Friday, October 17, 2008

Fresh Air...

I've just finished this interview from Fresh Air. It is an interview with Katherine Jefferts Schori, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, USA (or as my mother calls her the Arch-bishop, ain't no arch bishops in America, Mom!) I ususally think of Terry Gross, the host, as one of the most informed interviewers in the biz, but here she really shows some real ignorance. Now as I write that, I had an insight. There was one point in the interview where Gross asked a question about the divisions in the church and Bishop Schori wanted to clarify some things about the full humanity of Jesus, but Gross interupted her to say that the conservatives must see Jesus as only divine. Now, I know that Terry Gross can't be up on all the points of Christian christology, even a fundamental one like this (I could go on about this, I think if a poll went out into most churches this week the results would come back that most folks are heretics, along Nestorian or Gnostic lines). What got me about this interview was that Gross thought the issues at hand in the Episcopal/Anglican divide were more serious than sexuality. This is one thing that I've heard from more conservative episcopalians,"if the Episcopal Church doesn't proclaim Jesus as the Son of God, well then..." and on it goes. Where is this happening exactly? Maybe I need to get into New Testament to realize that Jesus is not Lord. That was a joke. Right?
I visited with some friends this weekend and they asked lots of good ontological questions about the affect of seminary on me. I think what is happening is that I've become more orthodox (small O) in my theology. Funny thing is that I think that Christianity, that is the understanding that God has made God's self available utterly to humanity in a historical person, and that the foundation of all being is Love, is clearly the most liberal thing in the world (and heaven).

Sorry for the stream of conscious...

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