[sionnsar]

"Welcome, brother. We hope you find rest and refreshment here on the shores of the Tiber. It is a beautiful place. Cast yourself down on its grassy banks and rest a while. . . . . But after you've rested -- and please don't do so for very long -- get up, strap back on your armor, and get back into the battle. We have a whole lot of fighting to do in this church and it is under assault as well."

I remember the FReeper who, a year or two back, invited me to swim the Tiber... but to bring my rifle because I'd need it. (A quick scan through the Traditional Anglican ping list tells me he is no longer on it.) Though the Roman Catholics are in a much better place today with Benedict XVI at the helm.

And while I will note that we don't have battles going on in my province, it doesn't mean my guard is down. I've seen enough -- this little stone bridge will not be yielded.

[sionnsar]

Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams.

FReepmail sionnsar if you want on or off this moderately high-volume ping list (typically 3-9 pings/day).
This list is pinged by sionnsar, Huber and newheart.

Resource for Traditional Anglicans: http://trad-anglican.faithweb.com
More Anglican articles here.

Humor: The Anglican Blue (by Huber)

Speak the truth in love. Eph 4:15

[AnAmericanMother]

I am reminded of an early blog comment some time back in 2004, I believe, when a man posted on some site the happy news that he was "outta here" and on to a much better place. He could finally cease all of this silly, and useless fighting over an unworthy trivial corrupt Episcopal church, because he had crossed the Tiber and joined the Roman Catholic church.

He had not learned a crucial lesson, one that I suspect that God wants us all to learn.

And would that be Matthew 10:14, Mark 6:11, or maybe Luke 9:5?

The author is just sore that the orthodox are out-numbered, out-generaled, gave up the field, and are still not willing to organize and fight.

[SuzyQue]

Good piece. Thanks, Sionnsar.

[Huber]

No, we can't give up the stone bridge, but isn't it counter productive to continue paying tribute to the generals who would take the bridge from us (or do we just look the other way when the collection basket is passed down our pew)? How many of us have stayed on and enriched our enemy, who used his riches to further his conquest?

There is also a dishonesty to going underground, a treachery that is ultimately corrupting, for we are adopting the enemy's tactics to fight the enemy, and in doing so, we end up serving the enemy.

So do we must not permanently surrender the stone bridge, but rather we can embark on a strategic retreat, to regain our strength and to rally reinforcements to fully rout the enemy. Or, to use an other metaphor, isn't it better to be on one of the boats at Dunkirk, and to return at a later time, openly on the offense?

(Incidently, Dunkirk is derived from the Flemish, "church of the dunes")

[avatarity]

Interesting. Thank you for posting that.