ATTACK OF THE EPISCO-DELUSIONAL
Apparently, the Episcopal Organization was badly thrown by the recent charges here and there in the media that they’re nothing more than liberal Democrats who dress funny. The Rev. Gay Jennings, for example, claims that there was absolutely nothing political about the decisions emanating from TEO’s recent General Convention:
The people at our General Convention come from all over the church, which includes nearly two million people in 16 countries. The topics we discuss also come from across the church: it’s relatively simple for Episcopalians to submit resolutions for legislative consideration. The result at our recently concluded gathering in Indianapolis was that the world was able to watch us debating issues including the blessing of same-sex relationships, peace in the Middle East, and whether dogs have souls.
Three cheers for the red, white and blue and all that.
Our bicameral legislative structure was borne of the same revolution against England as was Congress, and we look alike.
Mark Twain once remarked that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress. So what does that make the Episcopalians? Political sellouts.
It’s easy to stand on the outside and view our democratic process with the same disdain and cynicism that voters feel toward what transpires on Capitol Hill, or to assume we’ve sold out our faith in favor of the secular world.
Because you have. That ship sailed decades ago.
I believe these criticisms are misplaced. Episcopalians are remarkably sincere about church democracy. We believe that the Holy Spirit is working through our legislative committees and debates, even when we misinterpret her guidance. Part of the reason our General Convention takes so long is that we spend significant time in worship, reading scripture, and singing.
We don’t believe any of it, mind you, but it keeps the rubes happy. But let this sink in for a moment. “The Holy Spirit” works “through our legislative committees and debates.”
Really? As I see it there are three options here. Rev. Jennings is suggesting that God needs a parliament or a congress and that He only knows what His will is whenever one side or the other gets most of the votes.
Or for reasons known only to them, ”Holy Spirit” is the name the Episcopalians gave to the Magic 8-Ball they use to write their “theology” which would account for all those “Answer Unclear, Ask Again Later” answers Rev. Jennings says that her church sometimes receives from the Spirit.
But Occam’s Razor again; the most reasonable explanation is the simplest. Rev. Jennings has just tacitly admitted the truth of the criticism of Ross Douthat and others. That the Episcopalians are an entirely political organization with entirely political goals that only uses spiritual jargon to impress the idiots in the pews who actually believe this stuff, a charge Rev. Jennings vehemently denies.
When things get rough or tempers flare, we usually take a break to pray together before resuming debate. If we need more time to discern where God is leading us, we take it. Our recent moves to include lesbian and gay Christians more fully in the church, for example, are the result of more than 30 years of theological study, prayer, and conversation. One can disagree with these initiatives, but they were not born of a desire to reject our Christian truth for secular wisdom. Many of us who hold quite traditional views on the nature of sin believed that our church needed to repent of the sin of homophobia.
We value Christian community over lockstep liberalism or any other ideological position, and even though it opens us to ridicule, we keep inviting everyone to join in.
Wow. Just…wow. Credit where credit is due. I’ve been blogging since 2001 and I can’t remember ever reading any collection of words in the English language that impresses me as much as those do and I mean that sincerely. Bravo!
Let me see if I have this straight. Giving Gene Robinson and Mary Glasspool pointy hats and letting homosexuals get married was actually not overturning, setting on fire and crapping all over the ashes of 2,000 of Christian teaching and was not ”born of a desire to reject our Christian truth for secular wisdom?”
And we Episcopalians only made all these radical changes because we have a traditional view of sin and we desired to repent of “homophobia,” a “sin” about which Scripture is entirely silent and about which Jesus said absolutely nothing? When you think about it, it’s actually the Episcopalians that are the conservative Christians. Ain’t nobody here but us trad chickens, Rev. Jennings?
I believe in going out on a high note so I’ll close things out right here. If she never publishes another word, the Rev. Gay Jennings is destined for literary immortality. Because she is never going to come close to topping that.
The people at our General Convention come from all over the church, which includes nearly two million people in 16 countries. The topics we discuss also come from across the church: it’s relatively simple for Episcopalians to submit resolutions for legislative consideration. The result at our recently concluded gathering in Indianapolis was that the world was able to watch us debating issues including the blessing of same-sex relationships, peace in the Middle East, and whether dogs have souls.
Three cheers for the red, white and blue and all that.
Our bicameral legislative structure was borne of the same revolution against England as was Congress, and we look alike.
Mark Twain once remarked that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress. So what does that make the Episcopalians? Political sellouts.
It’s easy to stand on the outside and view our democratic process with the same disdain and cynicism that voters feel toward what transpires on Capitol Hill, or to assume we’ve sold out our faith in favor of the secular world.
Because you have. That ship sailed decades ago.
I believe these criticisms are misplaced. Episcopalians are remarkably sincere about church democracy. We believe that the Holy Spirit is working through our legislative committees and debates, even when we misinterpret her guidance. Part of the reason our General Convention takes so long is that we spend significant time in worship, reading scripture, and singing.
We don’t believe any of it, mind you, but it keeps the rubes happy. But let this sink in for a moment. “The Holy Spirit” works “through our legislative committees and debates.”
Really? As I see it there are three options here. Rev. Jennings is suggesting that God needs a parliament or a congress and that He only knows what His will is whenever one side or the other gets most of the votes.
Or for reasons known only to them, ”Holy Spirit” is the name the Episcopalians gave to the Magic 8-Ball they use to write their “theology” which would account for all those “Answer Unclear, Ask Again Later” answers Rev. Jennings says that her church sometimes receives from the Spirit.
But Occam’s Razor again; the most reasonable explanation is the simplest. Rev. Jennings has just tacitly admitted the truth of the criticism of Ross Douthat and others. That the Episcopalians are an entirely political organization with entirely political goals that only uses spiritual jargon to impress the idiots in the pews who actually believe this stuff, a charge Rev. Jennings vehemently denies.
When things get rough or tempers flare, we usually take a break to pray together before resuming debate. If we need more time to discern where God is leading us, we take it. Our recent moves to include lesbian and gay Christians more fully in the church, for example, are the result of more than 30 years of theological study, prayer, and conversation. One can disagree with these initiatives, but they were not born of a desire to reject our Christian truth for secular wisdom. Many of us who hold quite traditional views on the nature of sin believed that our church needed to repent of the sin of homophobia.
We value Christian community over lockstep liberalism or any other ideological position, and even though it opens us to ridicule, we keep inviting everyone to join in.
Wow. Just…wow. Credit where credit is due. I’ve been blogging since 2001 and I can’t remember ever reading any collection of words in the English language that impresses me as much as those do and I mean that sincerely. Bravo!
Let me see if I have this straight. Giving Gene Robinson and Mary Glasspool pointy hats and letting homosexuals get married was actually not overturning, setting on fire and crapping all over the ashes of 2,000 of Christian teaching and was not ”born of a desire to reject our Christian truth for secular wisdom?”
And we Episcopalians only made all these radical changes because we have a traditional view of sin and we desired to repent of “homophobia,” a “sin” about which Scripture is entirely silent and about which Jesus said absolutely nothing? When you think about it, it’s actually the Episcopalians that are the conservative Christians. Ain’t nobody here but us trad chickens, Rev. Jennings?
I believe in going out on a high note so I’ll close things out right here. If she never publishes another word, the Rev. Gay Jennings is destined for literary immortality. Because she is never going to come close to topping that.
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