The blogger AKMA - ak(m?)a the New Testament scholar Andrew Adam – has long been someone that I respect and admire even when I disagree with views. He is a delightful example of that person who cares about how one thinks not just what one thinks. About the means and not only the end. He thinks and writes very well even when I do not agree with his conclusions. So far as I can tell he supports the “general direction” of the Episcopal Church – and yet is too principled not to call into question how that direction is pursued.
I like people like that. And my daughter is a fan of Pippa’s art.
I often wonder if liberal Episcopalians – those who support the “general direction” of the Episcopal Church – have enough integrity to critique the Presiding Bishop and how the Episcopal Church is being led these days. “I believe same-sex relations are fine, go MDGs, we don’t need traditional theology any more but… goodness gracious can we the party of Love and Inclusion show a little love and inclusion to conservative Anglicans?!?”
In his recent post “Non Placet” AKMA says well what I wish many other die-hard liberal Episcopalians could bring themselves to say:
When a sizable proportion of Episcopal congregations blatantly ignore the canons every Sunday (offering communion to unbaptized people, to take just one example), it seems a vicious case of selective enforcement: find a charge to level against “the bad guys,” then force it through willy-nilly. I would not want to be so treated by those who disagree with me, and I cannot in conscience support that treatment when it is applied to someone with whom I disagree.
This sort of politics does not commend the gospel, nor does it proceed from a sound theology of the church’s catholicity, nor can it even claim the shabby banner of “inclusiveness.” However much I dissent from Bishop Duncan’s teachings and tactics, the end does not justify the means. Instead, the unexplained heavy-handedness with which the institutional force of the canons have been brought to bear against Bishop Duncan amplifies my sympathy for him and alienates me from leaders with whom I might otherwise be aligned.
Read the whole thing here.
I will never forget my favorite scene in the otherwise passable film “Troy” (with Eric Bana and Brad Pitt) where King Priam comes to the tent of Achilles and asks – nay begs – that he be given the body of his dead son Hector. Just because we are enemies does not mean we should not treat each other with respect. Paul Woodruff might call that “reverence“. Just because some think Bishop Duncan “deserves” to be deposed in no way justifies the way he has been treated by the Presiding Oven Mitt and her supporters.
See here is the thing. It seems cruel and violent what God did to the Egyptians. A fair concern which internationals raise. But God gave pharaoh ten chances to change direction. “Let me people go!” No! And let us see who has real power – me or this Yahweh of yours! He proceeds to oppress the people of Israel even more. Instead of progress toward freedom their situation only gets worse as pharaoh just keeps digging in more and more.
It ends with the Pesach (Passover) of God. Pharaoh is defeated. The people of God are finally delivered. And Yahweh wins.
Episcopal Bishop Bob Duncan of Pittsburgh was (supposedly) deposed at the House of Bishops meeting in Salt Lake City. Nearly any disinterested and/or clear-thinking person recognizes that Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts-Schori has run roughshod over the canons in what has become a series of purges.
Get that? Someone says, “You cannot do this. You are violating the canons and have not followed proper procedure to depose a bishop”. The chair – Presiding Oven Mitt Katharine Jefferts-Schori – says, “No – I am interpreting and applying the canons correctly”. The objector(s) call for a vote to overrule the decision of the chairperson. That vote fails the necessary two-thirds majority. The interpretation stands.
