Next week, the Primates of the Anglican Communion will meet. And however much the Archbishop of Canterbury tries to distract the meeting with briefings and papers and such, the elephant in the room will be the question of whether and when to recognize the Anglican Church in North America as a new province.
It is interesting that the Welsh primate, Barry Morgan, who adamantly opposes a new province as “nonsense,” also says his view is in the minority among the primates. Whether he meant his hard line view is in the minority or simple opposition to a new province is in the minority, we don’t know.
Christopher Johnson has some ideas of what might transpire at the Primates Meeting. As for me, I think it unlikely the new province will be recognized at the meeting. Should ++Rowan think he doesn’t have the votes to stop it (Yes, I do think Dr. Williams sides with The Episcopal Church when push comes to shove.), I think he will use all means possible to prevent a vote.
The question then is to what extent will the other primates let him get away with that. I think he get away with it for a time. Either that, or he will have enough votes at this meeting at least. For one thing, the Anglican Church in North America hasn’t yet approved a constitution yet. (The current constitution is provisional only.) So a reasonable case can be made for waiting even to those well disposed toward a new province.
And you know how much ++Rowan likes to wait and delay. He’ll succeed in doing so without too much additional upset at this meeting at least.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
BBC Bias
In noting BBC’s bias, Damian Thompson reveals a tidbit I find very interesting:
George W Bush kept the BBC at arm's length because, even before he took office, he had learned that its hacks hated him and there was nothing he could do about it. I can vouch for this: I remember walking through the BBC newsroom and seeing a huge grotesque cartoon of W staring out at the journalists as they typed their self-righteous dispatches into their computers.
George W Bush kept the BBC at arm's length because, even before he took office, he had learned that its hacks hated him and there was nothing he could do about it. I can vouch for this: I remember walking through the BBC newsroom and seeing a huge grotesque cartoon of W staring out at the journalists as they typed their self-righteous dispatches into their computers.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Zen Buddhist Expected to be Elected TEC Bishop
No. This is not a joke.
But this is beyond satire. What is an Anglican blogger to do? How do you send up The Episcopal Church when it is already so absurd?
I give up.
But this is beyond satire. What is an Anglican blogger to do? How do you send up The Episcopal Church when it is already so absurd?
I give up.
Obama Updates
I’m a bit under the weather, but I want briefly to update on two recent posts.
I assailed President Obama on his vow to close Guantanamo Bay and on his halting of terror trials.
He’s now finding out the hard way that things aren’t so simple. For one thing, some former G Bay detainees have gone back to terror. For another – surprise, surprise – most don’t want terrorists next door.
On the stimulus package, I noted that Obama has the political capital to stop its transformation into a lurid liberal fantasy.
Well, it appears he is using that capital to remove one offending provision, contraceptive funding.
Much, much more needs to be done before we have a reasonable, responsible, effective stimulus package. But this is a start. And I have no problem giving credit to Obama when credit is due.
I assailed President Obama on his vow to close Guantanamo Bay and on his halting of terror trials.
He’s now finding out the hard way that things aren’t so simple. For one thing, some former G Bay detainees have gone back to terror. For another – surprise, surprise – most don’t want terrorists next door.
On the stimulus package, I noted that Obama has the political capital to stop its transformation into a lurid liberal fantasy.
Well, it appears he is using that capital to remove one offending provision, contraceptive funding.
Much, much more needs to be done before we have a reasonable, responsible, effective stimulus package. But this is a start. And I have no problem giving credit to Obama when credit is due.
Monday, January 26, 2009
No Safe Zones: The Politicization of . . . Everything
In this Glorious New Beginning of the Age of Obama, it is getting harder and harder to escape partisan politics, especially of the Lefty variety.
I can be a bit political. (Here, all my readers say, “Nooooo!”) But there are actually times when I don’t want to deal with politics and don’t appreciate being bombarded with such.
One such time was on the evening of The Glorious First Day (more commonly known as January 20th). I had watched, calmly for the most part I will have you know, the Inauguration and the events following. But now I wanted to relax and watch some college basketball on ESPN HD (which can be really glorious).
But the announcers just had to note Obama’s Glorious New Beginning. . . . And they kept talking about it, very favorably, of course. And they kept talking about Obama, and they kept talking about Obama and . . . I turned off the T. V.
Hey, ESPN, if I turn to you, I do so to watch sports.
Well, I’m not the only one who has noticed that “safe zones” from partisan politics are getting fewer and fewer. Many, particularly of the lefty persuasion, just don’t get that some settings are just not appropriate for injecting their political views.
And that includes religious political lefties. I remember Tony Compolo ranting about Iraq in an address to a youth workers convention I attended.
I walked out.
Much more here.
Not more safe zones though, I’m afraid.
By the way, not to be paranoid, but that’s one symptom of increasing authoritarianism/totalitarianism.
I can be a bit political. (Here, all my readers say, “Nooooo!”) But there are actually times when I don’t want to deal with politics and don’t appreciate being bombarded with such.
One such time was on the evening of The Glorious First Day (more commonly known as January 20th). I had watched, calmly for the most part I will have you know, the Inauguration and the events following. But now I wanted to relax and watch some college basketball on ESPN HD (which can be really glorious).
