Incarnation Web log

Tolerance or Compromise?

2010-04-12T10:53:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I participated in an ecumenical service at a prominent church. As we processed in, the local priest in charge of the service informed us that because the imam who was part of the service wouldn't bow to the altar, we were not to bow either.

I found this unduly accommodating to the imam. Would the local mosque have been so tolerant of our Christian sensibilities? For that matter, non-Christian speakers at funerals in my own church have never objected to bowing to the altar. --J. Douglas Ousley

Love or Marriage?

2010-01-19T06:32:00.000-08:00

The Church of England recently called for special sermons and prayers for Christian marriage on Valentine's Day, which this year falls on a Sunday.

While uncharacteristically topical, the mandate still misses the point of greatest cultural interest. Valentine's Day is popular because it raises the much larger issue of romantic relationships, which may or may not be confined to traditional marriage. Genuine affection, true romance, Christian love: these are the proper subjects for prayers and sermons on February 14. --J. Douglas Ousley

Freedom Trail

2010-01-04T09:36:00.000-08:00

In 1908, the Fifth Lambeth Conference of all the bishops of the Anglican Communion issued an encyclical letter. The letter states that to be an Anglican was to be a member of "the Church of free men, educating them into a knowledge of the liberty wherewith Christ hath made them free."

One-hundred-and-two years later, we may wonder whether we have been true to this vision of our branch of Christendom. Few official documents today herald the liberty of our understanding of the Gospel--the freedom we have to choose radically different styles of worship and diverse theological presentations of the message of Jesus. Maybe this is where traditionalists ought now to look for inspiration. --J. Douglas Ousley

Coming in Second

2009-12-09T06:56:00.000-08:00

The election of a lesbian suffragan (assistant) bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles has unleashed the predictable firestorm of protest. Yet Mother Glasspool will be the second out-of-the-closet and partnered homosexual bishop—and surely the second in this case will be much less consequential than the first. In other words, the gay flag has already been flown.

Granted, there are two differences in the situation now. First, the Bishop of Los Angeles has launched a pre-emptive strike against anyone who would dare to oppose this election—including standing committees of the various American dioceses who must assent to the election for it to be valid. Bishop Jon Bruno has said he will file presentments against them—a kind of legal lawsuit—should they dare to challenge what he believes has become the new dogma in the Episcopal Church.

Second, if these committees consent, they will know how much their action will be resented in many quarters in the Anglican Communion. When Bishop Gene Robinson was confirmed in 2003, many of us thought the storm would blow over quickly. After all, there have long been practicing homosexual bishops in the Anglican Communion. Now we know that being public with one’s sexual preference and life causes scandal worldwide.

Nevertheless, while I resent the arrogant, in-your-face attitude of Bishop Bruno and other partisans of immediate change, I can’t see that the election of Mother Glasspool will make much difference, one way or the other. It was Bishop Robinson who broke through the barrier; the protest after his election notwithstanding, there is no barrier left for gay bishops in America. –J. Douglas Ousley

Rome and Canterbury, Enough for Now

2009-11-17T12:34:00.000-08:00

Last week, the Vatican issued the formal requirements for receiving Anglican clergy, laypeople, and parishes into the Roman Catholic Church. Little was said in this "Apostolic Constitution and Complementary Norms" that wasn't hinted at in earlier press releases and conferences.

The responses continue to pour in from throughout the Anglican Communion, and they have been so varied that they are impossible to summarize. The Episcopal Church's ecumenical officer offered one of the more cogent, if critical comments. It remains hard to regard this papal initiative as a move forward in ecumenical relations.

Very few clergy or bishops or splinter groups have yet said they will apply for membership under the new regulations. Those who have are identified with extreme Anglo-Catholic positions, leading one observer to comment that Anglicans who used Roman rites and customs in the Church of England would end up following Anglican rites and customs in the Church of Rome.

