Month: February 2006 (Page 2 of 2)

Its sad, but it helps to know that Episcopalians aren’t the only one’s dealing with a church heirarchy with more to say than thought to back it up.

Stripped of Spiritual Comfort
Frank Schaeffer
No endorsement implied.

Orthodox Peace Fellowship robs peace of military parents.

A few weeks ago my wife, Genie, and I got the news that our Marine son, John, would shortly be deployed to the Middle East. He is gone to war now. We have been dreading this moment. We don’t dare go for a walk. What if he should call? I wake with a sickening jolt each dawn. Genie is quieter than usual. I snap at her over small things. The ground feels brittle under my feet. My one comfort has been prayer and church. Now I’m feeling forlorn even about going to church.

I am a member of the Greek Orthodox Church. Some Orthodox Christians calling themselves “The Council for the Orthodox Peace Fellowship in North America” have circulated an antiwar declaration harshly condemning the U.S. government’s policies in Iraq. In this “peace statement” the authors call all soldiers who kill in battle murderers, no matter what the cause. They accuse our country of using “any means” to overthrow Saddam Hussein.

I don’t agree with the authors, and I believe they have simplistically misrepresented the teachings of my church. But that is not the point. They are entitled to say or believe anything they want, as individuals and private citizens.

I am saddened because so many of my bishops and priests have signed this antiwar statement in the name of my church and my God. They have dragged not only my church but Jesus into their stand against our government and the war in Iraq.

This last bit could have been written about any nymber of things the Episcopal Church USA has done recently. Spiritual arrogance comes to mind.

{read it all}
Now playing: [April The 14th (Part 1)~Gillian Welch~Time (The Revelator)~5:10]

Technorati Tags: Orthodoxy, Society

Both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches have, during the past decade or so, received a growing number of converts from Protestantism, most notably Evangelicals searching for a “more authentic” form of Christianity. Not surprisingly, these converts tend to embrace their new Tradition with an enthusiasm and loyalty that is not generally the norm among those who were born and raised within that same Tradition.
The convert from Evangelicalism has usually thought long and hard before deciding in favor of Rome or Orthodoxy. He has probably read a good deal, discussed doctrinal concerns with priests and pastors and fellow travelers, weighed theological differences, and experimented with the various devotional and liturgical aspects of the prospective Church. Serious Evangelicals are inclined to investigate such matters rather thoroughly, and they don’t move precipitously. Converts from Evangelicalism also know what it is to be misunderstood by their Evangelical friends, to have relationships severed, even their salvation questioned and character distrusted by former friends if they opt for Catholicism or Orthodoxy. And, lastly, such a convert in search of the “more authentic” must choose between these two great claimants for the honor of being regarded as the original Church.
This last aspect of the quest is more difficult for some than for others; but here, too, there is a very definite choice to be made. If one heads Romeward, one will need to adopt a particular vision of the church’s shape and life; if one heads towards Orthodoxy, one will necessarily adopt a rather different vision of these same things. Both visions represent what is, in fact, the only surviving institution of the classical Western world; and by adopting one or the other expression of it, the convert has involved himself, like it or not, in an ecclesiological schism more historically deep-rooted than that of the Reformation (the latter presumably being more familiar to him, and providing him with his only experience of a division within Christianity).

{Read it all}

Now playing: [Red Clay Halo~Gillian Welch~Time (The Revelator)~3:14]

Technorati Tags: christian thoughts, Conversion, ecclesiology, Faith, ecumenism, theology

“I was telling friends the other day about my opinion that the charismatic renewal and sacramental theology / Anglo-Catholicism are very close cousins. So should I walk into Wycliffe Hall and start laying hands on people, it would seem perfectly consistant to me that they would “fall down under the Power,” and when they get back up again, rush into the chapel to build a tabernacle for the Blessed Sacrament, hit their knees, and start adoring.”

