Letters
received during the week of 14 October 2003
What about
two men, three women, and a woodchuck?
IF
MR ROBINSON'S SUPPORTERS maintain it is wrong to oppose
the election of
a homosexual
as a leader in Christ's Church, is there any form of human sexuality
that they would oppose at all? For example, could not a man and a boy
have a "committed relationship?" How about a man and girl, or a woman
and two men, or three women, or...do you get my point? Clearly, there
are any number of alternative human sexualities that could be expressed
in a "committed relationship," but what would Christ say about these?
Ignore the Bible for a moment (which should not be hard for some.) Think
honestly and prayerfully for a moment on this point. What is the logical
conclusion of endorsing the homosexual lifestyle? Does not the same belief
that two men can be okay before God also permit any form of human sexual
expression? I do not claim to understand homosexuality, nor am I here
to judge others. We are all sinners before God. But I would appreciate
an honest answer from a supporter of Mr. Robinson. For if the rubric
of Christian sexuality be only that it is "committed," then the possibilities
are limitless. As are the absurdities.
Bryan Stewart
Cathedral Church of St Luke
Orlando, Florida, USA
bryangstewart@hotmail.com
13 October 2003
Who should
be allowed to use the name 'Anglican'?
I
TAKE SOME EXCEPTION TO THE NOMENCLATURE that some of the "not-in-the-communion" churches
use to describe themselves. "Orthodox Anglican", "Anglican Catholic" and
so on. Indeed I have in my parish a Church which styles itself the "Traditional
Anglican Communion". It is housed in a conventicle that used to be a
conservative Congregational church. Not much has changed.
I just wish
someone (with more money for litigation than me) would take them to court
for false advertising and misuse of the name "Anglican" which they have
no right to use. For me Anglican, orthodox, catholic, and traditional
have always meant traditional tolerance and respect for a diversity of
positions; a wide range of orthodox view points; a love of catholic
diversity, eccentricity and richness of life. Not so, these barren organisations
who demand narrow conformity and hurtful exclusion of all but the most
sanguine. Demanding that all gaiety be driven from the church, my God
how we used to laugh. But not so any more.
Stephen Clark
Rector, St John's and All Hallows Churches
Coromandel Valley, Adelaide, South AUSTRALIA
stephenclark@iprimus.com.au
13 October 2003
Shame on
the extremists on both sides
I
APPRECIATED THE LETTER from David Schulenberg (Oct
12) and his comments on social
activism replacing personal devotion. As an 'ex cathedra' Anglican (Divorced,
but I won't use the REAL grounds for rejoining the communion) I have
followed my Church, the second great object in my life, for many years.
We are tearing
ourselves apart over social issues. In the 'old' church, we argued over
rites, from high to low, from mock Calvinism to crypto Roman Catholicism,
complete with incense. But if you didn't like the form of service or
vicar at one parish you moved to one more suited to you.
In all our
centuries, even in the Thirty Nine Articles, we have used scriptural
segementation as a means to an end. Now we are
facing the end on inclusivity, and the end of the Anglican Communion
as we know it, because we no longer have forebearance.
Should the
Synods decide to ordain women? Gay priests? Bless gay unions? We have
a church that ranges the spectrum, one reason for both our success and
our failure to be a distinctive voice, other than that of Christ's love
for us all and for the inclusion of all who accept the basic tenets of
our church as differing from our Christian religion.
To the extremists
on either side, I say shame on you—and particularly on those threatening
to leave. If we are the 'one, holy, catholic and apostolic church universal',
it is high time some of our more immoderate bishops, clergy, and laity
started beliving that way. There is room for us all in the arms of Christ,
and there should be room for us all in a church of basic principles and
wide diversity.
Patrick Gargett
no church
Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA
13 October 2003
Sounds
more like a Baptist to us
THE
EPISCOPAL CHURCH in the United States will be undergoing some
major changes
in
the near future because of actions taken by the Episcopal Church USA
(ECUSA) at the most recent General Convention. Specifically, by confirming
an actively practicing homosexual man as bishop,this "lifestyle" as
being acceptable.
The Bible
is clear in God's plan for human sexuality. Either have a monogamous
relationship between a man and a woman in matrimony, or be celibate.
