tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post3969851673383985984..comments2023-12-17T16:13:06.670-05:00Comments on In a Godward direction: Dueling EpistlesTobias Stanislas Haller BSGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08047429477181560685noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-26521951165980795262010-06-07T23:26:06.171-05:002010-06-07T23:26:06.171-05:00Apparently, Diana Butler Bass was right.Apparently, Diana Butler Bass was right.Lionel Deimelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-488105745383861232010-06-07T19:55:16.308-05:002010-06-07T19:55:16.308-05:00May I coin a verb to describe the effect on The Ep...May I coin a verb to describe the effect on The Episcopal Church of the latest ACO screed?<br /><br />"Wet noodled."Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07474786207149076221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-56563985685143204772010-06-07T11:42:58.652-05:002010-06-07T11:42:58.652-05:00Well, it appears that we now have an answer, or at...Well, it appears that we now have an answer, or at least a partial answer, to the question of what "formally" means in the <a href="http://www.aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2010/6/7/ACNS4707" rel="nofollow">letter from Canon Kearon</a>. How sad! And how hollow!Marshall Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02807749717320495495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-72637197638739104902010-06-06T20:51:08.125-05:002010-06-06T20:51:08.125-05:00We know, or at least we think we know, a great dea...We know, or at least we think we know, a great deal about leadership. Were Rowan Williams not a great scholar and reputable theologian, we would dismiss him (some do) as thoroughly clueless regarding the dynamics of leadership. Aside from all the various and apt analyses of Anglican tribulation as cultural clashes and theological divisions, creative leadership would recognize the importance of giving to Anglicans the world over the hard work of struggling through differences. Instead, the Archbishop supposes that either through chastisement or appeasement he will bring his Communion to heel. <br /><br />The tragedy is on one level the continuing construction of an ecclesiology and an ethics that ignores the arbitrariness which dismisses homosexuality as unnatural even though it pops up consistently in much of the Creator's creation. On another level, the tragedy is the persistence of a fantasy that somehow a centralized authority will be the very style of leadership that will create effective community. Dictating compliance is somewhat at odds with the very freedom that Christians suppose God grants creatures.<br /><br />And even if chastisement were to work and the unruly American children were to come back to the table to gather crumbs with their tails between their legs, what would the victory be? Hardly a great advertisement for the power of Jesus Christ. Only a testament that empire once again wields power over the powerless: a Phyrric victory if ever there were one. <br /><br />Frank Dunn<br />Washington, DCFrankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12003630085060454956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-34008082034772432082010-06-05T17:00:02.110-05:002010-06-05T17:00:02.110-05:00Thanks for the comments. Blogging (and commenting)...Thanks for the comments. Blogging (and commenting) will be "lite" the next few days as I am heading off to West Virginia to lead the clergy conference; topic: Hermeneutics.<br /><br />Marshall, you touch on an important point: the whole issue revolves around <i>form</i> and <i>formalism</i> -- especially in the drive to "formalize" the Anglican Communion, when it has actually worked fairly well informally!<br /><br />R, spot on: the PB is not letting her "child" get hooked (to use the old transactional analysis language -- which may work better for institutional than personal psychology.)<br /><br />GM, yes that is a delicious quote, and the one I was alluding to. I do hope Rowan finds Katharine's letter sobering. Thanks for your kind words....Tobias Stanislas Haller BSGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08047429477181560685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-67153847625250191872010-06-05T15:35:46.396-05:002010-06-05T15:35:46.396-05:00"I should like balls infinitely better,'&...<i>"I should like balls infinitely better,'' she replied, "if they were carried on in a different manner; but there is something insufferably tedious in the usual process of such a meeting. It would surely be much more rational if conversation instead of dancing made the order of the day."<br /><br />"Much more rational, my dear Caroline, I dare say, but it would not be near so much like a ball."</i><br /><br />Tobias, the temptation to give the entire quote was irresistible.<br /><br />Although, there is much that is tedious in being part of the Anglican Communion, I'd regret to give it up. I'd have liked to see more of the "loving" aspect of parenthood shown by the Archbishop, but I suppose it doesn't really matter, because he is not our daddy.<br /><br />Having the two letters appear within such a brief period of time, was an extraordinary experience. The temptation to compare and contrast is irresistible (again!).<br /><br />Another irresistible (again!) temptation that plagues me is to attempt to put myself inside another person's head to try to figure out how they'd feel or what they'd think about a certain matter. Had I been inside Rowan's head, once I'd read Katharine's letter, I'd have been somewhat ashamed of my own missive. However, I expect that I'd be quite off the mark at judging what the ABC thinks or feels.<br /><br />"Dueling Epistles" is the perfect title for the post. Will you sell the movie rights?June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-51954186174604563262010-06-04T22:47:41.507-05:002010-06-04T22:47:41.507-05:00I wish Rowan had exercised the wisdom of a truly l...<i>I wish Rowan had exercised the wisdom of a truly loving parent, when from his perspective the children started acting up, to let them be, rather than to formalize their quarrels — and his Pentecost letter continues on that road of mildly vexed and punitive paternalism.</i><br /><br />Yes, this highlights what I, too, picked up in our Presiding Bishop's response: a gracious assertion that we are adults, not children.<br /><br />Even assuming the ABC in a parental role, the only way to shepherd children to adulthood (which is an essential task of parenting) is to introduce them to adult responsibilities. One of those is learning how to settle their own differences!Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07474786207149076221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-48365279061506679392010-06-04T19:39:18.398-05:002010-06-04T19:39:18.398-05:00Much, I think, hangs on just how Canterbury interp...Much, I think, hangs on just how Canterbury interprets his own emphasized word, "<i>formally</i>." Uganda and Kenya "formally" intervened across national/provincial boundaries. Is that "formally" undone when they turn jurisdiction over to ACNA? The Church of England has found a means "formally" to accommodate civil unions of clergy. Is that somehow less problematic than the fact that they have not "formally" affirmed marriage equality per se, or have not consecrated a bishop "formally" partnered? (And, as both Bishop Jefferts Schori and Archbishop Hiltz have alluded, that more such partnerships are blessed in England than almost anywhere else, but not "formally?")<br /><br />In fact we won't know how Canterbury intends to interpret "formally" until there are invitations to send or not send. In the mean time, his letter seems to me "formal" in a way I don't think he intended: all form over substance.Marshall Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02807749717320495495noreply@blogger.com