I hear the rugged look is back “in.” I’ll have to put my poofy-sleeved shirts in the back of the closet again and break out the flannel and denim. Of course, either looks fabulous with “Blue Steel” : http://www.thecabin.net/images/100701/zoolander.jpg
“there it was!The distinct reddish inking, a grain of beauty, on his infant nape, marking him as Christ’s own forever, even before he’d been baptized”
I’m sorry………..I too, was born with a reddish inking on the nape of my neck and it is still there today. In addition, I was born with a very deep red mark, in the shape of an arrowhead, right on my brow, between my eyes. It only shows now should I cry. My parents, according to my Mother, were so afraid that the one on my brow would remain the dark red, almost purple. Folks, I don’t know of anyone who considers this a “mark of beauty”, nor a sign from God as a marking for Christ. They are birth marks and some people have to go through life considering it a blemish. If this is just the writer of the article, he’s dumb. If this is VGR’s explanation for a birth mark, he’s theology stinks……
Based on the two paragraph excerpt I saw at Stand Firm the other day, I have absolutely no intention of reading it all. But then again, maybe there might be some positive lesson to be learned from what I expect would be an excruciating read. I found an editorial by Britsh author and columnist AN Wilson in today’s Telegraph interesting in that regard. VGR’s book has begun to convince him that maybe he was wrong to support the Anglican GLBT movement. See what you think:
[blockquote] Gay bishops have changed my mind
By A N Wilson
As the question of homosexuality and the Anglican Communion seems to be in the air, I read two books to enlighten me. They have had the disconcerting effect of making me revise my judgment about the whole matter.
I used to think that it was intolerable for anti-gay bigots to use their repellent prejudices to blackmail the harmless Anglican homosexuals, many of whom have enriched the Church with their many gifts. But these two American books have made doubt shimmer through me. […]
Then I turned to Bishop Gene Robinson’s In the Eye of the Storm (Canterbury Press). This is the famous Bishop of New Hampshire, who is not being asked to the Lambeth Conference for fear of upsetting the bigots. Whereas I felt that the tormented Bishop Moore’s life was marked with the sign of the cross, Bishop Gene’s ministry appeared to come marked with one of those smiley faces with which some soppy girls dot their i’s.
Like Bishop Moore, Bishop Robinson was married with children. Like Bishop Moore, he is alcoholic. But instead of thinking that torment and concealment and self-criticism are part of life, he seems to believe that the Christian gospel means God accepting everyone as they are – with no suggestion of denying the self, and taking up the cross.
Rather than seeing the collapse of his marriage as central to the story, he raises the issue of “sexuality” to a pinnacle of importance which makes it seem ridiculous. His book is that of an advanced egomaniac. He quotes 1 John 4:18 – “Perfect love casteth out fear” – thereby unintentionally reminding us of the old joke about the person who missed out the numeral 1 in that text, giving the quote not from John’s First Epistle, but from the 18th verse of the fourth chapter of the Gospel: “The man whom thou now hast is not thy husband”.[/blockquote]
I hope I’ve not been out of line in posting this excerpt as it could be off topic. But I found the coincidence of having just read this with Kendall’s now posting the GQ article about VGR to be quite striking. Perhaps all the gushing about Gene and his worldwide book tour is causing others to have second thoughts about the hell they’ve unleashed on the Anglican Communion. One can pray so, anyhow.
Reading comment #3 which was posted while I was writing my number #4 just confirms my impression of this article based on the two paragraphs I’d read previously at SF. It reads like bad hagiography. It’s got this breathless, soap opera quality to it. It reads like a joke, unfortunately I’m afraid it’s all too serious.
eeee gahds. Yep…this is your Episcopal Church’s “brand recognition” now. Copies of this article should be put into a bulletin insert in EVERY SINGLE PEW in EVERY SINGLE PARISH in America.
A self-infatuated and shallow man praised by a magazine that encourages self-infatuation and shallowness. Imagine.