There are no other choices. Everything else is contrary to God's plan
as outlined in Holy Scripture and therefore is sin.
The Bible
also teaches that we are all sinners in need of forgiveness (Romans 3:10).
Fortunately, God sent His only Son to die for our sins so that we might
have communion with Him. This is the essence of grace. It is unmerited
favor from God to us so that we may enjoy everlasting life with Him.
The ECUSA
has erred on several levels by confirming someone living openly in unrepentant
sin. The fundamental problem is that scripture is no longer considered
the basis of faith. "Liberal" theologians will try to twist the scripture
to say what they want it to say, but in this instance the Bible is clear.
Homosexuality is completely rejected as an acceptable practice (1 Corinthians
6:8-10). The ECUSA is trying to stand on the shifting sand of public
opinion instead of the rock of scripture.
Some might
argue that Christians should be loving, tolerant and non-judgmental. "Judge
not, lest ye be judged" and "Let he who is without sin cast the first
stone" are important words to live by, but it important to apply them
correctly. We are not to act as if we are the final judges of another
person's fitness for heaven, because we are not without sin (Romans 2:1-2).
We are called to judge actions as being right or wrong every day. It
should be obvious that all actions are not beneficial, especially if
you base your decisions on the truth of scripture. Only God can pass
righteous judgment on people.
The scripture
regarding casting stones applies to a woman caught in adultery and also
is relevant regarding the current situation in the Episcopal Church.
Substitute "woman caught in adultery" with "man living in a homosexual
relationship" and see Jesus' reply. He does not condemn the woman, but
He does command her to "Go, and leave your life of sin" (John 8:11 NIV).
Jesus loves us as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us in our
sin. "The wages of sin are death", God wants us to have everlasting life!
The basic
question for Episcopalians today is "Do I believe that the Bible is the
Word of God?" If not, then how can you claim to be Christian? The Holy
Scripture is the basis of Christian faith. If so, then it is obvious
that the actions of the ECUSA are wrong and need to be strongly repudiated.
Unless the
ECUSA repents of this action there will be a schism in the church. This
is not a minor disagreement; this goes to the core of belief. Episcopalians
in this country will have to decide whether it is more important to be
called an Episcopalian or a Christian. The ECUSA has defiled the good
name of Episcopalian.
God is in
control and will use these events to further His purpose. Personally,
I won't mind being called an Anglican.
C. West Jacocks IV,
MD FACC
The Church of the Holy Comforter
Sumter, South Carolina, USA
CWJaco4@msn.com
14 October 2003
Putting
nonwestern languages online is very hard
I
WAS SO GLAD TO READ ABOUT THE CHALLENGES you faced in putting Igbo orthography
online.
Your efforts and the consequent report expand the cultural horizons of
your website and the web. I am so glad you shared the spiritual/theological
lessons of this experience with your essay, which may open the eyes of
many readers to the implications of matters of the digital divide.
I am a specialist
in the study of African-American and West African performance. Though
there are special concerns for web-formatting, you may be interested
in getting copies of Gentium and Gentium Alt fonts, which are available
free and are excellent for representing orthographies of many languages
worldwide. It is interesting that the Summer Institute for Linguistics,
a Christian-affiliated institute, is one of the primary resources for
obtaining information on the latest developments on scripts for public
use. (See the website
of the Gentium font developer).
The Research
Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa of Tokyo University
of Foreign Studies, where I currently am a visiting postdoctoral fellow,
is housing a project concerned directly with issues of the digitalization
of scripts, the development of Unicode representations for all writing
systems of the world, and the need to accommodate systems that work differently
from the conventions of Roman letter alphabets that dominate culturally-influenced
configuration of computer-assisted communications.
Thanks for
working to cross the digital divide and work towards more inclusive communication,
a goal that behooves Christian fellowship, as well as evangelism, and
is thus worthy of our stewardship.
Susan Oehler,
Ph.D.
