Posted on 05/18/2006 8:00:14 PM PDT by fgoodwin
Episcopal Church Debate Grows More Heated
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/nation/14611673.htm http://tinyurl.com/rrwgw
Thursday May 18, 2006 7:46 PM
By RACHEL ZOLL
AP Religion Writer
Kendall Harmon has to monitor his blog these days, so he can delete insults and offensive language from the comments section.
His topic: the Episcopal Church.
As a critical church meeting on homosexuality nears, the debate online and in public comments has grown so intense that one publication has dubbed it ``blood sport.''
``I think people are dreading possible outcomes and when you're dealing with the unknown, fear kicks in in a big way,'' said Harmon, a minister and conservative leader in the Diocese of South Carolina. ``And I do think things are more polarized now.''
The Episcopal General Convention, which begins June 13 in Columbus, Ohio, must respond to fellow Anglicans worldwide who were outraged by the 2003 consecration of the first openly gay Episcopal bishop - V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. The votes will shape not only the church's future, but also its role as the U.S. representative in the Anglican Communion.
The emotion of the moment is visible in the explosion of blogs since the convention three years ago, when delegates voted to confirm Robinson's election. A quick Web search yields at least 20 dedicated to the plight of the 2.3 million-member denomination. The Living Church, an independent magazine, compared the tone of the discussion to ``a wrestling cage match'' in an editorial titled ``Blood Sport.''
Some bishops have complained of being flooded with hateful e-mails and of being personally attacked on the Web. Harmon, who runs the widely read titusonenine blog, has had to take down comments he said were ``cynical, angry and alas, even petty.'' He now reviews all statements before they are posted. Some liberal-leaning blogs have had to do the same.
``The Internet and blogs do give megaphones to anonymous bigots, but they also allow you to organize more quickly and, in some instances, trade opinions across ideological lines,'' said Jim Naughton, a liberal who runs the blog for the Diocese of Washington and has had to warn people about the language they use there. ``It intensifies the conversation for better and for worse.''
The debate goes beyond the Internet. Episcopalians with traditional beliefs on homosexuality, a minority in the denomination, feel persecuted and silenced by the majority - and their public statements reflect a deep anger over their circumstances.
A conservative group called Lay Episcopalians for the Anglican Communion is pressing for a church trial of Robinson and the dozens of bishops who consecrated him. A spokesman for the advocates, James Ince, said the debate is becoming more direct and truthful, not harsh.
``You can expect the liberals not to appreciate the clear, straight language from lay organizations because they're used to this goody goody two-shoes pantywaist stuff,'' Ince said.
The Rev. Paul Zahl, dean of the conservative Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pa., said in a May 10 letter posted on the school's Web site that an ``army of Brown shirts'' was falsely interpreting Scripture to fuel ``the gay-agenda steamroller.''
Some moderates and liberals have responded by accusing traditionalists of being more concerned with power than with faith. In a recent edition of The Washington Window, the newspaper of the Diocese of Washington, Naughton wrote a two-part report called ``Following the Money,'' linking conservative Episcopal advocates to right-wing donors intent on fighting the political stands of liberal Protestants.
Perhaps the most inflammatory commentary can be found on the Web site virtueonline, where, for example, founder David Virtue refers to one of the church's first openly gay priests as the ``First Sodomite.'' Virtue says anyone offended by his language should not read the site.
Delegates will be entering the convention in Columbus under a heavy burden. They will decide whether to fulfill a request from Anglican leaders for a moratorium on electing partnered gay Episcopal bishops and on creating blessing ceremonies for gay couples.
If Anglican leaders conclude that the General Convention has not moved far enough toward discouraging the practices, it could break apart the 77 million-member Communion.
``I definitely think the tenor of the conversation is a little stronger right now, primarily because both sides of the political issue think there's a lot to lose and there is,'' said Brother Karekin Yarian of Every Voice Network, which works with moderates and liberals in diocesan groups called Via Media. ``Both sides are concerned about the church splitting and no one wants to see that happen.''
