Daily Archives: September 20, 2003

“No one should deny that

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“No one should deny that traditional biblical interpretation has proved inadequate to protect the Reformed Church in South Africa, inadequate to protect the Medieval Catholic Church from the cruelty of the Inquisition – inadequate to protect American Christians from their twentieth-century military (cf.Ethics, p. 314). We cannot correct all the excesses Christians have carried out under traditional cover, but we must ask if we ourselves are helpless prisoners of our traditional ways of reading the Bible.”
– James Wm. McClendon, Jr., Doctrine: Systematic Theology, Volume 2, pp. 468-469
Have to read this book for Systematic Theology. He comes from a Baptist tradition and teaches at Fuller. Kind of an odd choice for a more liberal Anglican seminary, but it is very good – someone with whom I actually feel an affinity.
Add to this, southern expressions of national denominations that split, north and south (American Baptists vs. Southern Baptists, for example), as they attempted to biblically justify chattel slavery! We will add to this, later on, perhaps many years from now, prohabitionist Christians and denominations as they demanded belief that homosexuality would be the destruction of Western Civilization, the United States, and of all that is good and virtuous in the world, because the Bible said so!
I’m not a scholar nor an intellectual, but why don’t people think?

No dramatic event. The storm

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No dramatic event. The storm came and went without much fanfare in the city. Is it a bit wrong to hope for a very dramatic event when I know people may (MAY) be hurt and property lost, just for the thrill of it? Yes, probably, but I still would have liked to have seen some drama this far north. There was a good bit of wind and at Ashton’s place in New Jersey there were a lot of tree limbs fallen, and there was some rain. All is calm this morning. I do feel badly for all the terrible things that happened to people just a little further south were Isabel actually hit. It is not a good thing, not really a thrilling thing when others suffer loss, just a terrible thing.
The controversy continues to pull at the existence of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. Things will never be the same, as much as many liberals want to think this is just another “women’s ordination” type issue. There are more than just a few people, both lay and ordained, that are dismayed at the events of General Convention. People are not happy. Many people are absolutely dismayed that the Church would do such a thing. I just read an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the Bishop of Atlanta’s first open forum on Robinson’s election and the affirmative vote from the diocesan delegates. American society in general is not in a happy mood over homosexuality in general, and of course this translates into the Church. There is no joy. There is no victory. There has to be a third way!
There are a lot of seminarians from Atlanta – probably the largest single contingent from any diocese. Some of them must be very careful about their orientation being made known because of the feelings resident in their sponsoring parish, others have no problem. It is a hard road to navigate.
The issue of Robinson and homosexuality in general has infused many examples given in our classes, the most pertinent being Pastoral Theology. It feels so odd knowing that arbitrary examples given and topics discussed in class relates directly to me – and not me alone but of my kind… a kind not of choice or want, but that simply is. There is almost a surreal aspect to it. Two people discussing the issue and there we sit. General is very supportive and has gay faculty, but knowing that this whole issue is over what and who I am and seeing the Church pull itself apart over – me, my kind – is disconcerting.
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