The Rev. Ann Holmes Redding, the Episcopal priest who has been told by Rhode Island Bishop Geralyn Wolf that she had until the end of March to recant her faith in Islam or face expulsion from the Episcopal priesthood, said Tuesday she still has no intention of doing so and realizes that by dawn Wednesday she may no longer be a priest.
Both the protagonists in this affair should be given credit for not fudging the issue. Redding has held to her convictions and not tried to blur what she believes and Bishop Wolf has made clear what is non-negotiable for someone with a cure of souls. It must make a number of Wolf’s colleagues in the House of Bishops just a little uncomfortable to hear such plain-speaking.
Given the penalty for apostasy within islam, one can understand Ms. Redding’s reluctance to publicly distance herself from that organization.
I would have thought, Jeffersonian, that you of all people would appreciate those who don’t obfuscate. Why not be charitable and assume that she genuinely – and mistakenly – believes what she believes.
And what would that be?
In both this case and the case of the Zen/Christian bishop (s)elect of Northern Michigan, the new paradigm seems to be: “my spirituality is my spirituality, and if I like to mix my faiths, why should anyone say no!” This is the natural progression (digression?) of gnostic theology in TEC, a theology of the guiding inner-light of which our PB is such a proponent. Both C. S. Lewis and Dorothy Sayer were most prophetic in warning about the belittling of doctrinal Truth in our day. Ms. Redding is the fruit of gnostic Episcopalianism.
Compatibility of incompatible faiths, of course.
My point was to contrast the way in which so many are now trying to smooth over the same issues in the case of the Bishop of Northern Michigan. Redding is explicit that she is BOTH Christian and Muslim and doesn’t try to suggest that her involvement is some of ecumenical exercise (in the way that it has been suggested that “lay Buddhist ordination” isn’t REALLY ordination).
Why should anyone “appreciate” error, particularly among those who are schooled in the matters in which they err?
Because for years it has been insisted by TEC that the gap that J. Gresham Machen first identified in [i]Christianity and Liberalism[/i] did not exist. For those who want ACNA to succeed – as I assume you do – this is a confirmation that it does and that will resonate in the Global South (including among those who are not yet confirmed Gafconites). It also confirms that Bishop Wolf has an integrity of her own, something about which many people across the theological spectrum seem to agree.
Jefferson and Jeremy Bonner: The issue is really quite simple, by converting to Islam Ms. Redding denies the Holy Trinity, the divinity of Christ, Christ’s resurrection, thus she is no longer a Christian – despite what she says. And since she no a Christian, she can no longer serve as a priest. Same goes for the bishop in Michigan who converted to Buddhism. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. I applaud Bishop Wolf for knowing the difference and acting on it and not getting into a linguistic / political debate over it within TEC.
I would agree with the assessment of Bishop Wolf: She’s acted in an entirely consistent and orthodox manner on this. I understand what you’re saying now, and I agree with you about my comment. It just seems incredible to me that one could possibly believe what she claims, particularly after being corrected in the matter by both Christian and Muslim authorities.
Again – forgive me if I take things off-post a little, but I thought it might be helpful if I intruded a comment about the appeal of Islam to African Americans. A certain mindset believes that Christianity is the religion of white people; not indigenous to Africa; and the religion of slavers. Whereas in fact the first recorded New Testament African is Simon of Cyrene who helped Jesus carry the cross; the Church was flourishing in North Africa within a century of the crucifixion; notable African Christians include St Augustine, among others; Ethiopia has had a vigorous Christian presence going back almost to the fourth century AD at least. As regards slavers, slavery at the hands of Arab slave traders continued on the East Coast of Africa long after the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, with the slaves being shipped from East Africa to (Saudi) Arabia and the Gulf. A particularly horrifying aspect of such slavery was the emasculation of large numbers of men – in case any comparison is drawn with slavery in the antebellum South, let me stress the large numbers. All this ought to give African Americans pause before they hail Islam as the natural religion for their people.
I find Redding’s book title “Out of Darkness into Light†intriguing. When she was at General Seminary years ago she very vocally found the Collect for Aid against All Perils (“Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord…â€) utterly racist by casting “dark†as a negative. She would not say the collect in worship, I believe either in Rite I or Rite II language. It was a big deal for her, and anyone disagreeing was made to feel quite bigoted.
