Font Rants on Many Subjects

Today's theme is responsibility. We live era of responsibility. Responsibility means that you get credit for success and take the blame for failure. The dictionary gives us four definitions for a responsible individual. The first meaning is to answer for something. As in why is the economy cratering. Why don't we have any money in the treasury? Why are we bogged down in this quagmire in Iraq? Why are we unable to come to terms with North Korea? Why are terrorists crashing airplanes into our cities? Why are our spies incapable to delivering fact instead of fiction?

The second meaning is one of making choices. We are free willed beings, but this empowerment comes with obligations to try to make right choices. Choices can be simple, like should I go on a vacataion? Other choices are more complex, like commiting the entire military, diplomatic and monetary might of my nation against another country? The point is we want to be the ones making the decisions, we need to be responsible and prepared for the outcomes.

The third meaning is accountability. We should be accountable for our decisions. Our decisions should be measured accuratly and fairly based on outcomes. If for example we pushed through a trillion dollar tax cut, and the result was a 2 trillion dollar deficit, and 3 million jobs lost, and an economy stuck in neutral; then we could be measured, fairly that our decisions were not correct. Or perhaps we might consider our choice to launch a pre-emtive war against a middle eastern nation because we thought they posed an immediate threat; but then it turned out there was no immediate threat, and the conquering the foreign land was harder than we anticipated. As the one who made the decision we are accountable for it. Objective accounting will force us to concede that it was a bad decision, so that we might strive to correct our mistakes. Of course you can always choose a different method of accounting, perhaps one recommened by a freind, which will give us a false picture; but that would be irresponsible.

The final meaning is to be politically answerable. So when the election comes in 2004 consider this era of responsiblity, and realize that the power is yours to decide if those decisions made in the last 4 years were wise, or folly.

The ordained elite think that they've got some special relationship with Jesus because they went to Div School; and this entitles them to lord over us all (as if it were the only calling that mattered). If you ask me the problem with the Church is that the ministers have forgotten that they are the servants, Christ is the master, and the laypersons are the house guests who've come to the feast. I realize this view cuts in to their personal power trip. The real heresy that is killing the Church isn't ordaining gays; it's ordaining people who seek power over others instead of service to Christ. This is exactly the same attitude that lets a priest go from parish to parish raping children. Of course as soon as you call these jerks on this BS; they fall into this ridiculous self-pitying woe is me thing, where you'd think you'd nailed them to the cross. My attitude these days is, my boss is a carpenter; let me see if I can find the nails. How many lives and relationships have been destroyed over ordination of women and gays; compared to how many lives have been destroyed by clergy who abused their congregants. The longer we spend on this BS about the prayer book, the gays, and the women priests; the less time we spend on the real issues. The real issues are:

1. No one wants to go to your church because you spend all your time fighting about who can join.
2. No one wants to go to your church because they don't trust you to be alone with your children or spouses.
3. No one wants to go to your church because you offer nothing more compelling than pop-Christianity that they can get from CBN any time they turn on their TV.

I demand a spiritual community of peers. I demand a community where priests hear their calling as a servant of the community; not the lord and master. I demand that my priest stop trying to be my own personal Jesus Christ and instead just help me with the introduction to the real thing.

And another thing; I’m sick of these whiners who want some kind of conscience clause, or are afraid we are going to piss off the “African” Bishops. The conscience clause just legitimizes their heresy. They want us to recognize their orders, but they refuse to recognize those who we’ve ordained. I say we not only ordain the new Bishop of New Hampshire, but require that every member of the house of Bishops take his communion. Either we are one communion; or we are not.

As for the African Bishops; if I were in their shoes I think I’d realize that these windbags in the US are the worst kinds of allies for them. If you read closely what the old guard in the US believes that Africans are incapable of dealing with any intellectual sort of spirituality. They are saying that we can’t possibly vote for this because the African’s won’t understand it. They think the Africans are a bunch of uneducated savages incapable of having more then the most basic and simple of faiths. It’s time we gave up our 19th century notions of Africa; and start treating each other as adults. If these bishops in Africa want to go another way; then perhaps it’s for the best. I’m not going to belong to a church that preaches down to them. I’m going to work for a church that recognizes them as peers; and engages them in honest intellectual debate.