It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.....
The Rev. Robert Duncan was a bishop in the Episcopal Church. He believes that there is a God. He believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who died for our sins. He believes that the Bible is the Word of God. He believes that to be Christian we need to heed what they all say.
John Shelby Spong is a retired Episcopal bishop. He believes that, if there is a God, he is whatever We say he is today. He believes that Jesus Christ was not divine - just a really swell guy who wasn't raised on Easter. He believes that the Bible is wrong - it's a sexist, racist, homophobic, first-century sales job that has little relevance in the context of the modern world - and only the hysterical, fearful, insecure and neurotic take at face value. He believes that Christianity should heed more the words of folks like Karl Marx than Saint Paul.
Yesterday, the Bishops of the Episcopal Church, at the urging of the Presiding Bishop, voted to expel Bishop Robert Duncan from the Episcopal Church because of his beliefs, and for vocally opposing those who think John Shelby Spong is correct.
John Shelby Spong remains in good standing in the Episcopal Church, and his values are very much revered by those who voted to kick Bishop Duncan out. For all their talk of tolerance and diversity, the national church leadership does not seem to tolerate dissent, or any values diverse from their own.
So why am I still an Episcopalian when the national Episcopal Church seems to disdain most everything I value? A good question, and one I am re-examining in the wake of Bishop Duncan's expulsion.
I have remained an Episcopalian because Anglicanism is my channel to God, and has been all my life. It is a part of my very being, and I have not found anything that could replace it. I stay because there is no other alternative for me (yet). Roman Catholicism is too rigid - Methodism too squishy. I stay because I thought (until yesterday) I could hold to my values, dissent when I felt called, and still have a "place at the table". I stay because the parish I belong to holds my values, and my Bishop lets our parish do it's thing without interference. I stay because I love my parish; I love it's people; I love our way of worship and relating to God.
And our relationship with God is the important thing here, not polity and personas. Therefore, I am forced to admit that by staying Episcopalian I am enabling and sustaining those who reject the Will of God by embracing a Spong and expelling a Duncan. I am forced to admit that I am supporting, personally and financially, a church that will redefine God in order to worship things like the UN's Millennium Development Goals. And, because our relationship with God is the focus, I am forced to admit that what was once unthinkable - leaving the Episcopal Church - is now very much on the table.
Unfortunately, the time has come for my family to make some very hard choices. Not that The Former Bishop of Nevada and her buddies would give a damn, of course.
UPDATE: In the comments, Chazaq takes me to task for the phrase "Anglicanism is my channel to God," pointing out - quite rightly - that Jesus Christ alone owns that job. Besides, the phrase sounds too much like The Former Bishop of Nevada's "vehicle to the Divine" equivocations. What I was trying to say is that my call and relationship with Jesus Christ, who is the only way to God, has been through an Anglican expression. I never meant to imply that Anglicanism replaces our Savior.
3 comments:
"Anglicanism is my channel to God." If that's true, then you really should stay in the Episcopal Church, where you clearly belong with Katherine Jefferts Schori. If you leave TEC, you run the risk of encountering a person named Jesus, who said "I am the Way". Your choice.
Clifford, I understand your problem. I'm a cradle Episcopalians from a family that has been Anglican since Hank the eighth. Some of my cousins are priests. At this moment I do not believe I can be a member of a church that can act so unjustly. That is a very painful prospect.
It's all very well to say "Flee you fools." But not knowing where to go makes flight not very appealing.
Keep your exit plan up to date. Come GC2009 your bishop, my bishop (John W. Howe) may be selling pencils on the street corner if they won't take a lifeline from the Southern Cone by taking their dioces's out of TEC. After the offending Bs have been booted out then we dig lower to pesky orthodox priests and deacons. Oh and maybe sue a Standing Comm or two that one toe the line. After all when you have $500Mil in endowment assets to play with you can buy all the legal talent you need.
Yes, the Roman Catholic and the Easter Orthodox Churches are rigid in their way. But they survive and in an authenic way. Perfect? No.
But the Roman Church saved western civilization when it was going extinct. They may be the place that does it again as secular western society spins out into liberal nothingness.
Capt. Deacon Warren
Post a Comment