tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.comments2023-12-17T16:13:06.670-05:00In a Godward directionTobias Stanislas Haller BSGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08047429477181560685noreply@blogger.comBlogger10987125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-4773204773187178552023-12-16T19:16:43.067-05:002023-12-16T19:16:43.067-05:00Excellent post. I was checking continuously this b...Excellent post. I was checking continuously this blog and <br />I am impressed! Very helpful info specifically the last <br />part :) I care for such information much. I <br />was looking for this certain info for a very long time.<br />Thank you and good luck.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-10898063057046859932023-10-17T23:11:31.819-05:002023-10-17T23:11:31.819-05:00This is the greatest moments of brotherhood This is the greatest moments of brotherhood Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-81804217550304223132023-03-15T12:20:55.565-05:002023-03-15T12:20:55.565-05:00Profound and moving. Inspired poetry. +RodneyProfound and moving. Inspired poetry. +RodneyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-81730053831584004302023-02-12T23:13:53.279-05:002023-02-12T23:13:53.279-05:00This is absolutely excellent, Tobias! I think the ...This is absolutely excellent, Tobias! I think the one small part that seems central to me is "Barton’s suggestion that 'rather than biblical interpretation preceding and shaping Christian ethics and practice, it is the ethics and practice of the Christian community that needs to (and in reality does) precede and shape its biblical interpretation.' This seems a truism; we know the community came before the Scripture was written, and subsequently interprets what it wrote; only a certain class of biblical fundamentalists imagine the Scripture is the source rather than the product." So much literalism is based on this misunderstanding.<br /><br />Of course, this took me well over an hour to read and digest because I also had to go down the CS Lewis boarding school rabbit hole; I've read a lot of CS Lewis, but never knew anything about that.Rick+https://www.blogger.com/profile/03322574092020268536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-63770093059148852062022-05-10T21:48:59.744-05:002022-05-10T21:48:59.744-05:00You're welcome, Bosco!
On circumcision, I mean...You're welcome, Bosco!<br />On circumcision, I meant in the context of the original Mosaic law. Obviously a Gentile invited to a seder in our time would not likely be called to a visit with the mohel if not already circumcised.<br />And yes, I agree with your reading of the "in the name of" being slid into a subtly different meaning from the original sense of a kind of incorporation or adoption, coming "under" the name of the Triune God.<br />Thanks for dropping by; blessed Eastertide!Tobias Stanislas Haller BSGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08047429477181560685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-16194906113591037822022-05-10T20:28:41.684-05:002022-05-10T20:28:41.684-05:00Thanks, Tobias,
1) I'm not convinced that circ...Thanks, Tobias,<br />1) I'm not convinced that circumcision IS required for Gentiles participating at a Passover meal - my understanding is that this only applies to when the lamb has been part of the sacrifice in the Temple.<br />2) as to your "use of the Trinity formulation (now held to be essential to baptism) the Scripture offers a confusing witness" - I have often written that I think this is because of the development of the understanding that "in the Name of..." was some sort of incantation that magically made the baptism spell work & so had to be correct, whereas for centuries baptism "in the Name of" was simply understood as "on behalf of" (and spiritually, into the nature of).<br />Easter Season blessings<br />Bosco+<br />www.liturgy.co.nzAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12827066509090467468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-60667172324151297862021-11-22T15:10:08.845-05:002021-11-22T15:10:08.845-05:00Thank you, W., for these thoughts. I received a si...Thank you, W., for these thoughts. I received a similar note of affirmation from another Iowan, also now "retired" — Bishop Epting. It would seem that "Dixit Iowa" is called for... :-)<br /><br />Blessings to you... T.Tobias Stanislas Haller BSGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08047429477181560685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-24457395285903482812021-11-21T19:41:32.803-05:002021-11-21T19:41:32.803-05:00A wise and perceptive essay, Tobias. I grieve at ...A wise and perceptive essay, Tobias. I grieve at the news of "a diocese deciding to close a parish that was only able to support a half-time priest shared with another congregation." That's actually a fairly common structure in the Diocese of Iowa and elsewhere in the midwest. I'm an Old Guy, now retired, and was, I think, the last full-time rector in my last three parishes (all of which continue to be small but healthy with part-time priests-in-charge). A parish that can't flourish with a half-time priest desperately needs to learn about, and commit itself to, shared ministry. You conclude: "In short, are we supporting a model of the church that is still largely clerical and 'within the walls' at the expense of possible new models?" If so, our future is bleak. <br /><br />The Rev. Canon William S. J. Moorhead<br />Priest Associate, Trinity Episcopal Church, Iowa City, IA 52240<br />moorhead.w@gmail.comWSJMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09712152737422347034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-8584658047860550752021-09-30T19:31:57.201-05:002021-09-30T19:31:57.201-05:00What a delightful little "not" just so s...What a delightful little "not" just so story! As opposed to all the dystopian literature we get, it's nice to see what the world might have been. That view of the world where the Kingdom has really broken out.