It didn’t make many headlines, but the conservative wing of the worldwide Anglican church flexed its muscles about a week ago. It gagged the Episcopalian Church U.S.A. A gathering of 38 primates – the leaders of 44 national churches – in Canterbury, England, effectively excommunicated their American kin. For the next three years, the U.S. church may not represent the Anglican church on ecumenical or interfaith bodies, may not participate in any international Anglican committees, and may not vote “on any issues pertaining to doctrine or polity…” I’m tempted to invoke an analogy to biblical eunuchs. On the surface, the issue is homosexuality. African bishops were incensed by the U.S. church’s election of a gay priest, Gene Robinson, as bishop of New Hampshire in 2003. The U.S. church then heaped insult on top of injury, last summer, by approving a rite for same-sex marriages.
The products of mission fervour But the issues run deeper than homophobia-- biblical authority, apostolic unity, the role of liturgy, and the legacy of colonialism. The conservative bishops represent mainly African churches, with memberships that far outnumber their European mother churches. Over the last 15 years, the increase in membership in Nigeria alone surpasses the total membership of the American church. “Church leaders in the global south, whose churches are growing in contrast to declining congregations in the U.K., resent being expected to fall into line with their former colonial masters,” the Guardian editorialized. The burgeoning churches were all founded by wester n missionaries. Missionaries, inevitably, are more zealous in their faith than those who send them out. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t risk alien cultures, open hostility from existing religions, and unfamiliar diseases. Missionary kids tend have to survive diseases most westerners have barely heard of: malaria, dysentery, typhoid fever, bilharzia, yellow fever, cholera…. Lukewarm Christians don’t become missionaries. These fervent Christians set out to persuade people to reject everything they once held holy, to give up their customs, to embrace Jesus as saviour from their sinful ways, and to accept the Bible as the only reliable guide for living. Millions did. Even if it meant being cast out of their own families. Even, in some cases, risking assassination for the sake of the family’s honour.
Tainting the apostolic line So when the parent church starts changing its standards – for example, placing compassion for society’s outcasts higher than the Bible’s explicit condemnation of homosexuality -- the younger churches feel betrayed.
The bishops especially feel betrayed that the betrayal comes as one of their own. Not just a lay person or an ordinary priest, but a bishop! In the episcopal tradition, bishops are the church. When Henry VIII split with Rome in 1534, he didn’t start a new church; he put the old church under new management. So the principle of apostolic succession continues. The Bible says that Jesus entrusted the church to Peter. Peter’s authority is passed along to each bishop by the laying on of hands, and through the bishops to the priests, and through the priests to the world. Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, though, the Anglican Communion has no Pope. And no Vatican. The Archbishop of Canterbury serves as symbolic head, but wields no power. In this case, Archbishop Justin Welby could only call together the various national leaders, in the hope of avoiding an open schism. The sanctions against the U.S. Episcopal Church are about as far as the 38 primates could go. They cannot evict a church, because there is nothing to evict the church from. The Anglican Communion is not a parliament. It has no Constitution, no rules of membership, no binding Creed or Confession.
Upsetting applecarts Every national Anglican church – indeed, every diocese – is independent. It is a “Communion,” as Patricia Bayes explained in her book This Anglican Church of Ours, because all the churches base their worship practices (whether loosely or religiously) on Thomas Cranmer’s 1552 Book of Common Prayer. Go to an Anglican church anywhere in the world, and you will find the liturgy familiar, even if you can’t understand a word of the local language. Cranmer’s original text contained liturgies for Morning and Evening Prayer and for Holy Communion; also services for Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, Prayers for the Sick, and Funerals. It did not include a same-sex marriage service. By adding one, the U.S. Episcopal Church upset long-held tradition. The Anglican Church of Canada will vote on a same-sex marriage service this summer. The King James Bible, perhaps the Anglican Church’s greatest achievement, has a verse that says God will punish the children and grandchildren for their ancestors’ mistakes, to the third and fourth generation. The fervour of early missionaries, it seems, has come back to haunt this generation. ******************************************************** Copyright © 2016 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups encouraged; links from other blogs welcomed; all other rights reserved. To send comments, to subscribe, or to unsubscribe, write jimt@quixotic.ca ********************************************************
YOUR TURN
A letter to our local newspaper missed the point of last week’s column. I had suggested that the conservative mind based its decisions on the same values that motivated some unpopular groups, such as ISIS, patriarchal tribes, and criminal gangs. The letter writer confused what those groups do, with why they do them. So, no, the Tea Party does not behead its rebels, or burn them alive. But it uses the same values – collective loyalty, appeal to superior authority, and moral purity – to define who’s in and who’s out. The surest way to dethrone Donald Trump’s candidacy would be to catch him with his pants down when they shouldn’t be.
