Friday, November 07, 2003
Getting Annoyed
I might've thought that Roman Catholics, fresh off their scandals, would be less likely to throw stones. Short answer: no. Why try and reach out to Evangelical Anglicans and Anglo-Catholics, your closest theological neighbors, in their time of trouble when you can simply snicker at them instead? Talk about wrenching defeat from the jaws of victory. All this talk of invalid Anglican orders rings hollow when Bishop Wojtyla of Rome doesn't even have proof that his own line is valid. I'm thinking that just a wee bit of humility and unity is needed here. Then again, I'm a twenty-one-year-old heretic, so what would I know?
Let me give you a hint: why do you think refugees from the ECUSA usually wind up in Protestant or Continuing Anglican churches? You've got a lot of history, a lot of good theology (not all, but then, neither do the Protestants), the potential for wonderful liturgical services, and name-brand recognition. I'm sure you think of yourselves as modern-day prophets, calling us to repentence for the sin of...well, you're not so clear about that. The sin of what you perceive to be invalid apostolic succession? The sin of some of us not believing in transubstantiation? The sin of not praying to dead saints? The sin of not believing that one of your guys is God's prophet? I just don't get it. It doesn't seem to me to be very different from if you insisted that Christ was six feet tall and I told you that it didn't really matter how tall He was. In short, I think you're getting lost in your own details and metaphors. I respect the Roman Catholic Church, and support the work it does. However, micromanagement is beyond its ken, and it would be nice for them to realize this.
I might've thought that Roman Catholics, fresh off their scandals, would be less likely to throw stones. Short answer: no. Why try and reach out to Evangelical Anglicans and Anglo-Catholics, your closest theological neighbors, in their time of trouble when you can simply snicker at them instead? Talk about wrenching defeat from the jaws of victory. All this talk of invalid Anglican orders rings hollow when Bishop Wojtyla of Rome doesn't even have proof that his own line is valid. I'm thinking that just a wee bit of humility and unity is needed here. Then again, I'm a twenty-one-year-old heretic, so what would I know?
Let me give you a hint: why do you think refugees from the ECUSA usually wind up in Protestant or Continuing Anglican churches? You've got a lot of history, a lot of good theology (not all, but then, neither do the Protestants), the potential for wonderful liturgical services, and name-brand recognition. I'm sure you think of yourselves as modern-day prophets, calling us to repentence for the sin of...well, you're not so clear about that. The sin of what you perceive to be invalid apostolic succession? The sin of some of us not believing in transubstantiation? The sin of not praying to dead saints? The sin of not believing that one of your guys is God's prophet? I just don't get it. It doesn't seem to me to be very different from if you insisted that Christ was six feet tall and I told you that it didn't really matter how tall He was. In short, I think you're getting lost in your own details and metaphors. I respect the Roman Catholic Church, and support the work it does. However, micromanagement is beyond its ken, and it would be nice for them to realize this.
