But the fact of the matter is, while browsing various blogs this past week, I happened across the Roman Catholic blog circle. Many of them were talking about, well, us.
Because it's always easier to talk about someone else's scandals than your own.
(Cough, cough, and cough.)
(Cough, cough, and cough.)
It wasn't pretty. Particularly the entries from ex-Anglicans. Heretics, sodomites, sinners - lovely choice words from Rome's finest. (And one Orthodox priest as well - I'm sure that's a different can of worms, though.) I'm not going to provide links to these blogs, they're fairly easy to find if you look. Oh, and depictions of upside-down Episcopal shields seems to be in vogue.
Let me cap all this by saying there are great RC blogs out there and there are even more great RC clergy and laity. But right now, I'm talking about the not-so-great.
One so-called "traditional" Catholic blog describes us as "a pseudo-religion with invalid Sacraments run by immoral perverts." Wow, what a loaded statement. (A bit funny, though. Just a bit.) Guilty conscience, perhaps?
Personally, I'm glad to practice a religion that prides itself on being open to all people, and engages in listening to them. I'm glad that, despite its shortcomings, it condemns real injustices in the world, rather than scrambling frantically to assemble some kind of sexual moral authority based on folklore and poor Biblical scholarship.
I'm proud to be an Episcopalian.
This image has been circulating among anti-Anglican circles lately. I guess I'm interpreting it differently, but I personally love this picture. I think it says a lot about us.
When an Anglican is asked,
"Where was your church before the Reformation?"
his best answer is to put the counterquestion,
"Where was your face before you washed it?"
-Archbishop Michael Ramsey
"Where was your church before the Reformation?"
his best answer is to put the counterquestion,
"Where was your face before you washed it?"
-Archbishop Michael Ramsey
3 comments:
Love your new sign - terrific.
Yeah, you've got to ignore those bigots. Some of the blogs are run by good and decent Christian people, others by ignorant bigots.
Just stop reading the sh*t and stick with Christians who strive to follow the Law of Love.
I've always loved that graphic.
Yeah, I have a hard time with people who bash our church, but I agree with davis's comment above. Sometimes it really gets to me but when it does, I just shut off the computer and walk away from it. I have friends who'll say things that frankly make my jaw drop but then they'll be there for me when I'm going through a crappy time in my life.
Lately I've run across some really weird stuff along the lines of "Anglo-Catholicism doesn't exist," which just makes me laugh, especially when we walk into our non-existent church that's growing by leaps and bounds. We exceeded our annual campaign goal. People are being baptized and received all the time. So it cracks me up to read that we don't exist and oh, another thing, TEC won't be around in 10 years either, according to the same person. LOL
So believe me, I've thought everything you've written and then some. Right now I'm just trying to keep myself focused on what's important and avoid the nastiness - it makes me feel a whole lot better. PAX+
Don't take it to heart. You aren't alone in being immoral and with inauthentic sacraments. Us Lutherans are tarred with the same brush. Thank God for Porvoo eh?
Post a Comment