A person is free to change his or her mind, certainly, but it does seem to me that Redding is given to volatile swings of opinion. This is something I find troubling.
It looks as though Redding’s basic attitude of “doing her own thing†has finally come to haunt her. Instead of changing her canonical residence to a diocese where she obviously fit in, she just went on still resident someplace else, far away. She appears not to have kept any serious or informed contact with Rhode Island and her new Bishop. She was unable to see the handwriting on the wall about the reaction Bishop Wolfe would have about Ann’s new “Faith/s.†For a cleric with such strong and unusual opinions, this was very unwise. Perhaps she tried to transfer but was unable to do so, but I would be surprised. In the contemporary Episcopal Church, common sense and humility among the clergy long ago were discarded in favor of individualism and ideological fixation. Redding, I would guess, simply has gotten used to getting what she wants when she wants it in TEC. I applaud Bishop Wolfe’s actions, patience, and manner. It is a rare example of principled wisdom in our Church’s leadership these days.
Ann is a very bright person, of that there is no doubt. But, she is iconic (as is the N. Michigan situation) of a Church which has become detached from the fullness of the Faith and is increasingly a sect where atavistic egoism rules all. It is an unsustainable enterprise without God’s blessing, it seems to this onlooker. The only questions are when and how it will implode. This story suggests that folly and blindness in the sect’s most avant-garde proponents may finally be catching up with them.
Update from The Seattle Times:
[blockquote]The Episcopal Church has defrocked Ann Holmes Redding, the Seattle Episcopal priest who announced in 2007 that she is both Christian and Muslim.
Bishop Geralyn Wolf of Rhode Island, who has disciplinary authority over Redding, informed the priest of her decision in a letter today, said Ruth Meteer, communications director with the Diocese of Rhode Island.[/blockquote]
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008961581_webdefrocked01m.html
The article quotes the Rev. Kendall Harmon.
“Redding’s unusual step did not seem to raise the ire of the then-bishop of Olympia, who called her move innovative.â€
Perhaps the Olympia Washington bishop should be asked how this could have been allowed to go on in his parish. Also how could the people of these churches not have called them out on it? Psalm 119:28-32
Read the above article just before I posted this very scary stuff.
Terry Tee, thank you for your #11. Certain Muslim nations still deal in slaves, notably Sudan and Saudi Arabia. While the European slave trade and the enslavement of Africans in the Americas were deplorable, the record of Islam is not in any way clean. Americans of African descent who think that there were/are no racist overtones in Islam are deceived. In particular, Christianity is more adaptable to local cultures, whereas Islam requires the adoption of Arabic language and culture.
I’m not surprised about +Wolf sticking to her position as much as I am about +Rickel supporting the decision. from the link in #13:
“Current Olympia Diocese Bishop Greg Rickel has said that while he supports Redding on a personal level, he agrees with Wolf’s position.”
From #12, “It was a big deal for her, and anyone disagreeing was made to feel quite bigoted.”
I suspect that is how she has gone through much of her priesthood the last 25 years and may have had something to do with the Bishop of Olympia’s initial calling of her bi-polar faith, “innovative.” Or … he may just be so revisionist that he holds no principles of faith, himself, so that her innovation was quite fine with him. Either way, he would not seem to have any principles of faith for which he stands … in violation of his oath as a bishop to protect the faith.
#16 Chris, it’s good to hear that the Olympia bishop won’t undercut this decision. And good for +Wolf. She’s been correct, compassionate, and consistent.
I just kept looking, had to notice once again (sigh). No one gets it. OK, come a little closer, I’ll explain as plainly as possible: Ann Redding is no longer a cleric but she is an *Episcopalian in good standing*. Got that? She is a layman. Fully in communion with Canterbury, Katherine Schori, and all the other dear Anglicans in the world. And, she’s a Muslim. The “faith”, whatever that means in Anglicanism now, has not been “defended”. It has been expanded to include both Canterbury …And Mecca. Enjoy. And please, stop the waterworks about the Buddhist bishop. Means nothing.
No, we get it — and we don’t like it — but we can’t do anything about it. We can petition re: ordination/consecration of said persons, but their layman status? ???