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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