation Army, and Open Brethren.  In almost all the cases, though, they are not declining because of what they once taught but because of what they now teach.’

One of the disciples quipped, ‘It’s like an actress dying not because she is old but because her plastic surgery to have a new face killed her.’

‘Quite right, and I’ll give you another analogy,’ said the master.  ‘In this very area of Dunraven, a strange thing happened not long ago in the world of frogs.  Back in early 20th century, some researchers in South Africa discovered that the African clawed frog could be used to tell if a woman was pregnant.[3]  If the urine of a pregnant woman was injected under the frog’s skin, the frog would produce eggs.  Excited to learn this, some of these frogs were brought to the United Kingdom.  However, a few of them escaped or were released from their labs in the 1960s.  Scientists checked up on the escapees from time to time, noting that the colony was growing.  However, this new species carried the deadly chytrid fungus.  Worrying that they would transmit it to the native frog population, the scientists decided to eradicate the African species in 2008.  Traps were set, but only one frog was caught over the next few years!  They had declined and become extinct all by themselves.  The scientists could only speculate what happened.  The winters of 2009 and 2010 were severe, and an extreme drought would have prevented tadpoles growing into adulthood.  Also, the hungry, adult frogs eat their tadpoles.  So, the new frogs flourished for about fifty years, but did not last.  Who among you knows the meaning of this analogy?’

‘I’ll give it a go,’ one of the disciples said.  ‘The introduction of new but heretical teaching might be exciting, but it is ultimately deadly.  It can kill others, destroy the youth, and ultimately kills itself.  As goes the African clawed frog, so goes the Church in Wales.’

‘Precisely,’ said the master.  ‘Innovative teachings capture the whims of some for a time.  They even flourish.  They kill and destroy, and sometimes they leave nothing behind.  Ultimately, though, they disappear because they are not the truth.  This new teaching of sexual promiscuity and anti-naturalism in the Church of Wales is quickly destroying it.  It is a fungus introduced into and spreading throughout the old Church, killing everything.  It not only kills the historic Church, it itself will soon die.  Whenever the Church ceases to be a buttress and pillar of the truth, it collapses, just like this old Dunraven fortress.’

‘A riveting story,’ quipped another of the disciples.

Two interesting things happened next.  A couple of disciples located an unusual looking frog nearby.  While they were all looking at it, wondering if it might be a surviving African clawed frog, a tourist group came walking by.  The disciples noticed that, in the group, there was a pregnant woman.  They exchanged glances, and one of the disciples, named Peter, stood up, grabbed the frog, and took a few paces towards the group.

‘Stop,’ said the master.  ‘Sit down, and don’t even think about it.’


[1] David W. Virtue, ‘The Decline and Fall of the Church in Wales,’ Virtue Online (5 September, 2019); https://virtueonline.org/decline-and-fall-church-wales (accessed 15 October, 2023).

[2] Carys Moseley, ‘Church in Wales Abandons the Christian Faith,’ Anglican Ink (10 September, 2021); https://anglican.ink/2021/09/10/church-in-wales-abandons-the-christian-faith/ (accessed 15 October, 2023).

[3] For the story, see Ben Frampton, ‘Escapee Pregnancy Test Frogs Colonised Wales for Fifty Years,’ BBC News (29 June, 2019); https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-44886585 (accessed 15 October, 2023).

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