TEC House of Bishops' recent rejection of the Anglican Primates' request for a "primitial vicar" to help those parishes which could not stomach the church's left-wing agenda is an illustration of how it's easier to tell others to be internationalists than to be one yourself. Liberals--and not just Episcopal ones either--have been telling the rest …
Sell All or Shut Up
“And a man came up to Jesus, and said: “Teacher, what good thing must I do to obtain Immortal life?” “Why ask me about goodness?” answered Jesus. “There is but One who is good. If you want to enter the Life, keep the commandments.” “What commandments?” asked the man. “These,” answered Jesus:--“‘Thou shalt not kill. …
When “Doing Right” Isn’t: A Follow Up
In the course of the back and forth over the "failure" (technically at least, but there's dispute over that) of Mark Lawrence to obtain the necessary consents for his election as Bishop of South Carolina, I brought up SC's last legal miscalculation: attempting to block All Saints Pawley's Island's departure, which I originally commented on …
The Best Argument for Disestablishment
Ruth Gledhill's piece about former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey calling for the disestablishment of the Church of England is an intriguing one, if a little disorienting for Americans. (Not this one, as you can see for yourself!) The best practical argument for disestablishment, however, is that it would give more freedom to the church …
Amazing Grace and the Army of Joshua
The film Amazing Grace--or at least the life of William Wilberforce--highlights something that most people have forgotten: many of the "social justice movements" had their roots in the evangelical Christianity that emerged towards the end of the "Age of Reason," and specifically Wesleyan Methodism. (The French proved that the "reasonable" didn't need any help from …
The Preferential Option of the Poor
One of the most militant expressions of left-wing Christianity was and is Liberation Theology, that creation of Latin American Roman Catholicism that brought Marx into the Church for so many years. One of the enduring slogans of that movement was "the preferential option for the poor," which means that the Church acts in such a …
The Real Meaning of Affirming Catholicism
In our last three posts on the different parts of Anglicanism, we've looked first at Anglo-Catholicism, then Evangelicalism, and after that the Charismatic renewal. Now we turn our attention to a group of people who seem to have influence well out of proportion to their numbers, or for that matter to the substance of their …
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Waiting for the Cops to Show Up
The drama that is taking place this week behind closed doors in Tanzania has created a real guessing game in the Anglican Communion. While we wait for the results--assuming there are meaningful results--let's think for a moment about an obvious question: how has liberal "Christianity" held on as long as it has? Everyone knows that …
Charismatic Anglicans: The Missing Link
When many people hear of the Charismatic Renewal, they roll their eyes and pray that the conversation goes another way. It is amazing that a movement that had such a wide impact in its day is not only forgotten but gleefully so. There are a few holdouts out there--the Charismatic Episcopal Church is the main …
Anglican Evangelicalism: The Limitations of Augustinian Theology
In a previous post, we discussed the problems of Anglo-Catholics in their walk to Rome. We've spent a fair amount of time on that; now let's look at the weakness of the other branch of orthodox Anglicanism, the evangelical wing. Our contention is that Evangelical Anglicans need to take a hard look at their adherence …
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Positive Infinity 