<br /><br />Every year one of my favorite writing projects with my sixth graders was to read them a number of Kipling's Just So stories and have them right their own about how things came to be. It was so much fun to see the things they came up with.Rick+https://www.blogger.com/profile/03322574092020268536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-81735458677454811802021-09-30T09:14:25.905-05:002021-09-30T09:14:25.905-05:00I love this! Thank you for writing it!I love this! Thank you for writing it!Jeanne Befanohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07507062000254783626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-19887850960603190092021-01-24T03:57:09.611-05:002021-01-24T03:57:09.611-05:00Hey Tobias, I would like to add something which is...Hey Tobias, I would like to add something which is a statement and question at the same time and a response to what Rick Allen wrote about Mark 10:11. The gospel of Mark even if the translation is completely faithful would have been originally written well after most of Paul’s epistles to the gentiles. Up till that point, what Christ said would have to have been recalled from memory by those who would have been present with him. Only the apostles would have known that Christ applied adultery to both faithless men and women. Anyone who had not been there to hear that application (all gentile believers) if they had seen for example Paul’s letters, would have assumed that adultery meant faithless women only. Rather than go out of the way to point out that adultery is an all inclusive term because Christ turned it into one, would it not make sense for the apostles to have included fornication with adultery in the various vice lists, specifically because they knew Christ forbade faithlessness to both men and women? In other words, Christ’s first usage of adultery in the dual sense is precisely the reason why the term fornication or (pornea) is included in the vice lists, to insure men don’t cheat on their wives? Frankie Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17947698476772208670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-13630636901185469902020-10-20T14:46:11.335-05:002020-10-20T14:46:11.335-05:00Your comments should make the case clear to anyone...Your comments should make the case clear to anyone—even Bishop Love?John Julianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09668893912018639700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-75395638406677976552020-04-12T14:30:26.651-05:002020-04-12T14:30:26.651-05:00Fr John-Julian, that reminds me of a saying, I thi...Fr John-Julian, that reminds me of a saying, I think from George MacDonald, "The first principle of Hell is, 'I am my own.'"Tobias Stanislas Haller BSGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08047429477181560685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-35098219593908874982020-04-12T10:11:10.328-05:002020-04-12T10:11:10.328-05:00MY RECTOR HAD A SAYING: "THE ONLY TIME A CHRI...MY RECTOR HAD A SAYING: "THE ONLY TIME A CHRISTIAN IS ALONE IS WHEN S/HE IS DAMNED!"<br /><br />JOHN-JULIAN, OJNJohn Julianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09668893912018639700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-38304701522102094452020-04-06T20:47:25.531-05:002020-04-06T20:47:25.531-05:00Mark Harris has a very good meditation on Spiritua...Mark Harris has a very good meditation on <a href="http://anglicanfuture.blogspot.com/2020/03/spiritual-communion-for-incarnational.html" rel="nofollow">Spiritual Communion for Incarnational People</a>. <br /><br />Bill Ghrist<br />wdg_pghhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15990866393869521490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-75935009120120902372020-03-29T12:34:22.622-05:002020-03-29T12:34:22.622-05:00Thank you, Linda. I'm hoping that some of the ...Thank you, Linda. I'm hoping that some of the churches that started offering Morning Prayer might reconsider and have celebrations of the Eucharist. After all, individuals can say the Daily Office on their own (though it is good to share it with others). I've been watching the livecast on YouTube from the National Cathedral; so that is an option available to anyone with an internet connection.Tobias Stanislas Haller BSGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08047429477181560685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-87258074249351560212020-03-29T11:02:42.175-05:002020-03-29T11:02:42.175-05:00But most places are offering only Morning Prayer o...But most places are offering only Morning Prayer or "ante-communion." It's one thing not to be able to partake of the Eucharist -- it's quite another if it is not celebrated at all!Linda in VThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09819641132290227591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-58134288524001034022020-03-24T13:21:47.526-05:002020-03-24T13:21:47.526-05:00A belated “thank you,” Molly. I suspect the curren...A belated “thank you,” Molly. I suspect the current COVID-19 crisis may well teach the church a thing or two... at least I hope so.<br /><br />And to the anonymous poster, I don't normally pass along anonymous comments, but did so in this case as a way of sharing your dismay. The inability of the church to discipline misbehavior among its leaders is one of its greatest failings. I understand any bitterness you may feel and hope that time and new prospects may bring you to healing of that feeling of betrayal. God bless you.Tobias Stanislas Haller BSGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08047429477181560685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-53935226721548940582020-03-23T22:51:58.231-05:002020-03-23T22:51:58.231-05:00I was born into the Episcopal Church and active fo...I was born into the Episcopal Church and active for more than 50 years, but after being told in writing by +Susan Goff that the diocese of Virginia will not address my former priest’s perjury against me unless he faces criminal charges, I am done. <br /><br />It is so very sad to have left the church behind, but I truly believe that Churchianity truly is experiencing a fatal illness when it cannot even address clergy misconduct.<br /><br />Apologies in advance, BTW, if I sound bitter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-52438066186353755742020-01-20T13:30:02.495-05:002020-01-20T13:30:02.495-05:00For years, I have found my best Christian communit...For years, I have found my best Christian community online, and even though individual cyber communities have failed, these links keep me in touch with the company of pilgrims. My “real life” church is moribund because it serves the past, not the Gospel. The god of Tradition and Propriety is not the God of Love. Moreover, the theology I encounter in church fails to do its work of wrestling with angels; too much of it suffers from either disengagement or Bibliolatry. I do pray that church can undergo a cleansing crisis, but it may need to hit bottom first.Molly Wolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07486395152415311848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-80724187094670510952019-03-12T09:08:45.631-05:002019-03-12T09:08:45.631-05:00Thank you, WDG.