Unless there are further developments, it may be time to move on to other topics. --J. Douglas Ousley

Rome and Canterbury, Continued

2009-10-29T12:13:00.001-07:00

The Rev. George Rutler, Pastor of Incarnation's sister Roman Catholic parish, the Church of Our Saviour recently issued a scathing series of comments on the upcoming Vatican plan to receive Anglican clergy and laity. Father Rutler sees the plan as just the latest sign of the disintegration of the branch of Christianity of which he himself was once a prominent priest.

More temperate are the remarks of the Episcopal Bishop of New York, the Rt. Rev. Mark Sisk, who notes that there has long been movement back and forth between Roman Catholic and Anglican churches.

At the moment, my only additional thought is to wonder whether the controversy has become such big news only because there seemed that such a close relationship between the churches had been established in recent decades. Those who resent that relationship--especially converts to Catholicism--appear to be the people who are most excited about the prospect of an Anglican subculture within the Roman Mother Church. --J. Douglas Ousley

Vatican to Anglicans: Drop Dead?

2009-10-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

From 1978 to 1985, I was fortunate to serve Episcopal Churches in Paris and Rome. During that time, I had numerous ecumenical contacts with Roman Catholics, ranging from shared baptisms at the high altar of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, to addresses to French bishops and communion from their hands, to audiences with Pope John Paul II. Such contacts have continued since my return to this country.

What is interesting is that at no time when I was in Europe did I hear anything like the recent proposal from the Vatican to receive Anglicans into the Roman Catholic Church on what appear to be very generous terms, including allowing married Anglican priests to stay married.

The heads of the Church of England and of English Catholics immediately issued a response that is breathtakingly bland and unenthusiastic. Even Anglican conservatives have expressed some distaste for what the NY Times observes may be an attempt to revivify a declining Catholic Church in Europe.

Admittedly, Vatican authorities may resent the fact ath disaffected Roman Catholics have been joining the Anglican Communion in large numbers ever since the 1960's. Our church offers a similar liturgy and structure and the same sacraments while providing more freedom of biblical interpretation and ethical behavior. The jibe that we are "Catholic lite" is partly true.

Even so, we have never publicly endorsed sheep-stealing, nor have we gone out of our way to entice Roman Catholics toward Anglo-catholicism. The new Vatican policy is an affront--very nearly, a declaration of war. --J. Douglas Ousley

A = B = C?

2009-10-06T07:02:00.000-07:00

This summer, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America held a convention similar to our General Convention. The major news was consent to gay relationships, which has the effect of bolstering our own progressive position on that issue.

Less prominently reported was the ELCA's recognition of ministers in the United Methodist Church as interchangeable with Lutheran pastors. To me, a convert from the Methodist Church, this is perplexing and troubling. If Methodist ministers can lead Lutheran churches and Lutheran pastors can be rectors of Episcopal parishes, can Methodists take charge of our churches--even though they have a very different concept of ordination, the sacraments, the apostolic succession and many other traditional doctrines?

To me, this is a far more substantial issue than the private behavior of a tiny minority of Christian adults. --J. Douglas Ousley

The Good Old C of E

2009-10-03T06:28:00.001-07:00

I am just back from a trip to London and Cambridge, and I am happy to report that there are still many signs of life in our mother Church of England.

For example, I was invited to attend a majestic service for the new Lord Mayor of the City of London, and the fine choral music, enthusiastically-sung hymns, and perfect ceremonial reflected the harmony between church and state there. I also preached at our link parish of St. Vedast, which is thriving and which mirrors the random diversity of small urban congregations in New York.

Perhaps most important, I asked many people whether they thought the American position on homosexuality would lead to our expulsion from the Anglican Communion. No one I talked to thought it would, and most members of my (admittedly small and liberal) group of churchgoers were surprised that I was even worried about schism. --J. Douglas Ousley

Quo vadis TEC?

2009-09-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

As I prepare for a trip to England this week, I look forward to some first-hand observation of our Mother Church. According to a recent article in the Church Times, a soon-to-be-published history of Christianity by the brilliant English historian Diarmaid MacCulloch apparently will argue that change is inevitable in Christianity, that no orthodoxy remains so for long, and that developments tend inexorably in the progressive direction. I look forward to reading the book; it may take the full 1,200 pages to convince me that new ideas are always right.

