finally, lambeth 2008 begins

Has it ever occurred to you that the atrocities you are so concerned about are the natural consequence of the dilution of Christian morality?

"Has it ever occurred to you that the atrocities you are so concerned about are the natural consequence of the dilution of Christian morality?"

That's assuming that those practicing Christianity are in some way morally superior to those who are not of the Abrahamic faiths, which is demoinstarbly untrue. It's also assuming that such atrocities occured less often when Christianioty had a strnglehold on Western civilization, which is disproven by historical records.

Any religion that persecutes persons merely because of their differences is undeserving of any form of the label "compassionate".

As for Anglicans who hate homosexuals, maybe instead of importing backward homphobic priests and bishops from Nigeria (so well known for it's acts of compassion - NOT!) they should move themselves to Nigeria where they can openly practice their mindeless prejudices.

I didn't mention practicing christians. I talked about Christian morality. Not living up to a standard of conduct, and defining a standard of conduct downward are not the same thing.

And, yes, Christianity is a superior system of morality.

" what homosexuals do to each other and themselves eclipses civil execution."

Unless someone is gay himself, he/she have only the perverted opinions of homophobes on which to base such a statement.

It is a miracle in & of itself that the majority of gays grow up sane under the overtly unreasoned persecutions practiced by the body of followers of Abrahamic religions.

I am honestly repulsed by some of the comments here.

Alec, can you expand on what exactly "homosexuals do to each other and themselves" that is worse than EXECUTION?

This is why I'm not a Xtian.

"Crack is whack!" - Whitney Houston

Thank God we have A New Earth coming. All the old judgmental structures will eventually fall away and we will each connect with God or Source directly and eliminate all these middle men. From the beginning of time, all wise ones have said go within, but we just didn't trust our inner selves to listen to Source. That is changing with the new generations as well, as they flee from the bureaucratic structures and controls. Jesus didn't need to have a degree or credentials to share the truth and neither do we. Everything has been structured to death from our churches to our governments to our educational systems, and corporations, and bound up by laws made by a few to simply control all the others. The bottom line today seems to be monetary rather than awakening to the truth of who we really are. In A Course in Miracles Jesus says, "Return to Love" and that is the only law we should seek. When we live and act out of love we do follow a path that eliminates injustice. Today we see more and more people turning away from structured religion, and I believe it will continue until there are less fear filled people needing the narrow teachings of the church.

As Christians, we should stop quoting Leviticus, unless, of course we are willing to give up our ham for Easter, oyster stuffing for Thanksgiving, and poly-cotton blends in the summer. Women should also be prepared to remove ourselves to the "red tent" during our monthly cycle, not returning to public life until undergoing a ritual cleansing and having our priest sacrifice a dove on the altar upon our return. (Men, while we are out of commission, you can figure out who will cook all the meals, clean the house and handle the car pool duties ferrying your progeny to and from school, ballet and soccer practice.)

Can we all finally agree to just get over Old Testament law? Christ came and the law is fulfilled. We are no longer bound by it. Could the spirit have made it any clearer than with Peter's vision when he is commanded by God to "kill and eat" even the "unclean" animals in his vision and is told that nothing made by God is "unclean."

When it comes to the Anglican Communion, many people do not understand that ++Rowan is not like the Pope and cannot "discipline" the member churches in the union. In fact, his current stab at "discipline" by not extending an invitation to +Gene Robinson, who was the properly elected Bishop of New Hampshire, merely made himself look small, mean-spirited and not very street smart. The Bishops he tried to appease boycotted Lambeth anyway and left him hanging out to dry.

The Anglicans have always been unique in that we are loosely bound together having formed from one "mother church," but agreeing to govern ourselves, tolerate (even celebrate) our differences, and to support each other in the spread of the gospel. We are NOT a "confessing" church, but a creedal church. We have never needed any statement of theology set in stone ("You must believe this, or else. . .")nor do we now. We have the Holy Scripture, the Prayer Book with the creeds (tradition), and last, but certainly not least, the good intelligence God has bestowed upon each of us to discern the calling of the Spirit in our lives (reason).

God is love, and I believe I found God in the love I discovered in my local Episcopal Parish where every political and theological viewpoint can be accounted for from far right to far left and everything in between. We have a genuine loving and caring for each other, however, and every week we meet around the altar and share the body and blood of our Lord. To me that is the beauty and strength of the Episcopal Church. There is room for all around the table. That was also the beauty and strength of the Anglican Communion before the current power grab started.