Posted on 07/07/2006 4:56:45 PM PDT by sionnsar
Somebody named Wayne Besen wuvs conservative Anglicans DIS MUCH!!
Is size all that matters to the Anglican Church? It appears that the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury , is willing to steamroll gays to prevent a seismic schism that would decrease membership rolls. In a document titled “theological reflection,” Williams asked all 38 regional churches in the worldwide Communion to agree to a “covenant” that could stymie a church’s ability to elect openly gay bishops. Those churches that did not adhere would have their status downgraded and become second-class affiliates.
This plan would create an ecclesiastical caste system, with conservatives playing the role of Brahmins, while GLBT affirming churches would become the new untouchables. Yet, it would still allow the demoted denominations to share in CommunionThe painful nature of this debate brings up existential questions that leaders such as Williams seem unprepared to face. For example, is the more successful church the one brimming with members based on bigotry or is it the smaller institution walking in righteousness?
While keeping the Communion together is a worthy goal, the price that conservatives are asking is too high for Anglicans of conscience to pay. Those who have embraced full inclusion of gay and lesbian leaders have embarked on a journey and have been enlightened. Once they see homosexuals as spiritual soul mates, it is impossible to go back into the darkness.
What Williams is essentially asking is that liberals subjugate wisdom and undermine understanding for the greater good. But in their hearts, liberals know that something so bad can’t truly be for the greater good. They are being asked to reconcile the irreconcilable and it will never work.
In a sense, this skirmish is no longer about gay people in the Anglican Communion. It is about whether the church is still a conduit for spiritual integrity and intellectual honesty. If members can no longer be true to their beliefs, then the institution will have lost much of its power and meaning. Is a church that dictates one’s conscience rather than allowing one to live as his conscience dictates worth saving?
Liberal Episcopalians should take comfort in the fact that history does not look kindly on splinter church groups that broke away because of intolerance towards minorities. The Southern Baptist Church will always have the stain and stench of slavery hanging over its biography. I can’t think of an instance where a religious group that chose the side of discrimination turned out to be right in history’s judgment. In recent years, for example, the Vatican apologized for its treatment of women and Jews. Although there is little hope that the current Pope will change his archaic views, his embarrassing actions will cause a future Pontiff to grovel over today’s abusive treatment of gaysI’m not a marriage counselor, but my untrained eye sees a pretty good case for divorce. Many in the Episcopal Church have evolved into a new spiritual species and it will only be stalled by the Neanderthals that remain stuck in another era.
Just hang on a little longer, Wayne. The Neanderthals will be gone soon into actual Christianity. And then you can go back to believing whatever the culture tells you to believe in peace.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. This isn't even hard. This skirmish is no longer about gays, it's about the role of the Bible in church life.
A little less than two thousand years ago, Christians believed and taught that man was flawed and fallen, and Christ, scripture and the Holy Spirit were created to inform man's morality and his conscience.
This "new thing" proposes the opposite...that God and scripture are flawed, and that one's intellect and conscience ought to inform one's beliefs. God, however, will not be mocked.
Light is darkness and darkness is light. Political merchandise and it ought to be removed from the church.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.