Meanwhile, the President of the House of Deputies of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church (TEC), Bonnie Anderson continues to expand her job-description, as she plans to convene a committee to evaluate the "governance" of the church.

How that will jibe with the Presiding Bishop's actual governance is not clear to me. And having spent many miserable hours serving on various governance committees for non-profit boards, I find it difficult to be optimistic that Mrs. Anderson's project will bear fruit. --J. Douglas Ousley

Second Class Citizens?

2009-08-12T07:21:00.000-07:00

I am just back from vacation and haven't caught up on my professional reading, but the Anglican media seem most interested right now in the Archbishop of Canterbury's recent proposal of two-tier status for provinces in the Anglican Communion. One tier would be for those who accept the idea of a common "covenant;" the other for those who wish to be part of the communion but, in effect, make their own rules.

Admittedly, if this characterization is accurate, it would only formalize current reality. The U.S. church and Canada have been making their own rules for some time. On the other hand, some African and South American bishops have been making their own rules about interfering in North American provinces, and this hasn't been regarded with the same opprobrium attached to pro-gay resolutions of General Convention.

Moreover, there are indications that liberals in the Church of England will push for greater recognition of gay relationships. That might change the scene entirely. As the Pope is Catholic, so the head of the Church of England is most certainly Anglican. --J. Douglas Ousley

Convention Winds Down

2009-07-15T06:18:00.000-07:00

It is not clear what the repercussions will be to resolution opening ordination in the Episcopal Church to partnered homosexuals. Those in favor of the resolution say it reflects that the church has "moved on." Some also see the controversy to come as a by-product of adventurous faith.

I myself am of two minds. Since 1970, I have been in favor of full canonical and civil rights for lesbians and gays; I don't see how I could have voted against the resolution. On the other hand, I see myself as an Anglican under the Archbishop of Canterbury and I don't know what I would do if the Church of England breaks off relations with the Episcopal Church.

Yesterday, extensive canon law revisions were passed affecting clergy discipline. I have not seen the final version that was passed but according to one article I read--non-partisan, by a canon law historian--that was published before the Convention, these canons deprive accused clergy of the right to remain silent or to have any civil defense or attorney. The conduct requirements are quite detailed and strict. For example, if a retired widower priest living but not serving in a retirement home ("congregation") took a widow from the home out for dinner and held hands with her walking back to the home, he could be defrocked!

One can safely predict that the Church has not yet reached a coherent understanding of the ethics of sex! --J. Douglas Ousley
This has got to be the worst convention since the '70's.

Most Important Vote of the Convention?

2009-07-13T11:06:00.000-07:00

The General Convention has just voted to remove any gender-preference barriers to ordination within the Episcopal Church. The resolution is somewhat nuanced but it does beyond both previous Convention proposals and the wish for restraint expressed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and many other Anglican leaders and governing bodies. Whether this will mean the end of the Episcopal Church as part of the Anglican Communion under the Archbishop of Canterbury remains to be seen. But schism is closer than it has ever been. --J. Douglas Ousley

General Convention Continues

2009-07-10T07:14:00.000-07:00

So far, so predictable. The Episcopal News Service reports indicate that the progressive agenda is moving along and that the Convention will choose to be "prophetic" rather than conciliatory toward the rest of the Anglican Communion with regard to its rules on gay relationships. A bewildering number of new lesser feasts have been authorized despite much previous criticism that many of the honored figures are irrelevant to our church or of deserved obscurity. It is not clear yet what impact the budget crisis will have on other aspects of the church's ministry but the national church leadership seems firmly in charge of the Convention. --J. Douglas Ousley

General Convention Begins

2009-07-08T06:33:00.000-07:00

The General Convention of the Episcopal Church has convened in Anaheim, CA. Special meetings are scheduled to discuss past decisions about blessing and ordaining homosexuals in relationships. Budget pressures will also provoke discussion. In the background, despite the hoopla, delegates and the many observers will be aware of the continuing and seemingly inexorable membership decline in the Episcopal Church. To get up-t0-date coverage from the Episcopal News Service, click here. --J. Douglas Ousley

British Politics and the Church of England

2009-06-09T07:36:00.000-07:00

The explicitly racist British National Party fielded two winning candidates in the recent European Parliamentary elections. The BNP was successful despite being denounced by virtually every leading figure in Britain, including the Archbishops of Canterbury and York.

