The Anglican Church of Canada has reached the point where its bureaucracy has outlived its compassion. There. I said it. And I can speak with at least some small authority, considering that I was once an Anglican myself, although my observations led to enough disillusionment to see my departure from the Anglican Church. Generally I don’t like to disparage people for their religion (except Scientologists), but recent developments at the Anglican parish of St. Matthias in Victoria have tipped my hand.
The Anglican Church of Canada is in a state of unrest, for a variety of reasons mainly to do with biblical interpretation. In a nutshell, two completely separate theologies are competing for the same religious title: one rather conservative theology, which believes that the Bible carries great literal authority, and one rather liberal theology, which does not believe that the Bible carries great literal authority — although it still acknowledges the Bible as an important document. As you can see, the two just won’t mix, they won’t get along, it’s like asking a six year old boy to hold hands with a girl, it just ain’t gonna happen, no dice, no way, no how. But naturally, the higher-ups in the Anglican administration are trying to keep the two halves together, to ensure that the schism within the Anglican Church does not develop into a full-blown separation.
[blockquote] The Anglican Church of Canada has reached the point where its bureaucracy has outlived its compassion. [/blockquote]
That is a good line.
The most interesting and discussable paragraph is this:
Of course the reverse is hardly true: Scotland is the classic example of how to destroy Christianity by a thousand Presbyterian cuts. You end up with a landscape dotted with stained-glass bingo parlors and Gothic curry diners. So clearly not every schism is, Christianly speaking, a good schism. But I’d be interested to know what readers think about the controversial thesis that every historic advance worth having and fruitful has been won at the cost of schism.