Monday, August 05, 2002
(sigh)
Reactions from Yours Truly upon seeing this on the news:
"What the hell?!?" and "Oh my God." This is from a person who won't even utter the c-word (the one that rhymes with "trap," not the other one).
If I was a member of the Church of England, I'd leave right now. I suppose it's not enough to have interchangeable clergy with the Lutherans, that only about half of the CofE clergy believe in the Resurrection (the only thing I can think of that's more fundamental to the Christian faith is a belief in the existence of God), but we might as well have the next Archbishop of Canterbury endorsing paganism to top it all off (despite what the article says, the Druids were and are pagans).
I'm sure the first thing we'll hear from atheists is that this is proof that religion is corrupt. That would be wrong and uncharitable at best. Corruption takes many forms, especially those where it can wield the most power. If a candidate for the priesthood decides that while he knows his theology and church practice but doesn't believe the fundamental tenets of his faith, then he shouldn't get ordained. If an ordained priest loses his faith, he should stop preaching until he finds it again.
UPDATE: More on this at Samizdata here and here. Seriously, I don't think I'm going to attend any more Church of England or Episcopal Church USA services, and am about a hair's breadth from resigning from the Episcopal Church USA and joining the Anglican Mission in America.
Reactions from Yours Truly upon seeing this on the news:
"What the hell?!?" and "Oh my God." This is from a person who won't even utter the c-word (the one that rhymes with "trap," not the other one).
If I was a member of the Church of England, I'd leave right now. I suppose it's not enough to have interchangeable clergy with the Lutherans, that only about half of the CofE clergy believe in the Resurrection (the only thing I can think of that's more fundamental to the Christian faith is a belief in the existence of God), but we might as well have the next Archbishop of Canterbury endorsing paganism to top it all off (despite what the article says, the Druids were and are pagans).
I'm sure the first thing we'll hear from atheists is that this is proof that religion is corrupt. That would be wrong and uncharitable at best. Corruption takes many forms, especially those where it can wield the most power. If a candidate for the priesthood decides that while he knows his theology and church practice but doesn't believe the fundamental tenets of his faith, then he shouldn't get ordained. If an ordained priest loses his faith, he should stop preaching until he finds it again.
UPDATE: More on this at Samizdata here and here. Seriously, I don't think I'm going to attend any more Church of England or Episcopal Church USA services, and am about a hair's breadth from resigning from the Episcopal Church USA and joining the Anglican Mission in America.
