Hallo again to all.

We have been listening carefully to the arguments in the Anglican world over the last few years. We weren't alive during other major arguments, in 1054 or 1378 or 1517. And we know that history is so often rewritten by the victors; we daren't make statements about schisms or reformations without years of careful study.

But we think that the fundamental nature of human beings probably hasn't changed a lot in the last thousand years. People are motivated by different forces and dreams, and see every situation filtered through their own experience, perception, and opinions.

The meeting of the Episcopal Church House of Bishops ended this week at Camp Allen in Navasota, Texas, and we've read the various press releases, communiqués, and statements issued during and after it. Our News Centre has highlights, and Thinking Anglicans has more detail in several sections here. We reached the conclusion that, at this point, the loudest voices are not arguing about faith or church governance or theology or scholarship; rather, they are arguing about the subject of their argument.

One side is fond of saying that the argument is about truth, about whether truth is absolute or temporal. The other side is fond of saying that the argument is about power, that this is not about truth but about control. Golly, we don't know. Maybe we could argue about whether the argument is about argument? We were flummoxed.

Then, recently, we encountered the delightful book Seeking Enlightenment Hat by Hat, by Nevada Barr. She begins one chapter by noting:

A light came on. Thank you, Nevada Barr, for recasting in modern language the message that saints since Francis of Assisi have been trying to get across: the Christian faith isn't about you or me or that power-seeking bishop over there. It's about Christ. We like stories where we are the star, and we sometimes think that if we win just one more argument, we will be the star of something.

We're reticent to quote any more of this book because we want you to run out and buy it, like we did, but we'll risk a letter from her attorneys and tease you with one more quote:

We cannot know whether truth or power is the core of the church, so we just make things up. Now that makes sense.

See you next week.

Cynthia McFarland cmcf@anglicansonline.org	Brian Reid reid@anglicansonline.org