Once we scrub away all the theological bric-a-brac and pluck the exotic cross-cultural plumage of religious beliefs … once we get under God’s skin, isn’t He really just another mind—one with emotions, beliefs, knowledge, understanding, and, perhaps above all else, intentions? Aren’t theologians really just playing the role of God’s translators?
More than 140 Catholic theologians from universities in Austria, Germany and Switzerland have called for the Church to end priestly celibacy, ordain women and allow lay people to help select bishops, among other changes. They said that they could no longer remain silent in the face of what they say is a lingering crisis within the Catholic Church.
Paul Bagshaw has written an essay on the state of the Anglican Communion after the most recent Primates Meeting, and his thoughts are similar to
Scottish Primate: It should not be a place where decisions are made for the Communion or for Provinces. It was clear that most of us come – as I do – from Provinces where decision-making is collegial and consultative within our autonomous provincial structure.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that … the Diocese of East Carolina requests that the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church to express our desire that any future Covenant presented to The Episcopal Church represent more truly, and with greater clarity and full recognition of voices of laity and clergy, our Anglican tradition and Christian faith.
How many years do I have left with a clear mind?—a question I asked myself a few days ago after I had phoned to check how my godmother is doing in her nursing home in Toronto. Her Alzheimer’s has been progressing over 15 years. One of the most poignant losses is the total eclipse of her religious awareness
Is our rapidly disintegrating consensus really such a bad thing? It all depends on the meaning we assign to uniformity. If we view agreement on things as an indicator of health, and disagreement as a sign of pathology, then the loss of consensus we are facing is very frightening indeed.