Anyway, on with your letters Jay Sprout and Mary Elford both caught an error. I had written, “I need to maintain academic neutrality.”
“Unless I’m misreading your essay,” Jay wrote, “at this point you would be saying, ‘But I DO NOT need to maintain academic neutrality.’” He’s right. Somehow, I left out, or omitted, or even accidentally deleted, the word “don’t”.
Frank Martens sent a long list of articles which – at first glance – appear to confirm Haidt’s analysis of the way liberal and conservative minds tend to work. “As a result,” Frank commented, “no amount of persuasion could change our minds. My brother and I are perfect examples. He is nine years younger and the most ultra-conservative (religious) person I know. I on the other hand am a hard left-wing socialist (and atheist). The only thing we agree on is to disagree.”
Tom Watson wrote, “I was not previously aware of Haidt's writings. “We recently had an election in Canada where, it seemed to me at least, one party played to our fears and the other played to our hope (promise). Although I tend to agree with Daniel Kahneman's theory that we respond more strongly to fear, it isn't always so, because it didn't play out in the Canadian election results.” Tom concluded his letter, “I can't imagine the political scene in the U.S. becoming more surreal…” And then a subsequent note added, “I was wondering if Sarah Palin now supporting Donald Trump was surreal enough for you?”
Ted Wilson quoted my line, “Donald Trump would be a throwback to the lizard era,” and added, “That’s an insult to lizards.”
Steve Roney, as I expected, took exception to the column: “Most on the right would object strenuously to your and Haidt's characterisation of the left as more caring and more concerned with fairness than they. They would maintain the exact opposite. Similarly, they would consider the left far more authoritarian than they are. “As for saddling the right with Donald Trump, most serious right-wingers would again reject the idea that he is one of them. He is a populist, and his ideas cannot be categorized on one ideological side or the other. What he says now is consistently different from eight years or so ago. “I reject, once again, the claim that it is the right, not the left, that is obsessed with ‘crotch issues.’ The Playboy philosophy, the sexual revolution, feminism, gay rights, transgender rights are all leftist causes. The right is merely responding. “Of course Bill Clinton's behaviour towards women, if all that is alleged is true, is a far more serious moral failing than anything you can pin on George W. Bush or, so far as we know, Donald Trump.”
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TECHNICAL STUFF
This column comes to you using the electronic facilities of Woodlakebooks.com. If you want to comment on something, send a message directly to me, at jimt@quixotic.ca. Or just hit the “Reply” button. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send me an e-mail message at the address above. Or subscribe electronically by sending a blank e-mail (no message) to sharpedges-subscribe@quixotic.ca. Similarly, you can un-subscribe at sharpedgesunsubscribe@quixotic.ca. You can access several years of archived columns at http://edges.Canadahomepage.net. I write a second column each Wednesday, called Soft Edges, which deals somewhat more gently with issues of life and faith. To sign up for Soft Edges, write to me directly, at the address above, or send a blank e-mail to softedges-subscribe@quixotic.ca
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PROMOTION STUFF…
 Ralph Milton has a new project, called Sing Hallelujah – the world’s first video hymnal. It consists of 100 popular hymns, both new and old, on five DVDs that can be played using a standard DVD player and TV screen, for use in congregations who lack
skilled musicians to play piano or organ. More details at www.singhallelujah.com Ralph’s HymnSight webpage is still up, http://www.hymnsight.ca, with a vast gallery of photos you can use to enhance the appearance of the visual images you project for liturgical use (prayers, responses, hymn verses, etc.)  Wayne Irwin's “Churchweb Canada,” an inexpensive service for any congregation wanting to develop a web presence, with free consultation. <http://www.churchwebcanada.ca>  Alan Reynold’s weekly musings, punningly titled “Reynolds Rap” -- reynoldsrap@shaw.ca  Isabel Gibson’s thoughtful and well-written blog, www.traditionaliconoclast.com  Alva Wood’s satiric stories about incompetent bureaucrats and prejudiced attitudes in a small town – not particularly religious, but fun; alvawood@gmail.com to get onto her mailing list.  Tom Watson writes a weekly blog called “The View from Grandpa Tom’s Balcony” – ruminations on various subjects, and feedback from Tom’s readers. Write him at tomwatso@gmail.com or twatson@sentex.net
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