tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34346296.post497056985076200435..comments2023-12-25T23:40:17.701-05:00Comments on Confessions of a Carioca: Three Polarities to be EschewedDaniel Martinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15980949721733826978noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34346296.post-73146255282011091432014-09-24T12:03:37.641-04:002014-09-24T12:03:37.641-04:00The "fear" in the first polarity: A few ...The "fear" in the first polarity: A few months ago I puzzled over the possible reason why fear did indeed seem to be connected in some way with regard to "progressive" actions in TEC but why this situation didn't really exist decades ago. I've concluded the change is possibly keyed to an extreme dislike and distrust of diversity of "expression" in the church. It seems to me that even super-Anglo-Catholics, super-Evangelicals and also "charismatics" in TEC were basically ultimately content with diversity of expression in the church as long as they remained largely unimpeded in following their religious orientations. I wonder if perhaps beginning sometime in the '60s, many seminaries probably lit the fuse of what may have developed into an extreme dislike and distrust of diversity on the part of "progressives" by stressing something that was very appealing to cultural tastes and norms: the primacy of individualistic orientation in the search for Truth rather than the primacy of Scripture. When one is basically content to stand on culturally-oriented ground rather than the solid rock of Scripture, there are constant, lurking threats that can come from many places, coupled with a fear which is present even if it isn't consciously recognized.williamphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15462159892385010372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34346296.post-24386009364764093342014-09-22T12:17:33.482-04:002014-09-22T12:17:33.482-04:00I agree wholeheartedly,Bishop. Hear's to hopin...I agree wholeheartedly,Bishop. Hear's to hoping that those who truly need to hear these words,will.Nick Porternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34346296.post-2730429111054139362014-09-21T20:09:07.801-04:002014-09-21T20:09:07.801-04:00Bishop: Enjoyed the article, and am recommending/s...Bishop: Enjoyed the article, and am recommending/sharing it with the people in my congregations.<br />While I admit that some in ACNA are still not turning loose of the old battles, I know that in our circumstances, conditions are quite different, and I know of others who would say the same.<br />We are starting from scratch, two groups of former Episcopalians who are striving, with God's help, to grow something new and old.<br />It became VERY clear to us from the beginning that, if we were going to be an attractive option for people looking for the tradition and the spirit that we offer, that we had to deal first of all with our own hearts. We have got to be moving toward something and not merely away from something else.<br />We felt that as long as we were "hung up" on the old issues and stuck in old struggles, God would not be able to honor our prayers for growth, because no sensible person looking for nurture, growth and healing would long continue in such a body.<br />We have dealt with ourselves and each other in an open, trusting, and forthright matter. Any time we newly discover old wounds, we move to heal ourselves and each other.<br />God bless you, and your ministry, and those we pray for every day whose call from the Holy Spirit has been to remain in TEC. The same Spirit has set us on a different journey that I pray will have the same glorious end in the Kingdom.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06073022296114619081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34346296.post-13130226393151141482014-09-21T17:08:40.848-04:002014-09-21T17:08:40.848-04:00"There's a lot of fear ..." I have s..."There's a lot of fear ..." I have seen that fear. Just ask a squirmy question of a progressive and you can positively feel it in the air. It is the fear of uncertainty, the fear that their belief is not blessed by God, the fear that their feet are not on solid ground but rather on the shifting sands of man's desires. Undergroundpewsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10182191422663119484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34346296.post-42735326425117981742014-09-21T09:36:15.009-04:002014-09-21T09:36:15.009-04:00An interesting article. As a political conservati...An interesting article. As a political conservative I'm happily on the "extreme end" of a political polarity because I believe what I believe to be true, as hopefully everybody else does; I don't take any negative or insult over being "extreme" either about certain ideas. I do agree about the redistricting problems -- it's a form, actually, of *segregation* and I suspect that it actually does harm to the various groups involved. It puts bunches of people of the same ideology into the same group, in voting region by voting region. It means that a lot of people in one group don't recognize the needs of the other groups -- they don't *see* them as much. Interestingly, my understanding of the original goals was to make certain that blacks in the deep South had "representation" -- so the district lines at one time were drawn to make certain that one representative might be black. That was, of course, a big mistake -- it meant that other districts were, perversely, "whiter" -- but I don't think there's any real fixing that now. The district lines are drawn by which political party is in power at the time for redistricting and I doubt that will change in the forseeable future.<br /><br />RE: "There's a lot of fear ... though I'm not sure exactly what of."<br /><br />I agree and I've thought about and wondered why the revisionist activists in TEC are still so angry, bitter, and outraged all the time [please note -- I'm distinguishing between revisionists and the revisionist activists who are in charge of my church] since they've "won."<br /><br />After a lot of observation and speculation I think it's because 1) they still don't feel as if they've "won" and 2) they know that many of the gains they've made in the power structures of TEC are not supported by masses of people in the pews so they remain insecure despite their complete victory at the national and at most diocesan levels.<br /><br />I think they know in their bones that it's a pyrrhic victory -- and they don't know how to make it *not* a pyrrhic victory.<br /><br />Truth is . . . they can't. In order to make it *not* a pyrrhic victory they'd have to be able to change informed people's *minds* and they haven't been able to do so. The moderates are quiet, most of the conservatives have left, or have done what they're doing in my diocese, which is to remain in their parishes, and distance and detach as much of their money and hearts and volunteer hours from the church as possible. Many of the laypeople who have remained in TEC now find their volunteer and other communities *outside* of the church, and it is a remarkable societal shift for conservatives, I think -- and causes conservative and moderate clergy no end of grief and inconvenience too.<br /><br />So you've got a minority -- revisionist activists -- firmly ensconsed in the power structures of a church that is very rapidly flaming out and losing its influence simply by dint of massive decline in numbers and money.<br /><br />I think that insecurity -- in sureness of gains, in recognition that their opponents never came around to their side, and in the realization that the institution they fought so hard to acquire is augering into the ground -- gives rise to a ton of emotion and flailing.<br /><br /><br />Sarah the Blonde BuddhistAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34346296.post-44325196792954045312014-09-21T09:32:23.880-04:002014-09-21T09:32:23.880-04:00Excellent reasoning as usual! This should be publi...Excellent reasoning as usual! This should be published widely as you have <b>nailed</b> the three most devastating current polarities. As you know I am in the Diocese of SC. We are more focused on where we are going and why not what we have left behind (TEC). One of our most important ministries (St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center) is also used by TEC or any other Christian group. What irony if the TEC HoB came to St. Christopher for a meeting! Heck of a lot closer than Taiwan! SC Blu Cat LadyGallettahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07062791988762007882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34346296.post-85494769950694846012014-09-21T08:40:20.085-04:002014-09-21T08:40:20.085-04:00But without our straw men, how could we feel so go...But without our straw men, how could we feel so good about our own positions?plsdeaconhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18039800243898137584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34346296.post-52747596143701117632014-09-21T05:36:44.456-04:002014-09-21T05:36:44.456-04:00This is excellent, and nothing I can write would a...This is excellent, and nothing I can write would add to the excellence. Thank you, Bishop.John Richmondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13587302719107504726noreply@blogger.com