As I am already receiving more mail than I can possibly respond to, I would refer you to my quote in The Washington Post. As I say, this is not a victory of “tradition,” but another lurch toward punitive, exclusionary practice.
—Will
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Peculiar Prophet 
The Episcopal Church welcomes you!
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Is there a future for our beloved denomination?
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Look at how affirming denominations are doing and that will tell you plenty. There’s no future for any organized religious tradition that’s nothing more than spiritual humanism (ok, Unitarian Universalists are holding on with finger tips). It’s just easier to be a political leftist who occasionally prays to the ideal version of himself projected into the skies (what all liberal Christians refer to as God) and can skip church altogether.
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Janet, I am sure you have seen this article & Will Willimon’s post on “A Peculiar Prophet” but just in case not, here it is. Nan
Sent from my iPhone
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One side overwhelmingly favors inclusion and the other holiness across all the various mainline traditions. One favors good guy Jesus and the other Jesus Lord and Savior. One side will die off in time no matter what and the other live, grow, and even thrive. And, as it turns out, the first category affirms homosexuality, ultimately, on the basis of anecdotes alone, whereas, the latter does not.
Personally, I don’t think today changes much if anything. But, one thing is for sure, the odds heavily favor the latter group as being the one voting for truth. Science no longer claims homosexuality is genetically determined and people are born with all kinds of sinful tendencies, genetically, however normal they may appear. Indeed, most parishioners have been shocked to find that their private were peadaphiles. But, today is a strange day. We want to be out in front of Galileo this time! And, we somehow think emotions trump reason and culture scripture.
Still, I think we would have a hard time convincing Paul that he was wrong given that most Caesars had homosexual tendencies. Nero being the worst. Pretty commonsensical. For that statistic pretty much eliminates the notion that homosexuality is purely natural and genetically determined, just as incarcerated settings and current rates of adolescent experimentation do.
But again, we don’t know how to think, anymore. Not only theologically, but just simply logically. No, shed a tear, say the name of Jesus, and we’ll consider you a new creation, however much of the old creation is all too evident. No call for the “fruits of (true) repentance.” We want to be true to our political allies more than the kingdom of God. And, given that the world has so infused church and academy, no wonder so few can tell the difference, anyway. Hmmm when was the last sermon on Christian perfection? Or even on heart holiness? Or, hmmm, personal sin? Or, hell or even judgement?
When these things are understood and proclaimed in the same context as advocating homosexuality, maybe you’ll have an argument. But not otherwise.
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