But the announcers just had to note Obama’s Glorious New Beginning. . . . And they kept talking about it, very favorably, of course. And they kept talking about Obama, and they kept talking about Obama and . . . I turned off the T. V.
Hey, ESPN, if I turn to you, I do so to watch sports.
Well, I’m not the only one who has noticed that “safe zones” from partisan politics are getting fewer and fewer. Many, particularly of the lefty persuasion, just don’t get that some settings are just not appropriate for injecting their political views.
And that includes religious political lefties. I remember Tony Compolo ranting about Iraq in an address to a youth workers convention I attended.
I walked out.
Much more here.
Not more safe zones though, I’m afraid.
By the way, not to be paranoid, but that’s one symptom of increasing authoritarianism/totalitarianism.
No Safe Place: Episcopal Diocese of Virginia Goes All In for Gay Agenda
I’m not going to rehash the events of this past weekend in Episcopal Diocese of Virginia. One can find the basics here with lots of comments. And Still On Patrol has some prescient comments.
I have said here for some time that The Episcopal Church is not a viable place for orthodox Christians. The events in Virginia confirm that. As I’ve also said, I respect those orthodox who out of conviction stay (as long as they don’t undercut the efforts of those who leave). But I think they are mistaken.
Virginia is a relatively moderate TEC diocese. If they are going all in for the gay agenda opposed to the authority of Scripture – and they are – what does that say about The Episcopal Church as a whole? It confirms that it is an apostate denomination diving further into apostasy. The Episcopal Church is past hope. God gives such over to a depraved mind. And the Episcopal Church is showing more and more symptoms of such every day.
There is now a real orthodox Anglican Church in North America tied to orthodox Anglicans worldwide. What reason is there to stay in the rotten and rotting Episcopal Church?
Flee!
I have said here for some time that The Episcopal Church is not a viable place for orthodox Christians. The events in Virginia confirm that. As I’ve also said, I respect those orthodox who out of conviction stay (as long as they don’t undercut the efforts of those who leave). But I think they are mistaken.
Virginia is a relatively moderate TEC diocese. If they are going all in for the gay agenda opposed to the authority of Scripture – and they are – what does that say about The Episcopal Church as a whole? It confirms that it is an apostate denomination diving further into apostasy. The Episcopal Church is past hope. God gives such over to a depraved mind. And the Episcopal Church is showing more and more symptoms of such every day.
There is now a real orthodox Anglican Church in North America tied to orthodox Anglicans worldwide. What reason is there to stay in the rotten and rotting Episcopal Church?
Flee!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Just Exactly What Will the Stimulus Package Stimulate?
When the idea of an Obama economic stimulus package was first being floated, I actually thought it a good idea. Word was there would be a lot of infrastructure spending, and I especially liked that. Our nation’s infrastructure could use some shoring up, and accelerating that in order to help the economy kills two birds with one stone. That would be both smart policy and smart politics.
But now it appears only a relatively small slice of the package will go to infrastructure. Instead hundreds of billions will go to liberal wishlists that have darn little to do with the economy.
I love how House Republican Leader John Boehner summed it up this morning:
How do you spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contraceptives, how does that stimulate the economy?
And the same could be said, in less colorful language, about increased funding for the arts, for public television, for various welfare programs, for “health”, for “education” (as if the huge increase in federal spending for education in recent decades has done any good).
Others who once were well-disposed toward a stimulus package, such as David Brooks and some Democrats, also don’t like what is emerging.
Really, if one were cynical, one would think liberals are just using the economic crisis as a pretense to get a lot of money thrown at their favorite pet causes. . . .
Yes. I am cynical.
As for Obama, he has the political capital to put a stop to this and get an adult, responsible package passed. Let’s hope he will.
“Hope.” Yeah.
MORE: Remember all that talk from Obama about a “new politics” beyond partisanship, etc. etc.? It was just talk:
During a morning meeting with congressional leaders from both parties, President Obama acknowledged the philosophical differences between his stimulus package and the Republican plan – but, sources familiar with the conversation said, Obama then noted: “I won.”…
But now it appears only a relatively small slice of the package will go to infrastructure. Instead hundreds of billions will go to liberal wishlists that have darn little to do with the economy.
I love how House Republican Leader John Boehner summed it up this morning:
How do you spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contraceptives, how does that stimulate the economy?
And the same could be said, in less colorful language, about increased funding for the arts, for public television, for various welfare programs, for “health”, for “education” (as if the huge increase in federal spending for education in recent decades has done any good).
Others who once were well-disposed toward a stimulus package, such as David Brooks and some Democrats, also don’t like what is emerging.
Really, if one were cynical, one would think liberals are just using the economic crisis as a pretense to get a lot of money thrown at their favorite pet causes. . . .
Yes. I am cynical.
As for Obama, he has the political capital to put a stop to this and get an adult, responsible package passed. Let’s hope he will.
“Hope.” Yeah.
MORE: Remember all that talk from Obama about a “new politics” beyond partisanship, etc. etc.? It was just talk:
During a morning meeting with congressional leaders from both parties, President Obama acknowledged the philosophical differences between his stimulus package and the Republican plan – but, sources familiar with the conversation said, Obama then noted: “I won.”…
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