Such denunciations of a specific political group are as rare in the United Kingdom as they would be in the United States. Yet the Episcopal News Service, in quoting a BNP leaflet, suggests the deep anger tapped by this party. The leaflet states, "All over the U.K. pews are emptying; churches are closing down and turning into mosques/temples. Our distinctive Christian heritage is disappearing as whole regions of Britain become Islamified ... The cowardly 'yes men,' functionaries and time-servers leading the Church of England have consistently failed to lift a finger in defense of Britain against those who would destroy it."

In order to eliminate the scourge of racism, the leaders of the Church of England will need to develop a strong and cogent response to such cries of frustration. --J. Douglas Ousley

Brand Erosion?

2009-05-06T06:55:00.000-07:00

As summer approaches, we can expect to hear news of the controversies of the Episcopal Church as the General Convention meets in Anaheim, CA.

Preliminary reports and the Convention agenda suggest that politics and liturgy will have a prominent place in the debates, as they usually do—though finances may also have to be discussed. The leadership and the delegations appear to have moved further to the progressive side, so the votes will likely not be close.

One wonders, however, whether Convention delegates will give any substantial attention to the continuing decline in the number of parishes and members and in average Sunday attendance, as well as the aging of most congregations. Granted, these trends are long-standing and are present in most Christian churches, including the Roman Catholic Church and Evangelical denominations.

But surely the clergy and lay leadership of the Episcopal Church should at least try to address the numerical fall. After all, it was the Emperor Nero, a notorious enemy of the early Christians, who was accused of fiddling while Rome burned…

Or: "The Church for These Times?"

2008-10-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

A prominent church in midtown has just put up slick banners featuring worried traders and other financial industry workers beneath the headline, "The Church for These Times."

Leaving aside the presumption that this particular church is "The" church while others apparently not for these times, and also leaving aside the possibility that the parish is capitalizing on Wall Street's lack of capital, we may ask: what times was the Church not for? Surely if Christ is God's revelation to the world, then there is no time when he will not speak to the material and spiritual needs of human beings?

As it happens, of course, Jesus said quite a lot about money and the soul. So the banner is not only valid advertising; it can be left up until Judgment Day. --J. Douglas Ousley

Always Just Behind the Times

2008-10-24T13:07:00.000-07:00

During the fervently change-oriented 1960's, an elderly priest one remarked to me that however hard the Church tries to be modern and up-to-date, it is always a generation or so behind the times.
I was reminded of this today when I received the most recent edition of Trinity News, the magazine of Trinity Church on Broadway and Wall Street. The magazine is dedicated to "Radical Abundance" and is filled with ways that the rich can reduce their carbon footprint, etc.
This is not a surprising concern for the richest parish church in Christendom. But it is ironic that Trinity Church's publication should appear while financial markets on Wall Street and around the world are in grave turmoil. The world may not have to worry about abundance for some time to come. --J. Douglas Ousley

Tradition is In

2008-09-16T07:40:00.000-07:00

The dwindling few Episcopalians who love the traditional of the original English translations of the Latin Mass--preserved in Rite I of the current Book of Common Prayer--can take heart in the new translation of the Mass that is becoming mandatory for English-speaking Roman Catholics.

The translation replaces newer expressions with older phrases, such as "and also with you" with "and with your spirit." In fact, the entire rite could be adopted almost without blinking in Episcopal churches that use Rite I.

Whether or not this is part of a reaction in the Roman Catholic Church to modern liturgies, this move reminds us Anglicans of our rich heritage--which we would be wise to preserve in some form if we can. --J. Douglas Ousley

Lambeth Post-Mortem

2008-09-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

This is a post-mortem in the sense that the Lambeth Conference for 2008 is most certainly over; fortunately, it is not a post-mortem in the sense that the Anglican Communion did not die.