{read it all and visit Kyle’s blog Vindicated}

Technorati Tags: Anglican, Christianity, ecclesiology, theology

{read it all}

Now playing: [Put Your Lights On~
Everlast
~Supernatural~4:45]

Technorati Tags: Anglican, christian thoughts, Christianity, ethics, Faith, Society, theology

“For ++Williams the dissenting arguments (both against WO and blessing same sex sexual relations) are not, as most revisionists desperately want to believe, psychological defense mechanisms concealing latent homophobia, sexism and the fear of change. “

Check it out…

Now playing: [I Will Buy You A New Life~Everclear~So Much For the Afterglow~3:58]

I was doing a google search on myself, as I am sometimes wont to do and ran across this press release from my senior year in college:

For Immediate Release
June 3, 2003 Public Information Office
310 Owen Hall, Campus PO 1820
Asheville, NC 28804-8507
828/251-6526 – FAX: 828/251-6777
web: http://www.unca.edu/news
e-mail: pubinfo@unca.edu
UNCA Students, Faculty and Staff Honored with
Academic and Leadership Awards

UNC Asheville recently presented academic and leadership awards to UNCA students, faculty and staff members at a ceremony at the Diana Wortham Theatre. The annual presentation was sponsored by the Office of Student Life and the Student Government Association.
The following awards were presented:

Campuswide Leadership Awards: Carolyn Briggs Individual Award for Contributions to Diversity to Tahda Alexandra Ahtone, Meghan Marshall Bean-Smith, Christopher Benton Littlefield, Sean Mitchell McDonald, Winston Craig Rose and Porscha Rae Young; Carolyn Briggs Organization Award for Contributions to Diversity to Nucleus; Individual Award for Outstanding Dedication to Community Service to Matthew Arthur Sandbank; Organization Award for Rotaract UNCA; Organization Advisor of the Year Award to Richard Chess; Outstanding Organization of the Year to Asian Students in Asheville and the Humanities Student Association; Organization President of the Year to Leah Grace Chang, ASIA and Joseph B. Howard, Humanities Student Association; Emerging Leader of the Year Award to Tahda Alexander Ahtone, Meghan Marshall Bean-Smith, Michael Dean Bowers, Anushka Kathleen Jagdeo, Genessa Karen Jagdeo, Molly Catherine Murtola and Elizabeth Robin Poole; Leadership Scholars Award to Lacy Little and Dara Jones; and Outstanding Leader of the Year Award to Kelly Lynn Budnik and Winston Craig Rose.

Student Affairs Faculty Member of the Year Award to Jacqueline Mattingly, assistant professor of music, and the Staff Member of the Year Award to Connie Schaller, Facilities Management customer service supervisor.

Art: Outstanding Student Awards to Laura Aultman, Penelope Gatlin and Skip Rohde.

Athletics: Male Athlete of the Year to Andre Smith; Female Athlete of the Year to Leslie Whitfield; and Scholar Athlete of the Year to Jeremy Schrader.

Atmospheric Sciences: Award of Academic Excellence to Jonathon Lamb and Departmental Service Award to Eric Barber and Emily Gracey.

Biology: Harry Henry Johnston Award for Excellence in Biology to Margaret Elizabeth Kelley and Bernhardt-Perry Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research to Joshua Allen Kelly.

Chemistry: American Chemical Society Western Carolinas Section and Chemistry Department Award for Outstanding Chemistry Senior to Melinda Rae Beaver and Michael Sean Roach; Most Valuable Senior Award to Christina Rae Ellis; Outstanding Performance in Organic Chemistry Award to James Burkett McIntruff III; Outstanding Performance in Analytical Chemistry Award to Jacob Franklin Berkowitz and Neil Franklin Gandy; Outstanding Performance in General Chemistry Award to Oksana Zaluzhna; Outstanding American Chemical Society Student Affiliate Member Award to Christina Rae Ellis and Amanda Leah Rollins; and National Science Foundation Summer Research Awards to William C. Everett, Christopher A. McGuire, Hayley N. Schiebel, Brooke M. Sibila, Maegan K. Spencer and Brian E. Winslett.

Classics: Guy Cooper and Elizabeth Ray Award in Classics to Joseph Deveaugh-Geiss.

Drama: Certificate of Merit to Dove Engle, Katie Haynes, Johannes Pikel and Jenny Prather.

Economics: Dana Zimmerman Service Award, Outstanding Performance Award and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Excellence in Finance Award to Laura Leigh Simpson; Keith and Kevin Davis Research Award to Matthew Fountain Raker; and David Reiner Award to Raymond Mendiola Gutierrez Jr. and Sally Elizabeth Pinckney.

