Should SJD Affiliate with the AAC?

Digest of Parishioner Comments

I've reproduced excerpts from parishioner comments in the continuation of this posting - click below to continue reading. Most of the comments are from postings to this blog. The remainder, which are designated as "Anonymous" (along with some of the blog postings) are from emails I received. The excerpts are reproduced in alphabetical order of the authors' names, with anonymous postings last.

Homosexuality - Biology, or Choice?

One of the emails I received this past week said, in part:

[T]he idea of genetically linked homosexuality is nothing more than an "urban myth" begun in 1993, embellished by the press, and latched onto by the pro-homosexual movement. There is NO credible scientific evidence that homosexuality is genetically caused and therefore "people are born that way." I would challenge any of you to present any credible studies which support this claim.

The email went on to describe how one study (the Hamer study) was blown out of proportion by the press.

When I read the email, I remembered reading about other research in this area that indicated that there might be some biological component to homosexuality. A Google search yielded this December 2 article in the Boston Globe, surveying some of the recent research.

Dioceses Deny Joining "Network"

From the Thinking Anglicans blog:

Yesterday’s report in the New York Times that claimed 13 dioceses had joined the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes seems to have been inaccurate in various ways. I understand the basis of the report was an exclusive interview with Robert Duncan.

First, the St Petersburg Times reports Bishop denies intent to join splinter group (here’s the missing picture) and this is confirmed on the Southwest Florida diocese’s own website.

Second, as noted in that report, the Central Florida diocese has not joined either . . . .

Let's Agree to Disagree, and Get Back to Work

What if any position should SJD take, as a parish, concerning the current national-church controversies? My two cents worth is that we should do the following:

The AAC: Laying the Groundwork for Schism

At the Vestry meeting in late November, Larry announced that he intends to seek Vestry approval for the parish to join the American Anglican Council (AAC). The Vestry apparently will be voting on the matter at a meeting next Monday, December 22.

In my view, aligning with the AAC would be a bad idea, for reasons outlined below and in other postings (see the links at the right of this page). But before I vote one way or another at the December 22 Vestry meeting, I'd really like to hear from other parishioners.

I would also suggest that parishioners consider contacting Larry, the other clergy, and the Vestry, BEFORE next Monday, to make their views known and/or to ask any questions they might have.

Can Christianity Be Credible If Scripture Isn't Supreme? (Yes)

Many traditionalist Christians rely on the primacy of Scripture, and specifically of the New Testament, as the foundation of what they claim to be the historic apostolic faith. (To me, there's an issue how much of that faith was actually held by Jesus or his original followers -- Peter's speeches in Acts raise some interesting questions, especially in view of what he did not say -- but that's a topic for another day.)

Does it matter whether Scripture has primary authority in all circumstances and at all times? Would Christianity still be a credible basis for life without it?

Troubling Inconsistencies in the New Testament

The orthodox give a preemptive spiritual and moral authority to the books of the New Testament. But those books disagree with each other in a number of respects.

Some of the disagreements are trivial. Others, however, raise questions just how much the New Testament authors actually knew -- or even whether they were "spinning" their stories to promote some agenda.

The existence of these questions suggests that an overly-exalted view of the New Testament may not be wise.

L.A. Bishop's Speech

From a Los Angeles Times article:

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - In a ringing defense of an openly gay bishop and same-sex unions, Los Angeles Episcopal Bishop J. Jon Bruno declared here that the Episcopal Church is "a roomy house" for all, and warned that those who leave would be leaving "the presence of God."

* * *

"Our written Scriptures have limitations. They cannot be equivalent to the incarnate word of God in Jesus," Bruno said. "They convey God's word in a particular cultural and historical context. And these Scriptures are the word of God in the words of human beings."

Local color: Bishop Bruno is a former Burbank police officer who also used to play for the Denver Broncos.

Manuscript Reliability in the New Testament

We don't have an original copy of any book of Scripture. The surviving manuscripts of the New Testament contain significant differences in text. You can find references to such differences in the footnotes of any NT chapter of the New International Version or New Revised Standard Version.

These manuscript differences give rise to troubling questions about the theological trustworthiness of the New Testament versions that we use today. A few examples of such differences are listed below.

Tradition and Time Warps

This week's essay at my favorite Anglican Web site, Anglicans Online, is worth the read. It relates an example from San Francisco's Chinatown to gently warn about the dangers of getting stuck in a time warp in the name of tradition: