Right Left Whatever

Episcopal action on Rev. Robinson

I haven't said anything about the selection of Rev. Robinson, mainly because I've been out of the house so much this week -- I've wanted to add something, now everything has been said (and the Lileks Bleat is wonderful! "Hitler's dog went to his funeral"-- I love it!)

I will add this though; I don't think this is the point where the ship has hit the iceberg. I think the iceberg was hit many years ago when bishops like John Shelby Spong were allowed to become spokesmen for the Episcopal church, men who do not believe in Christ's divinity, nor the Resurrection, nor the Atonement, and who find no relevance in the Bible. So the church hit the iceberg a long time ago. In my view, it's probably at the point where the ship is just about vertical and about to snap in two. People are jumping ship, and the ship will sink. The Episcopal Church will soon no longer be recognizable as a Christian Church, as heterodox as the Unitarian Universalist Association, which took action similar to this way back in 1984.

I can't say what those who stay behind will find -- well, maybe I can. I was in a Unitarian Universalist congregation which went though an indoctrination program for becoming more welcoming to gays (confession: that was when I jumped ship, though my real reason for leaving was that they sponsored a fundraiser for my sworn enemy, the Million Mom March). What do they do now with respect to homosexuality in their congregations? Well, ministers are now declining to sign marriage certificates as a protest against the lack of gay marriage. That means if you are a UU and want to get married, your minister will not honor your marriage with his signature, which seems to be rather cruel to me - a good reason to look elsewhere for your wedding ceremony. Another thing is, they insist on "inclusive language", which means you can't call your husband or wife your "husband" or "wife" anymore as those are heterosexist terms. You have to call them "spouse" or "partner". When talking to a newcomer or visitor, you have to avoid asking them about family in such a way that you assume whether they are gay or not. It is a very awkward and unnatural arrangement. Of course, this has probably been going on in the Episcopal church for years as well, at least in some congregations, as was described in a very moving post yesterday by Huw Raphael.

Now I am a Methodist, and Methodists are also struggling with homosexuality. A bishop in Illinois, Joseph Sprague, is involved in the Soul Force movement, which is attempting to get the United Methodist church to recognize homosexuals as equal members, including access to same-sex union ceremonies and ordination. They have gone beyond diplomacy, their tactics are forceful and disruptive.

I see some long-term good coming out of the Episcopal's actions this week. For instance, I don't think there is any way the United Methodist Church will take similar action after seeing what happens to the Episcopal church in the following year. There is a strong renewal movement in the United Methodist Church and there is evidence that the denomination is warming up to evangelical trends, though it is meeting resistance from the Religious Left, those who think the church should compromise orthodoxy for social activism.

Posted by joelfuhrmann at August 7, 2003 09:02 PM