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Letters from 31 July to 6 August 2006

Like all letters to the editor everywhere, these letters are the opinions of the writers and not Anglicans Online. We publish letters that we think will be of interest to our readers, whether we agree with them or not. If you'd like to write a letter of your own, click here.

But thou dost kill...

In your letter re C of E campaign on global warming you say that most of us can manage "thou shalt not kill". However that doesn't stop a lot of us supporting governments who by their actions are complicit either directly or indirectly in the killing of innocent people. Even in so-called neutral Ireland there are issues surrounding the Shannon stopover etc.

Sandra Dukelow
St James Church of Ireland
Durrus, Co Cork, IRELAND
31 July 2006

We're doing catchup green

The Unitarian Universalist Church is way ahead of us on this one with their Green Sanctuary program. Some good ideas for all churches to adopt.

Ann Fontaine
Episcopal
Lander, Wyoming, USA
akhfontaine@gmail.com
31 July 2006

This is the chastity of a eunuch

"Hallo"-why do you use "Hallo" and not "HEllo"?

The idea that the US and the Muslim world are influenced EQUALLY by 'faith' and are EQUALLY headed towards theocracy is ridiculous. Hizbollah and the Moral Majority are similar, true-until you get to the point at which Jerry Falwell tries to get 12 year olds to wrap dynamite around themselves or get men to fly planes into buildings. With such a claim, you are virtually demanding the marginalization you seem to complain of.

It is ironic that you seem pleased that the C of E has influence on a government (or at least has some seats in Parliament), but do not want theocracy. This is not consistent. If the lands of the auto da fe (Mr. Sarmiento's Portugal) and the Inquisition can separate church and state, why can't England? Congratulating the C of E for not doing anything bad misses a bigger point; it can't do much of anything at all. Praising Anglicanism (at least as a political entity-it is still GROSSLY overrepresented in social influence-examine a list of US Senators who are Episcopal) for its harmlessness is like praising Steven Hawking for never committing assault. This isn't goodness, it's helplessness. This is the chastity of a eunuch.

All parties in the C of E concentrate on 'pelvic' issues. Both are symptoms and causes of marginalization. Wringing your hands over working in air conditioned rooms and expecting your grandchildren to be comfortable are useless. So long as you stay in the rooms, and Palo Alto, you have lost. This is clearly worth it to you on some level-safety and comfort being the most obvious. But don't claim moral insight while doing nothing but write vapid and simpering moral uplift. The idea that while withdrawing from actual engagement and contact, limiting your appeal and membership to comfortable enclaves, you would still have the ability to descend and deliver arguments that had any credibility, still less political and social force, is simply stupid.

Alan Perry
Bristol, Rhode Island, USA
6 August 2006

(Ed: we say Hallo because that's just what we do. "Hello" is so roundly North American, isn't it?)

Earlier letters

We launched our 'Letters to AO' section on 11 May 2003. All published letters are in our archives.