Education: Leadership Award to Amanda Arwe, Melanie Currie, Jamie Jambon and Mary McAvoy and Academic Award to Lisa Carver, Ellen Dittmar, Melinda Galloway, Jamie Jambon, Stephanie Lemly, Mary McAvoy and Abbey Moring.

Foreign Languages: Department Distinction in French to Jessie Shuman and Emily Seymour; Department Distinction in Spanish to Alyssa Dillow and Jamie Jambon; Travis Bradley Book Award in French to Jessie Shuman; Dan Edwards Book Prize in German to Laura Freidrich; Lawrence Little Book Award in Spanish to Alyssa Dillow; and R.C. Reynolds Scholarship for German to Kurt F. Galloway and Sean McNay.

History: Philip Walker Award to Farid Khasanov; Phi Alpha Theta Award to Joseph B. Howard; Best Senior Thesis Award to Heidi Rollins Fairbanks; Mark Lawson Scholarship to Jennifer Wallace; and Ruth Feldman Outstanding Senior Award to Katrina Tschekunow.

Key Center for Service Learning: Scholarships to Jaya Dorf, Anita Frykberg, Bridget Goss, Vanessa Manzi, Laura Price, Katherine Potter, Matt Sandbank and Jessica Woodside.

Literature and Language: Comfort Award for Excellence in Creative Writing to Matt Sandbank and Emily MacWilliams; Bryan Award for Best Senior Paper to Tyson Carter and Robin Heimer; and Gullickson Award for Outstanding Rising Senior to Matt Sandbank.

Management and Accountancy: Excellence in Accounting Award to Matthew Paul Seale; Excellence in Management Award to Holly Elizabeth Bateman; Outstanding Directed Research Award to Jennifer Lynn DeRosa; Outstanding Senior Design Project Award to Tonia Nicole Walker; Western Carolina Industries Award for Outstanding Internship to Kenneth Hope Saunders III; and Robert D. Williams Outstanding Leadership, Service and Scholarship Award to Dara Catherine Jones.

Mass Communication: Mort Cohn Oustanding Senior Scholar Award to Adam Christopher Brooks and Ryan David Sniatecki and Nantahalla Scholarship to Sara Renee Miller.

Mathematics: Martha Game Scholarship to Aja Wright; Achievement in Mathematics Award to Stuart Bateman, Brandon Bucy, Nicholas Christian, Alyssa Dillow, Michaela Logue, Amelia Nutter, Jessie Schuman, Lisa Vaughn and Aja Wright; and Parsons Scholarships to Michaela Logue, David Childers and Jennifer Marshall.

Multimedia Arts and Science: First Place Prize for 2D Animation to Joseph Bowers; Second Place Prize for Online Database to Robert Gork; and Third Place Prize for Cha Cha Remix Video to Jennifer Bacon, Michael King and Laura Lewendowski.

Music: Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Service as Manager of Recording Studio to Tony Wade Harp and Outstanding Performance with UNCA Scholarship String Quartet Award to John Molloy Glenn III, Alicia Maya Madura, Jennifer Sarah Stanley and Meghann Ashley Turnbull.

Philosophy: Leadership Award to Christina Ellis.

Physics: Sigma Pi Sigma, physics honor society, inductions to Steven Kimmel and Michaela Logue.

Political Science: Academic Excellence Award to Jessica Hyland Goodrum; Outstanding Student Research Award to Katherine Ann Bailey and Jennifer Renee Rich; Gene Rainey Service Award to Taji Kommineni and Joshua Lutz Brekenfeld; Chair’s Award to John David Hine Jr., Daniel Alan Hunnicutt and Joshua Grant Pressley.[Josh is my buddy]

Sociology: Senior Scholar Award to Ellen Dittmar, Julie Fennell, D. Holton, Lily Polanski, Ryan Turner and Josh Watson; Senior Research Award to Heather Barrows, Jennie Bennett, Sally Philips, Jamie Ronzello and Damian Williams; and Senior Service Award to Margo Martin.
Student Government: Senator of the Year to Katie Etheridge and Executive of the Year
Nicole Foster.

Underdog Productions: Most Outstanding Service to Calley Stevens and Chris Summerville; Newcomer of the Year to Michael Dean Bowers; Veteran of the Year to Matt Demason; and Event of the Year to Midnight Bowling.

