Bishop John Shelby Spong's Manifesto

[dsdrane]

The retired Bishop of Newark issued this last week. His conclusions are pretty "old hat" for us here, but I thought they deserved to be shared, if only for the obvious passion that comes through.

[Pablo Rafael]

Bishop Spong's Manifesto is a wonderfully written document. I think there is something valuable in the approach that says. "I am not going to even dignify the homophobic rhetoric of the Christian Right with a response." There is no middle ground in the oppression of any group of people. Discrimination, oppression and subjugationare always wrong. Period.

[Rick336]

Spong says: I will particularly ignore those members of my own Episcopal Church who seek to break away from this body to form a "new church," claiming that this new and bigoted instrument alone now represents the Anglican Communion. Such a new ecclesiastical body is designed to allow these pathetic human beings, who are so deeply locked into a world that no longer exists, to form a community in which they can continue to hate gay people, distort gay people with their hopeless rhetoric and to be part of a religious fellowship in which they can continue to feel justified in their homophobic prejudices for the rest of their tortured lives. Church unity can never be a virtue that is preserved by allowing injustice, oppression and psychological tyranny to go unchallenged."

I've read a couple of Spong's books and like what he says. I don't believe, however, that all the folks he's referring to in the above statement lead "tortured lives."

I have a friend who is among the "break away" Episcopalians. I don't think "tortured" is a word I'd use to describe his life. As wrong as I believe he is in his view of the world, he seems relatively happy. Delusional I think best describes him.

He's kind of like the folks who believe the Holocaust was a hoax. Tell him something unbelievable and he'll believe it. Evidence is not required.

Anyway, Spong is cool. Thanks for the link.


Rick