Sailing the Last Voyage with Newton and Pascal
At the end of the quest, victory: A coalition of bishops and leaders from Africa, the Americas and Australasia said it was time for a “radical shift” in how the church is structured away from models of the “British Empire”. They criticised what they called “revisionist attempts” to abandon basic doctrines on issues such as …
Continue reading "They'll Finally Get the Communion After All"
At the start of the month, I made the following statement regarding the Episcopal Bishop of Virginia's "victory lap" in the Washington Post: To put it bluntly, this is one of the most duplicitous things I have ever seen a man of the cloth put out. I’ve griped about the Anglican Fudge and how Episcopal …
Continue reading "Complicated Times in Old SC: Do We Really Have Diocesan Rebellion?"
While casting about the Anglican blogosphere, I ran across an idea from an unexpected source: an endorsement of the lay presidency from John Richardson, the "Ugley Vicar". This concept is usually associated with the Archdiocese of Sydney, Australia, the same archepiscopal entity which put subordinationism within the Trinity back into play in order to counter …
When the Sabbath was over, Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought some spices, so that they might go and anoint the body of Jesus. And very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb, after sunrise. They were saying to one another: "Who will roll …
Continue reading ""…for they were frightened": An Easter Reflection"
Today is Palm Sunday, when we celebrate Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an entry which turned sour very quickly for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, then back to the supreme triumph of the Resurrection. For those who experienced it the first time, it was at least an emotional roller-coaster; our attempts to recreate the experience …
Continue reading "The Church of the Palm Crosses Becomes the Church of the Double Cross"
We've been told that this doesn't happen, but now we know better... During a Sunday morning service at Trinity Church last summer, a longtime parishioner looked around during the reading of the Gospel and counted the worshippers. By her tally, there were 49 people in the pews of the historic lower Manhattan church - a …
Continue reading ""Evangelistically Speaking" Comes to Liberal Christianity"
Visitors to Stand Firm in Faith, had they not heeded the warnings, were probably surprised to see the entirely new format yesterday evening. And it was a pleasant surprise; the changes take Stand Firm into a new dimension as a blog and in reality as a news source. As Greg Griffith explained, the changes are …
Rowan Williams' resignation/retirement as Archbishop of Canterbury has generated a great deal of comment within and without the Anglican/Episcopal world. It's not been a happy tenure of the seat of Becket and Cranmer (it ended badly for them, too, from a temporal standpoint) and everybody knows it. But life is too short to make all …
Continue reading "Rowan Williams: Anglican Fudge Doesn't Work Any More"
And, true to form, the Archbishop of Canterbury isn't helping matters: Today the Archbishop of Canterbury is reported as saying: “The cross has become a religious decoration.” It is something which religious people hang on to as a substitute for faith. He goes on: “I believe that during Lent one of the things we all …
Continue reading "The Brits Give a New Meaning to "Taking Up Your Cross""
In an unusually barefaced statement of what many Christians actually think, Michael Olgren, Finance Committee Chairman of dying Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids, MI, blurted out the following: At the parish's annual meeting on January 12, 2012, Dr. Michael Olgren, Chair of the Finance Committee, painted a dire financial picture of the parish stating …
Continue reading "Do We Really Want Rich People to Join Our Churches?"
Positive Infinity 