I hear the rugged look is back “in.” I’ll have to put my poofy-sleeved shirts in the back of the closet again and break out the flannel and denim. Of course, either looks fabulous with “Blue Steel” : http://www.thecabin.net/images/100701/zoolander.jpg
“there it was!The distinct reddish inking, a grain of beauty, on his infant nape, marking him as Christ’s own forever, even before he’d been baptized”
I’m sorry………..I too, was born with a reddish inking on the nape of my neck and it is still there today. In addition, I was born with a very deep red mark, in the shape of an arrowhead, right on my brow, between my eyes. It only shows now should I cry. My parents, according to my Mother, were so afraid that the one on my brow would remain the dark red, almost purple. Folks, I don’t know of anyone who considers this a “mark of beauty”, nor a sign from God as a marking for Christ. They are birth marks and some people have to go through life considering it a blemish. If this is just the writer of the article, he’s dumb. If this is VGR’s explanation for a birth mark, he’s theology stinks……
Based on the two paragraph excerpt I saw at Stand Firm the other day, I have absolutely no intention of reading it all. But then again, maybe there might be some positive lesson to be learned from what I expect would be an excruciating read. I found an editorial by Britsh author and columnist AN Wilson in today’s Telegraph interesting in that regard. VGR’s book has begun to convince him that maybe he was wrong to support the Anglican GLBT movement. See what you think:
[blockquote] Gay bishops have changed my mind
By A N Wilson
As the question of homosexuality and the Anglican Communion seems to be in the air, I read two books to enlighten me. They have had the disconcerting effect of making me revise my judgment about the whole matter.
I used to think that it was intolerable for anti-gay bigots to use their repellent prejudices to blackmail the harmless Anglican homosexuals, many of whom have enriched the Church with their many gifts. But these two American books have made doubt shimmer through me. […]
Then I turned to Bishop Gene Robinson’s In the Eye of the Storm (Canterbury Press). This is the famous Bishop of New Hampshire, who is not being asked to the Lambeth Conference for fear of upsetting the bigots. Whereas I felt that the tormented Bishop Moore’s life was marked with the sign of the cross, Bishop Gene’s ministry appeared to come marked with one of those smiley faces with which some soppy girls dot their i’s.
Like Bishop Moore, Bishop Robinson was married with children. Like Bishop Moore, he is alcoholic. But instead of thinking that torment and concealment and self-criticism are part of life, he seems to believe that the Christian gospel means God accepting everyone as they are – with no suggestion of denying the self, and taking up the cross.
Rather than seeing the collapse of his marriage as central to the story, he raises the issue of “sexuality” to a pinnacle of importance which makes it seem ridiculous. His book is that of an advanced egomaniac. He quotes 1 John 4:18 – “Perfect love casteth out fear” – thereby unintentionally reminding us of the old joke about the person who missed out the numeral 1 in that text, giving the quote not from John’s First Epistle, but from the 18th verse of the fourth chapter of the Gospel: “The man whom thou now hast is not thy husband”.[/blockquote]
[url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/06/23/do2304.xml]from here[/url]
I hope I’ve not been out of line in posting this excerpt as it could be off topic. But I found the coincidence of having just read this with Kendall’s now posting the GQ article about VGR to be quite striking. Perhaps all the gushing about Gene and his worldwide book tour is causing others to have second thoughts about the hell they’ve unleashed on the Anglican Communion. One can pray so, anyhow.
Look, I’m sorry, I know the Elves frown on one liners, but sometimes something can and needs to be responded to with one:
Sentimental crap.
Reading comment #3 which was posted while I was writing my number #4 just confirms my impression of this article based on the two paragraphs I’d read previously at SF. It reads like bad hagiography. It’s got this breathless, soap opera quality to it. It reads like a joke, unfortunately I’m afraid it’s all too serious.
eeee gahds. Yep…this is your Episcopal Church’s “brand recognition” now. Copies of this article should be put into a bulletin insert in EVERY SINGLE PEW in EVERY SINGLE PARISH in America.