Friday, April 24, 2009

Anglican stretch under stress

Apropos of the post below, featuring Susan Russell's diatribe against otherwise sane, orthodox bishops and theologians, as harbingers of homophobia, sexism, etc, I have been thinking about the implications of her post for the breadth of thought the Anglican Communion, if it remains unified, is being expected to incorporate:

Marriage or celibacy AND Marriage or celibacy or faithful, stable, permanent same sex partnerships

Marriage = of a man and a woman AND Marriage = of a man and a man, of a woman and a woman, of a man and a woman

Ordination of women AND no ordination of women AND selected ordination of women (to diaconate but not to priesthood or episcopacy)

Presbyteral presiding at the eucharist AND lay presiding at the eucharist

Reformed evangelicalism AND evangelicalism of other varieties

Low church AND High church and Broad church

Evangelicalism AND Anglo-catholicism AND Liberalism (i.e. thinking of schools of theology rather than styles of worship)

Puritanism AND Pentecostalism AND Post-modernism

It's quite a lot to attempt to incorporate into the one body of Christ. Perhaps it's not unexpected that some name calling has taken place (however inexcusable).

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