Otming, this is part of the downs...Thank you, WDG.<br /><br />Otming, this is part of the downside of a church polity that is structured globally but executed locally; and that cuts both ways, as you describe -- and a few recalcitrant bishops to the contrary, a priest who wishes to bless a same-sex couple's marriage cannot be stopped from doing so in any of the domestic dioceses of The Episcopal Church. All clergy still have a right not to solemnize any given marriage, but General Convention (2018) intended that this should not be a bar to a couple being married in their own diocese. We are living in a time of transition, and the movement towards justice is slow; but when I think of what I have seen in my own lifetime, I am convinced that only the power of God could make it so. Tobias Stanislas Haller BSGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08047429477181560685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-48772177099989370412019-03-11T17:48:46.774-05:002019-03-11T17:48:46.774-05:00This is why I am no longer an Episcopalian. I was ...This is why I am no longer an Episcopalian. I was catechized by Sam Portaro, I worked with Elizabeth Carl, the first openly lesbian person to be ordained, before she became a priest. I thought I had found a church that welcomed all. Then I found myself in a place where the bishop forbad same-sex marriage ceremonies within his diocese, even if a priest was perfectly willing to officiate; an Episcopalian couple had to go outside its geographical boundaries. And the denomination was okay with that, even though it allowed priests to plead conscience if they disagreed with a bishop who allowed same-sex marriages. If negative freedom of conscience is honored, why isn’t positive freedom?otminghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024428875536064642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-71262070423492336822019-02-24T23:03:44.463-05:002019-02-24T23:03:44.463-05:00"His method, it seems, is to do good, treatin..."His method, it seems, is to do good, treating all the same, and let the chips fall where they may." <br /><br />And where does it say that? Oh, yeah--in today's gospel reading.wdg_pghhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15990866393869521490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-23583604622443922032019-01-08T12:55:47.667-05:002019-01-08T12:55:47.667-05:00Dear Tobias Stanslas Haller BSG
I am a Verger in a...Dear Tobias Stanslas Haller BSG<br />I am a Verger in a small Norman Church in West Sussex, England. A totally practical job for a retired Chartered Structural Engineer<br />It is an Anglican Church, full of local village people, I love it.<br />For 30 Years I have evolved into what I call 'a Christian mystic' note small m. <br />I go on silent residential retreats two or three times a year to keep me on the right track.<br />10 years ago I discovered Evelyn Underhill .Read and reread all her major books and 4 biographies . she endorsed what had happened to me.<br />I have given a talk about Mysticism and Evelyn in my Church after which, just last year, I went on a very strenuous Directed Retreat at Pleshey house Chelmsford, Seeking direction. <br />This is where Evelyn Underhill started Retreats for Lay People..<br />Since then I have published three booklets:- Anglican Mysticism,Evelyn Underhill and Practical Mysticism. .<br />Various Biographers( theologians all and obviously still existant,) our local Bishops and Clergy non of them have been harsh with criticism<br />.Only a dear friend who is an Evangelical Christian said 'Its not Christian but I know where your coming from. We are still friends<br />I give the booklets away.<br />So if you are interested I will send you a couple of copies<br />Just send me an address where you can receive them<br />My E-mail is manatporch@gmail.com<br />I write under the name 'Man at the Porch' being the Verger.<br />God Bless You<br />Christopher Weymouth.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12203126861908269847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-11469029757467317132018-12-31T16:25:18.677-05:002018-12-31T16:25:18.677-05:00Thanks, Michael. I'm hoping to post more in th...Thanks, Michael. I'm hoping to post more in the new year. Not a resolution exactly, but a firm intention.Tobias Stanislas Haller BSGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08047429477181560685noreply@blogger.com