In fact, the most curious thing about the Conference is that it is difficult to determine what was accomplished. No resolutions were passed. A summary statement of various reflections was published that was so amorphous that almost any point of view could find support in it. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Presiding Bishop each published reports about how much listening and dialogue went on. Few nasty remarks were uttered outside the executive sessions of the bishops. Indeed, secrecy was the order of the day: the London Times religion correspondent was barred from a seminar on how always to be open to the press! No firm figures were even available for the cost of the conference for 600 bishops and spouses (and numerous advisers and experts), though it seems to have been well over $12,000,000, and there will have to be fund-raising to pay for unbudgeted expenses.

Of course, the Communion didn't die, and for that we may be grateful. Moreover, by the Grace of God, the bishops won't have to meet again for another ten years. --J. Douglas Ousley

A Common Goal?

2008-07-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

Many American bishops have devoted a great deal of time and money to trying to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals to end various forms of world poverty and oppression. This emphasis seems now to be shared by the Anglican bishops meeting at the Lambeth Conference who marched en masse through London last week in a "walk of witness"
against global poverty.

In a press conference before the Lambeth meetings began, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Rt. Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori indicated that she thought Anglican unity could be found in such "issues of life and death;" sexuality debates in comparison were much less important.

It will be interesting to see if Bishop Jefferts Schori's prediction will be proven true. The MDG's already seem somewhat dated and, in any case, it is hard to believe that we won't always have the poor with us. On the other hand, the Presiding Bishop has a point in considering these issues more central to the Gospel message. --J. Douglas Ousley

What's Happening at Lambeth?

2008-07-23T12:03:00.000-07:00

Everyone is asking me what is going on at the Lambeth Conference.

Like most people stateside, I am relying on various Internet sites and blogs for news. The official Episcopal Church site has a lot of special coverage, including videos of many speeches and comments. For the first time there is a team of "Blogging Bishops" (God help us) and they are contributing to the Lambeth Journal. The Episcopal Diocese of New York is also relaying a blog by our own Suffragan Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Catherine Roskam.

As for what is happening, my own hope is that there will be some reconciliation or at least an uneasy truth. The likelihood of that happening, given the anger on both sides and the love of some activists for media coverage of their own pronouncements, seems small.

Pray, brothers and sisters, for the Church. --J. Douglas Ousley

Really Looking for Communion?

2008-07-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

The Lambeth Conference of (most) Anglican Bishops begins in a few days and as usual, there will be calls from all factions for unity and dialog.
My own suspicion is that most progressives and traditionalists are wholly unwilling to compromise and therefore conversation will be pointless and unity elusive. Progressives will call for everyone to speak at the same table--but with the implied agenda that if conservatives will only listen, they will change their minds and agree with the liberals. Traditionalists will fear this gambit and in addition will fear that giving up on any of their issues will lead to the collapse of the church.
This divisiveness is hardly new but it seems to me to be more rigid than ever. May God have mercy upon us. --J. Douglas Ousley

Lights, Cameras, Action

2008-06-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

I wonder if part of the enormous interest in Barack Obama's local church came from the unfamiliarity of the media-centered nature of modern worship. It must have been a shock to many viewers, religious and secular. The hand-held microphones, the rock music, the hand-clapping, the theatrics--this is not my grandmother's Congregational Church!

Yet spectacle is part of many mega-churches these days, including those on the conservative side as well as the liberal. Even at St. Patrick's Cathedral, cameras are everywhere and applause interrupts the Cardinal's sermons.

As one who likes church to look like church, not a media event, I am feeling well behind the times. On the other hand: among the fastest growing denominations in America are Orthodox Congregations with the most traditional liturgies and few concessions to secular performances.

May God's holy name be praised. --J. Douglas Ousley

Our Batty Mother Church?

2008-05-07T11:08:00.000-07:00

As a break from the serious sacred and secular news of the day, here are two items about the Church of England.

First, a senior clergyman from Nottingham, Canon Andrew Deuchar, recently resigned after admitting "inappropriate conduct toward a woman." No details were given and the departure of Canon Deuchar, a chaplain to the Queen, will likely pass relatively unnoticed. However, I cannot help remarking that this priest was formerly the Archbishop's Secretary for Anglican Communion Affairs.