St. Albans Anglican-Episcopal Church, Nippon Sei Ko Kai
Tokyo, JAPAN
15 October 2003
We've had
gay clergy for centuries
AS
THE FATHER OF A GAY WOMAN, I follow the concerns of
conservatives (both
Lutheran
and Episcopal) with interest. Do the Gospels condemn homosexuality more
vehemently than divorce??? Is not the message of the Gospels, that divorce,
and homosexual relations, are sinful - one, perhaps, as much as the other,
but both capable of forgiveness? And is not the message of the Gospels
also that the Church is a body of forgiven sinners? Not a Club Med, but
a body of people who accept the teachings of the church, who recognize
their sinful state, and who strive to live a life in conformity with
the Summary of the Law, not with every jot and tittle of the book of
Leviticus? Is the cult of Enron more evil than a loving relationship
between two women? I think not.
We have had
gay clergy for centuries, at least in the Roman and Anglican communions.
That one is now a Bishop should surprise no one. Perhaps Anglicans should
adopt the stance of my newly-adopted church (ELCA): one ordination to
a ministry of Word and Sacrament, to which we all have no choice but
to acknowledge, gays have been ordained many times over, in many denominations.
Dr. John Schuster-Craig
Bethlehem Lutheran (ELCA), but formerly Episcopalian
Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
rimsky@netscape.com
16 October 2003
Trick or
treat?
DOES
ANYONE HAVE THE OUTLINE of an all-age service
or assembly that would serve
as
an alternative to the secular Halloween culture? If so I would
like to hear from you.
Warmest Christian
greetings
Bob Hill
St Paul's, Manningham
Bradford, ENGLAND
16 October 2003
Editor's
note: Mr Hill did not check the box giving us permission to
list his email address, but if you have information for him,
you can send it to us (editor@anglicansonline.org)
and we'll forward it on to him.
Out of step
with the whole Anglican world
BRAVO
TO THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY and the
Primates of the Anglican Communion!
Bravo for taking a firm stand on the side of Christianity. It is time
for the ECUSA national hierarchy to recognize they are out of step with
the whole Anglican world, and stop forcing their agenda upon the unwilling
majority of American Episcopalians who still believe in the Christian
faith.
Rand McMains
Trinity Episcopal Church
Arkansas City, Kansas, USA
17 October 2003
We
praise your name, who write us
I
DON'T KNOW WHETHER TO LAUGH OR CRY, to dance
or to cover my head with ashes. On one hand,
the Communion stands; on the other, the Primates seem to have deferred,
in very Anglican style, the seemingly inevitable. And yet, and
yet....
I reflect
that the Primates, God bless them, are mere human beings, and are prone,
like the rest of us, to error, pride, and stubborness. I, therefore,
will not put my faith in princes (because it is un-Anglican to think
of even Primates as princes!), and I will continue to put my faith in
God. If God wills it, the Anglican Communion continues; if not, the Communion
falls. I am becoming more and more convinced that the Holy Spirit is
moving in the Church, the whole Church, not just the Anglican part of
it.
In the meantime,
I will continue my journey in Christ, in prayer, in study, and in active
ministry in the world.
A verse in
one of my favourite hymns goes thus: "You call us out to praise you,
one God for all the earth; to gather in communion, and treasure human
worth; we are your living story, to hear and to be heard; we praise your
name, who write us, the Writer and the Word."
In Christ's
love,
Rene Jamieson
The Cathedral Church of St John
Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA
17 October 2003
A reliable
belief system
AS
TO CHURCH GROWTH, NO MATTER what sort of 'marketing'
is employed, our
fundamentalist
friends have proven that if we cannot move people in their souls, they
will not move into our pews. People don't need political relevance, they
need a transcending experience for themselves and their families. They
need a belief system on which they can rely.
For those
of us supporting the National Church (so far), it would be nice to hear
a re-affirmation of our central creeds. As some have pointed out, it
may not be at all about sexuality. More importantly, do we have within
our clergy significant numbers who no longer accept the Nicene Creed
as a statement of their faith walk? If so, the vote on sexuality is just
the first of many re-statements of what they assert Epicopalians should
believe. If that be the case, we may regretfully be headed for schism.
David Wynne
Eastern Shore Chapel
Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA
diw1022@msn.com
18 October 2003
Earlier
letters
We launched our 'Letters
to AO' section on 11 May 2003. All of our letters are in our
archives.
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