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On the Net:
Conservative-leaning blogs: http://titusonenine.classicalanglican.net/ http://www.standfirminfaith.com/
Liberal-leaning blogs: http://www.blogofdaniel.com/ http://frjakestopstheworld.blogspot.com/
Pergamum & Thyatira
They need to answer the question what would God do? I don't think he'd condone their actions because homosexuality is considered an adbomination. To condone it makes yourself just as guilty as those who practice it.
My own experience from at least '91 on says you aren't going to find anything like honest reporting from those folks -- if it doesn't fit their agendas.
My personal experience is that used car salesmen are far more honest than journalists: of all the used cars I've bought I've been significantly less than 100% satisfied only once (and then not by much).
I wish I could say that of the mainstream media news reports of which I had personal knowledge or experience -- if I can exptrapolate from the latter to make a generalization, I would say: The press today are professional liars.
Whether or not it is true right now, the trend is certainly moving in that direction. The major impetus is the migration of conservative Christians out of ECUSA into other denominations and of liberals (not even necessarily Christian) into ECUSA because of the issue of homosexuality.
1. They don't want confrontation with their neighbors
2. They've fearful of being tagged as politcally incorrect
3. They go to church to worship, for spiritual sustenance, NOT to fight and argue. They just tune out the parts of the sermon that offend them, drive them crazy, each week. But a few do leave, usually the ones who make the ral financial committment to the parish.
The revisionists relied on this same old behavior pattern continuing..the religious equivalent, if you will, of the old Stalinist theory about pushing the bayont forward into the enemy's body...if it meets resistance, pull back, if not, go forward another inch. They fully epected the same to continue. IMHO, just the opposite has occure. ECUSA now is probably beyond the tipping point...LIke a high water mark of a flood, (which you can never recognize until AFTER the water has receded.) The USSR imploded int he same way..rotten from the inside.It just happened..no one knew it. It was an unsustainable political model, anmd financially it was bankrupt. So too is ECUSA..demographically and financially, it is ton life support; spiritually, it is brain dead. All that awaits is the DNR decision. We may have it next month at CG2006.
Well, it wasn't true recently for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which shares communion and bishops with the ECUSA, when they got the feedback they requested on their Journey Together Faithfully 'study' of sexuality/homosexuality. So what did they do? They're re-doing the whole thing from scratch, but this time with narrowed focus on seminary students (not those old codgers in the pews paying the freight).
So much for truth, either spoken or heard.
The debate goes beyond the Internet. Episcopalians with traditional beliefs on homosexuality, a minority in the denomination, feel persecuted and silenced by the majority - and their public statements reflect a deep anger over their circumstances
The ONLY objective of Satan is to REPLACE FAITH with DOUBT
That SMALL minority needs to jump ship, for that cruise is SAILING towards HELL.
There was a thread yesterday about the Episcopal Church bookstore selling a book of love spells, and another thread about the woman's ministry site with a liturgy (I think) that was praying to Mother Jesus...
The ECUSA church (not necessarily all members, I am assuming) has lost it. It's hard to honestly refer to it as a Christian church any more. When compromise and being inclusive allows you to embrace wicca, then what are you?
" Episcopalians with traditional beliefs on homosexuality, a minority in the denomination, "
A minority of the bishops, maybe. But even here inside the beltway, I'd say that of the weekly communicant ("church-going") Anglicans, it's got to be several-to-one in favor of the "traditional" beliefs.
When the active homosexual was voted into Bishopric the end was decided. The Episcopal Church of those ushering in such an abomination to the Bishopric are no longer of THE Church. To bring them once again to contrition and redemption is impossible so they ought be set aside from the Body Of Christ.
Whoops... I see the Anglican Church counts members as communicants; that could be confusing.
Dangus, I attended three Episcopal churches in the DC-area while I lived in DC from 2000-2002.
The first, Ascension, was very liberal (Gaithersburg). The second (St. Columba in DC) was also very liberal. We finally found a church that held to the traditional faith (St. Francis) in Potomac.
Its my view that liberal Episcopalians far outnumber conservative Episcopalians in the metro-DC area, but of course I have no impirical proof of that.
I could be wrong.
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