Media Contacts:

* Dr. Kevan Frazier, UNCA Student Life Director, 828/251-6585
* Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526

Now playing: [Days Of Wonder~The Wallflowers~Rebel, Sweetheart~5:11]

This is all I will post about the continued cartoon flap. Read it all:

Sadly, and perhaps inevitably, the still-unfolding story of the Danish cartoons that satirized Islam has come to this: In Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, in a speech to members of the military, said that the publication of the controversial drawings and the angry reaction from Muslims around the world that it has triggered are all parts of “a conspiracy planned by the Zionists to provoke a confrontation between Muslims and Christians.”

{read it all}

At the start of a new century it is clear that the Christian church and the growing and influential evangelical movement within it will face many challenges in the realm of moral theology. New issues will certainly arise which demand fresh serious thought and do not fit easily into traditional categories but it also likely that there will be calls for revision of the church’s traditional ethical teaching in numerous areas. At one level this is nothing new. The church has constantly had to address new concerns and respond to changing culture. In the last half-century it faced the challenges of the sexual and technological revolutions in western society and how faithful disciples of Christ should respond to these will remain areas of controversy for many years to come.

{Read it all}

(The Icon above is of “Christ the Holy Silence,” which represents the pre-incarnate Logos)

Our ecclesiology class last semester was given the task of responding personally to the Lambeth Commission on Communion’s Windsor Report. I won’t reproduce mine in its entirety, but I invite you to read it here if you wish to better understand my take on the document as a whole. Instead, I wanted to highlight the last few paragraphs of the paper, wherein I made what I know to be a dangerous proposition. Basically I told the Church to keep its mouth shut for a while. I know that probably comes a shock to many of you, both liberal and conservative, and I recognize that there are many flaws in that statement…yet I would ask that you consider the underlying situation that gives rise to such a recommendation, as well as the history of the Christian Church over the past century in particular. Here is what I wrote:

What Williams highlights is that the Body of Christ is like a family. We don’t have a say in who Jesus calls to follow him, any more than the Twelve had a say in who their fellows would be—Jesus called them without a search committee. And since we don’t pick our family, and because we can’t make ourselves not a family, we have to, at some level, endure the disagreements between us as Christians as the marks and wounds of the Body of Christ in the present. The most pronounced of these wounds may be those that come from division within the Body, i.e. schism and denominationalism, yet they are not the only wounds. Disagreement and vitriol over ethical, moral and political issues also cause wounds, because these are all places where people feel deeply and where a difference in language or worldview—even a slight one—becomes very pronounced. Yet:

“If I conclude that my Christian brothers or sisters are deeply and damagingly mistaken in their decisions, I [must] accept for myself the brokenness in the Body that this entails. These are my wounds, just as those who disagree with me are wounded by what they consider to be my failure or even betrayal. So long as we still have a language in common and the ‘grammar of obedience’ in common, we have, I believe, to turn away from the temptation to seek the purity and assurance of a community speaking with only one voice and to embrace the reality of living in a communion that is fallible and divided.”

The recognition that we live in a broken church, amid a broken world with broken people is one that carries with it the death of illusions, but also a sort of freedom. The freedom is in recognizing that the members of the Body do not all have to speak with one voice until our Lord returns, save on dramatic issues where one would desire such univocality in support of the good and resistance of the evil. (Yet, as the situation of the German churches in WWII shows, this may not be the case.)

In spite of this recognition of division—or perhaps because of it—we must recognize the limits of the Church’s corporate voice. Whether it is the urge to speak on contentious issues on which the church has no clear tradition, or speaking in such a way as to reverse tradition on a contentious issue, we must be willing to be dissenters, and not prematurely force change or agreement. On issues where there is the potentiality to fracture the Body on an international scale, one must seek council and be completely honest, and in the end we must be willing to accept the Chuch’s silence as an icon of fragmentation within the Body. In the end, no single portion of the Body can take on itself the authority to alter received tradition on issues where no consensus has been reached. Nor should the Church seek to create division by speaking too often about too little to no end but to bruise consciences and feelings. Part of what it means to accept the lack of purity within the Church is being willing to wait on the movement of the Spirit rather than seeking ways to force God’s hand.

Technorati Tags: Anglican, christian thoughts, Christianity, ecclesiology, ethics, Faith, Society, theology