Second, a recent government study reported that one in ten English churches in inhabited by bats. Because all the species of British bats are protected, users of the churches are not allowed even to plug the holes by which the bats enter, much less try to get them out of the buildings. The study suggests covering the furniture to protect from droppings. --J. Douglas Ousley

Brand Erosion?

2008-04-08T07:25:00.000-07:00

Since its founding at the English Reformation in the 16th Century, the Anglican tradition has been known for its "comprehensiveness." In particular, the Church of England and its branches in other countries have been able to include Anglo-Catholics and Evangelicals, conservatives and liberals, traditionalists and progressives.

Now, no one seems to point with pride to the inclusiveness under which we were founded. Many traditionalists are trying to pull their property out of one province of the Anglican Communion into another, while progressive leaders are spending vast amounts of money to retain that property.

At the same time, the reality is that we still share many of the original traits of comprehensiveness: apostolic liturgy and leadership and Protestant freedom of conscience and theology.

I have realized only recently how much I cherished the "comprehensiveness" of the Episcopal Church. Not the least of my dissatisfaction with our church today is my recognition of how unclear it is what we stand for, and how little we really care to include fellow Anglicans with whom we differ. --J. Douglas Ousley

The PB in Jerusalem

2008-03-22T12:26:00.000-07:00

"This morning we were spat on by a young Jewish man. Howsimilar must have been Jesus' journeys the last week of his life."

The Holy Saturday press release from the Episcopal News Service offered this quote from an address in Jerusalem by the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. The full article from which the release is excerpted contains similar veiled criticisms of the free state of Israel, just as past bulletins from the Palestinian territories frequently mentioned the “occupying” Israeli forces. No mention was made of Palestinian leadership or their terrorist allies.

Perhaps it’s not completely surprising that the Jewish man spat at American Christians who he could have suspected of mouthing anti-Israeli platitudes--and who might not have acknowledged that Israeli Christians and Muslims are free to practice their religion and even serve in the Israeli Parliament while, across the borders, Christian Palestinians are being forced to leave the Palestinian territories and Jews are slain. If the Israelis have put up barriers and checkpoints, it is to try to keep their children from being blown to bits.

I hesitate to speculate how “Jesus would have felt;” perhaps he might have been sympathetic to the disturbed “young Jewish man,” who like many Jews in the Holy Land, rarely have a peaceful night’s rest. --J. Douglas Ousley

Bishop Moore

2008-03-03T08:08:00.000-08:00

The poet Honor Moore has written a memoir of her father, Bishop Paul Moore; an excerpt has just appeared in The New Yorker.

I include the link to this article but I hasten to add that I hope people will think twice before they read it. It contains some very hurtful comments on a Bishop of New York who was beloved to me and many people of this diocese. Bishop Moore would have been the first to admit that he was unsure about a lot of things and that he was far from perfect. It is too bad that, despite advice to the contrary from the current Bishop of New York in a recent (and rare) pastoral letter, critics of Bishop Moore's vision of freedom for all people are likely to have a field day with this memoir.

As one of the my colleagues remarked, the memoir genre is out-of-control. The tendency at funerals to puff up the departed is later countered with extreme criticism, which is all the more potent, given that the dead are unable to give their side of the story. As for Bishop Moore, may he rest in peace. --J. Douglas Ousley

How Firm a Foundation?

2008-02-20T06:11:00.000-08:00

Rummaging through my library recently, I happened upon a book of documents written by the first Executive Officer of the Anglican Communion, Bishop Stephen Bayne. Bayne was quite famous in the early 1960's when the concept of an "Anglican Communion" first began to replace the idea of the "Church of England in other countries."

Obviously, there was the freedom of post-colonialism in the air and there was much talk of each Province being autonomous; in retrospect, Bishop Bayne's concern (in 1962) that the newly -independent Ugandan Church feel free to express its independent views is ironic, given that this Church is now ordaining its own bishops in Bayne's native America!

