Bishop John Chane of Washington, D. C., just can't stand it. Now that GenCon03 has been repudiated by the American Anglican Council's "A Place to Stand" Conference, and the Primates Meeting, he is absolutely beside himself. He writes:
Throughout the controversy over Canon Robinson’s election, I have tried to maintain good relationships with leaders of the AAC. But the recent escalation of the AAC’s rhetoric demands a response. Claiming to speak for Anglican Orthodoxy, and holding a proper interpretation of scripture, they have challenged the legitimate, legislative and canonical actions of the General Convention, criticizing convention’s actions as “unbiblical” and “schismatic.” At their meeting in Texas, they also charged that the Episcopal Church had broken fellowship with the larger Body of Christ and placed itself under God’s judgment.
In saying that those bishops and deputies who consented to Gene Robinson’s election have “sinned” and must “repent,” they have claimed for themselves the authority to confess the sins of others. In insisting that bishops who supported Canon Robinson be disciplined by the larger Communion, those who gathered in Texas have demonstrated that they either don’t understand the way in which we govern our Church, or are ready to subvert our system to achieve their ends.
See, if those of the Episcopal denominational leadership who are hell-bent on innovation can't control the money (see my previous blog entry) or the interpretation of Scripture, then, well, they resort to name-calling.
Chane apparently thinks that "claiming the authority to confess the sins of others" is somehow an unbiblical notion. Well, at least it's not a hyper-liberal-modernist one. Funny thing is, Jesus told us (Matthew 18) to confront our brother caught in sin. So, apparently, it's a moral Christian duty to name sin when we see it. Then there's Paul exhorting us to warn a divisive person up to twice, but after that to have nothing to do with them. Isn't that confessing another's sin? And I mean, come on, it's not like these AAC folks and the Primates are throwing open the confessional doors. For crying out loud, these things weren't done in a corner. Oh, no, in true 21st-century pomo style, they were this summer's "church reality show."
Now read the next paragraph and see if you can guess who wrote these words. No fair peeking!
In each of these instances, a vocal minority claiming a privileged knowledge of the mind of God has placed itself in the seat of judgment, above the good order, canonical authority, civility and grace-filled debates that defined the prayerful legislative process of the General Convention.
Why, given what Chane has just said you'd think it was one of those bigoted AAC types or those global south Primates, talking about the "innovators" right? Rigid bastards, all!
But no, that's Chane, taking upon himself the authority to confess the sins of the other, talking about those Anglicans claiming the 2000 year tradition. Do you like his little rhetorical trick? He said: "a vocal minority claiming a privileged knowledge of the mind of God has placed itself in the seat of judgment." Now, honestly, it's difficult to tell here whether he's upset that someone is judging him to be out of line with the Christian faith, or that someone else is claiming to know the mind of God.
Now here's the thing: doesn't Scripture and Tradition reveal the mind of God? And, I mean, really, it's not all that privileged, now, is it? It's available for everyone, including this Joe Schmoe writing this blog entry.
Oh, but, dang! I forgot. It's not available to everyone. Or, I mean, there's a secret meaning hidden in the text so that what seems to be the "plain meaning" of Scripture (reiterated several times in the Old and New Covenants, and reaffirmed without variation through 2000 years of Church history), is really not what it appears to be. No, it's just something some unenlightened homophobic uptight white guys Jews persons without the benefit of our advanced knowledge wrote. We know better now.
Or, well, Chane does. And that's what makes him so mad. He and his fellow innovators have been shouting peace and justice, "revisioning" Scripture to suit their ends. Their bluff has been called--and this time quite publicly. They've been shown to have manipulated Scripture to suit their own ends--all the while claiming to be following the leading of the Spirit--and now that the rest of the world isn't listening to them, now that their interpretation doesn't hold sway, they're a might upset. So what Chane can do but reply, "I know you are but what am I?"
Or rather, to jump up and down, and assert his superior hermeneutical ability by saying, "We're the true Gnostics, dammit! We're the enlightened ones. Y'all are just a lousy lot of pikers!"