By Bob Libby I’ve had a cross burned on my lawn, but I am a racist. I have an award from the Hollywood Radio and Television Society that honors me for creating a public-service radio announcement on racism, but I am a racist. President Obama contends that racism is in America’s DNA. I would expand that to suggest that racism is part of human DNA. Is it not part of our … [Read more...] about Facing My Inner Racist
opinion
Redefined by Fiat
The Rev. Ephraim Radner, writing for Anglican Communion Institute, describes the report of the Task Force for the Study of Marriage as presenting a Balkan Solution, and elaborates:The erasure of alternative views, and the proposal for a canonical change that will demand church-wide acceptance in dioceses, is one of enforced unity.To be sure, the Taskforce does not speak … [Read more...] about Redefined by Fiat
Divided Bishops
Ross Douthat writes about Pope Francis in The New York Times:In his public words and gestures, through the men he’s elevated and the debates he’s encouraged, this pope has repeatedly signaled a desire to rethink issues where Catholic teaching is in clear tension with Western social life — sex and marriage, divorce and homosexuality.And in the synod on the family, which … [Read more...] about Divided Bishops
Jesuits Look Across Town
Nathan Schneider writes for America:Joshua Davis’s two-year-old son has congenital talipes equinovarus, or club foot, and the treatment requires him to wear specialized orthopedic shoes to bed. He recently outgrew his current shoes and needs a new pair. However, the health insurance that covers him comes through his father’s position as an assistant professor of systematic … [Read more...] about Jesuits Look Across Town
Troubling Company
Betsy Childs writes on First Thoughts, a weblog of First Things:I doubt anyone in the Church of England who knows Rev. Stephen Sizer was surprised that he would attend a conference critical of Israel. Sizer, the Vicar of Christ Church in Virginia Water, Surrey, is an outspoken critic of what he calls Christian Zionism, that is, Christian support for the nation-state of Israel … [Read more...] about Troubling Company
Competing Anglican Fellowships
Peter Carrell writes at Anglican Down Under:Arguably, when I pronounced, possibly prematurely, the death of the Anglican Communion a few posts ago, I should have talked instead about this being the worst period in the history of the Anglican Communion. We do not quite have Three Popes but we do have Three Anglican Fellowships, each (effectively) competing for the role of … [Read more...] about Competing Anglican Fellowships
Pray, Reconcile, Repent
Prompted by conflicts at General Theological Seminary and elsewhere, the Rev. Scott Gunn writes at his Seven Whole Days weblog:We must all pray, and not just for “our side” if we have one. We must anchor any hope of a future for our church in our own hope in Jesus Christ. Jesus taught us to offer forgiveness, but he also insisted on repentance. Only great wisdom and the … [Read more...] about Pray, Reconcile, Repent
Another Reading of the PB
The Rev. Canon Mark Harris writes at Preludium:The Presiding Bishop does not use words carelessly. She has said two things: (i) She “at present” does not believe she should serve and lead in this ministry for another nine years, and (ii) there is the implicit expectation that any candidate should be ready to serve a full term.She also broadened her comments to say that “I … [Read more...] about Another Reading of the PB