The other striking feature of the documents is the continual searching for common ground and the frequent attempts to define "Anglicanism." Interestingly, the current suggestion to promote unity, an Anglican Covenant, would have likely been rejected by Bayne and other forward-thinking leaders of his time because it smacked of "confessionalism."

One wonders, then, just how clearly the Anglican Communion understood its identity and mission when it first established formal international links beyond the church of England.

--J. Douglas Ousley

Men and Women in the Episcopal Church

2008-01-08T07:13:00.000-08:00

An article of mine on men and women in the Episcopal Church entitled, "The Battle of the Sexes has Subsided" was recently published in the weekly magazine, The Living Church. This essay began as an address to a group of Manhattan clergy that I belong to; my original intention was simply to survey the field.

By the time I completed the paper, though, I realized that I wanted to stress my personal opinion that ordained women had largely been accepted and assimilated in our church. And I could not resist adding my view that in a generation or two, this would likely be the case with lesbian and gay clergy.

In a way, my views were confirmed simply by the article being accepted by the traditionalist publication, The Living Church. Even though they published my thoughts as a "Viewpoint" piece, it was published. I hope my optimistic predictions turn out to be true.

The article is not available on the limited Living Church website but if you contact me, I will email or mail you a copy. --J. Douglas Ousley ousleyjd@churchoftheincarnation.org

comment on The Boredom of Atheism

2008-01-02T13:00:00.000-08:00

Maki Hoashi has this comment on my earlier post on atheism. (I would note that I have since read Christopher Hitchens' book and will be commenting on it shortly.):

i have friends and relatives who are atheists (meaning, they've chosen this brand of disbelief; they aren't merely lazy!), which seems to mean "criticizing religion" or being specifically anti-christian. (this does not include buddhism, which does not have a god in its belief structure, but does codify belief in the afterlife and in life forces.)

i am unfamiliar with any official efforts to standardize the non-belief of god's existance, so my comments are restricted to observations of those loved ones. it seems to me that criticizing belief and those who believe in god does not construct a belief system in itself. it used to make me upset, but these days, i only feel sorry for those who feel they have to make fun of believers, and grow bored with their arguments maintaining their superiority by denigrating others. as i've grown older, it simply saddens me that many i love do this, especially on the holidays. their right to not-believe is not the problem -- only their hounding negativism, which seems to be a black hole into which they pour hope and faith, a sort of "i told you so" whining. what a poor sort of substitute for the potential joys of the season and beyond!

on the other hand, i also have bible-thumping friends and relatives, which can be annoying or offensive, too. i guess any form of obsession is tiresome. the japanese refer to obsessives as "otaku" which defines someone who is obsessed to the point of affecting day-to-day life -- something that goes beyond a hobby (like anime otaku, or car otaku, orfood otaku). the word is also loosely translated as "freak"! (the official name of the group which produces pokemon characters and games is actually a company called gamefreak.)

in the end, i tell myself that as humans, we are blessed because we have the right to choose to believe or not believe. and for all the negativism, i'm still happy to have the friends and relatives i have, and the diversity of peoples and beliefs all around us. happy new year, regardless of your belief or disbelief, or of your otaku! Maki Hoashi

Comment on Van Gogh

2007-12-24T12:11:00.001-08:00

From Maki Hoashi:

it's unusual for artists of any calibre to be able to communicate equally well in more than one medium. i had learned from my father (an artist and writer) that one has to sacrifice many things in order to be immersed entirely into your chosen communication medium -- the "jack of all trades is the master of none" idea. but some geniuses perhaps have too important a message to convey, and so are (natural) masters of several communication conduits. in turn, that genius inspires others to receive or find the message, or perhaps awakens the message within them. i find autodidacts and "true geniuses" really intriguing for this reason: what are they saying ... and perhaps where did the message come from, without training or comprehension. alas, i am not a genuis, but i am blessed for having received the messages carried by many of them -- whether profound or trivial, all are important and resonate on different and many levels.

Van Gogh in Murray Hill

2007-12-19T06:30:00.000-08:00

From Bill Richards, concerning a very fine local art exhibit: Our neighbor The Morgan Libray has an amazing exhibit of Letters, Paintings and Drawings of Van Gogh. The Letters are to Emile Bernard a friend of Van Gogh's and also of Toulouse-Latrec's and himself a painter. The art of letter writing has almost become a lost art. Yesterday I read Van Gogh's Letter Number VIII written the "Last Week of June 1888" - it begins, " It's fine that you're reading the bible." The letter goes on into a long discussion on religious painters like Delacroix, Rembrandt, Millet, Botticelli, van Eyck and Velasquez. He writes of Christ, " He lived a serene life, and was the greatest artist of all, disdianing marble, clay or colour, working with living flesh." I knew the Van Gogh could piant. Yesterday I learned that he could write. Don't miss this wonderful exhibition which closes in Mid January 2008.

The Gospel of Prosperity?

2007-11-13T13:11:00.000-08:00

My favorite evangelical, the Texan Joel Osteen, has been on television a lot lately, promoting his new book, Become a Better You. During these appearances, Joel and his wife have been modest and gracious; they have answered questions of talk show hosts like Larry King with humor and intelligence.

And there is much to be said for the Osteen's positive Gospel; most of us need help in living a fulfilling Christian life, and we all can use hope. The Broad Church Movement in which many of the founders of the Church of the Incarnation were involved had an important optimistic side, seen in its most famous American member, Bishop Phillips Brooks.

But the negatives, too, are obvious: the so-called Prosperity Gospel can lead to selfishness and greed, as witnessed by the announcement of an investigation of six other evangelists who are also in this camp. These preachers apparently have helped themselves to a few too many of the offerings collected by their non-profit churches.

The issue, however, goes much deeper than the fate of popular clergy. These are the two sides of all religion: sacrifice for others v. abundant life for oneself. Sometimes these aspects are present together, as when a doctor receives joy from working long hours to help poor people. But often, religion seems to go in one direction or another, towards personal satisfaction or towards painful duty.

Myself, I'm hoping to do my duty and still find abundant life. Or as Joel Osteen entitled his first book, Your Best Life Now. --J. Douglas Ousley

Further on the Atheism Business

2007-11-06T08:17:00.000-08:00

Maki Hoashi's comment to my last post made me guilty that I had commented on books that I hadn't read. Though I have read a number of Richard Dawkins' previous books and articles, I had not read Christopher Hitchens' book on religion. I will order the latter to atone for my hubris.

In the meantime, I still wonder how much difference it makes that famous thinker X or Y believes or doesn't believe Christianity is true. My faith is strengthened by knowing a number of bright people who are believers; my faith isn't weakened by knowing a number of bright people who are atheists. This isn't logical, yet we all have to accept some things on authority; we can't weigh every argument and every bit of evidence. Perhaps here we come to the life beyond the thought; or in the biblical phrase, "By their fruits shall ye know them." How beliefs are lived can suggest whether they are true or false. --J. Douglas Ousley

The boredom of atheism

2007-11-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

I admit that I have not read the latest crop of atheism books. I have read numerous books by Richard Dawkins so I feel I don't need to read any more of his and I suspect that the rest of them will offer few new arguments. I was trained as an analytic philosopher London, in the mid-twentieth century heyday of that movement; at the time, most philosophers were atheists and their arguments against religion were strong and detailed.

In the years since, Christian and Jewish philosophers have responded with their own counter-attacks on atheism and defenses of the possibility of Christian belief. The power of these responses is perhaps the main reason atheist philosophers no longer argue much with the religious.

In leaving the field to amateurs, however, they don't do much for the atheist cause. While Hitchens is a first-rate political commentator and Dawkins a brilliant biologist, neither has any philosophical training (nor much experience of religion--but let that go.) Such windy rhetorical attacks pose little threat to Christianity. In fact, it is said that sales of Hitchens' and Dawkins's books have been mostly to evangelicals who want to "know the enemy!" Whether or not this is true, Christians don't have much reason to fear these enemies, because the enemies don't have good reasons to support their claims. --J. Douglas Ousley