tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343439372519556254.post3242065507132458476..comments2024-02-11T03:50:53.613-05:00Comments on Counterlight's Peculiars: Just ImagineUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343439372519556254.post-38366186604045315002009-10-10T21:27:03.865-04:002009-10-10T21:27:03.865-04:00Thank you John.
That is very powerful.Thank you John.<br /><br />That is very powerful.Counterlighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14345956180434795401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343439372519556254.post-9324302632998519672009-10-10T17:03:16.140-04:002009-10-10T17:03:16.140-04:00Why I came back ...
Thanks, Doug. Thanks for arti...Why I came back ...<br /><br />Thanks, Doug. Thanks for articulating some of my feelings. I'm still grievously angry with/at the institutional church (the Orthodox Church in this case) for ignoring - and yet aiding and abetting the death of a wonderful young gay man - our son, Eric. You know the story. I'd be dishonest if I didn't admit to being mad at God, too. Maybe a little less these days. Things are particularly raw just now, as Sunday would be his 28th birthday - and it's national Coming Out Day, as well. Damned ironic for sure. <br /><br />After Eric's suicide, I left Eastern Orthodoxy and my wife her life-long Catholicism. We never expected to be "churched" Christians again. Ever. But, I've always said the bastards couldn't take my faith away. I'd also always been a believer in 'answered prayer'. The most fervent prayers I'd ever prayed were unanswered or ignored by God. (That we or someone could have saved Eric's life.) I have a very hard time with the third option that my prayers "were" answered. [I'm a recovering alcoholic, 22 years this month, and still need to "keep it simple".] <br /><br />I'm no theologian, and have never been, just studied it here and there on my own. Back in the mid-90's when the clergy sexual abuse crisis started to become an issue, we became alienated from our local Catholic parish and spent a period of time at one of the local TEC parishes, (to the point of being 'received'). Then the TEC priest wierded out and became obsessed with the evils of TEC blah blah. That's when Monica went back to our Catholic parish (where there was a new priest). Also that's when I was chrismated Orthodox, and Eric followed. <br /><br />I've read that in the decade before the Boston Globe blew the lid off the clergy sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic church, there was a rash of (though nothing like the #'s among the R.C.'s) sexual abuse incidents in the mainline churches; TEC; ELCA, UCC, and United Methodists etc. etc. What had been wimpy and slipshod policies among them were replaced with policies with some "teeth" and oversight. [Several lawyers from my current parish have told me that TEC's is now one of the best (though imperfect, no doubt)]. Unfortunately, the Catholics and Orthodox ignored the clear warning signs of trouble ahead. The Catholic hierarchy's incompetence and deceit is legendary by now, though the Orthodox have flown under the radar of public scrutiny. As the parish council president of the local Orthodox mission, I recall signing off on the OCA's policy; which largely consisted of making clear that no bishop would be held liable for any abuse on their watch. <br /><br />The long and the short of it is, we're back in a local moderately liberal TEC parish, in a so-called 'orthodox' diocese [I've been Orthodox, so don't give *me* this 'orthodox' Anglican spin]. I'm going to Synod in a couple of weeks. I'll probably shoot my mouth off when one of the diocesan leadership goes off on a 'gay is a sinful lifestyle' jag. They've done it before and I'm sick of it. I'd just like one of these holy homophobes to hurt half as much as *the people they hurt* do. You for one. My wife and me for another. And all the LGBT people we know, love and respect.<br /> <br />Perhaps you also find it ironic that the "wicked, apostate Episcopalians" have a sexual abuse policy second to none. That sure as hell can't be said for our key "ecumenical partners", which the self-styled 'orthodox' Anglicans seem so keen on aping a-n-d placating. <br /><br />http://thewoundedbird.blogspot.com/2009/03/remembering-eric-2nd-anniversary-of-his.html <br /><br />and <br /><br />www.snapnetwork.org <br /><br />Thanks for all the good work you've put into your blog. It's much appreciated. <br /><br />yours in X-C, <br /><br />John Iliff <br /><br /><br />Never for the sake of peace and quiet deny your own experience or convictions -- Dag Hammerskjöldjohn iliff https://www.blogger.com/profile/02302505584191566477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343439372519556254.post-1377802555143571572009-10-10T09:13:01.311-04:002009-10-10T09:13:01.311-04:00Dear Doug,
Thank you for the story of Father...Dear Doug,<br /><br /> Thank you for the story of Father Charles Bewick - I cried.<br /><br /> I'm glad your faith stayed with you. Your faith in your writings and in your art has certainly been a blessing to me.<br /><br /> Sometimes I think my soul gets overwhelmed by the 9/11's and schisms and Anglican councils and evening news. Some days I rekindle my faith by recognizing these things are just too big for me. On those days, it is enough to understand that I love people, that I can personally do some good in my own little corner of the world today, that I am grateful I have food and shelter, and that I need to remember to refill the bird feeders. Faith in small letters, not caps, is where I have to sometimes take refuge.Rick+https://www.blogger.com/profile/03322574092020268536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343439372519556254.post-61222428785527447192009-10-09T20:36:57.702-04:002009-10-09T20:36:57.702-04:00"Thy Kingdom come...""Thy Kingdom come..."Counterlighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14345956180434795401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343439372519556254.post-14133110013837015492009-10-09T19:11:30.973-04:002009-10-09T19:11:30.973-04:00"When we say the Lord's Prayer, the Our F..."When we say the Lord's Prayer, the Our Father, the Pater Noster, or whatever you want to call it, we pray for the world to end."<br /><br />Oh. Really? Doug, I don't understand.... where in the prayer do we pray that?<br /><br />And, in earnest, I think Jesus wanted to end religion. He never had much good to say to those who wanted to put religion first....<br /><br />Blessings. Thought provoking and searing essay.it's margarethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13577280471100732619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343439372519556254.post-12569622715965407582009-10-09T17:52:37.018-04:002009-10-09T17:52:37.018-04:00rick allen,
Sometimes it is necessary to remind t...rick allen,<br /><br />Sometimes it is necessary to remind the hostile anticlericals that hospitals began as religious (and specifically Christian) institutions.Counterlighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14345956180434795401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343439372519556254.post-77154209025134633242009-10-09T16:49:17.244-04:002009-10-09T16:49:17.244-04:00"Religion is the problem, not the answer.&quo..."Religion is the problem, not the answer."<br /><br />Vis-à-vis the September 11 murders, I find it helpful to keep in mind that, after that horrific event, the survivors were taken to three institutions named “Mount Sinai,” “St. Vincent’s,” and “Presbyterian.” The killings in the name of religion still strike me as far enough outside of the mainstream to honestly characterize as deviant or pathological. The impulse that not only heals, but also cares enough to institutionalize such healing, to the extent that we take for granted that it goes on every day, strikes me as the more genuine social effect of religion.<br /><br />(Not that I’m intending to argue….)rick allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07612435616018593956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343439372519556254.post-56799020587815656852009-10-09T16:20:32.221-04:002009-10-09T16:20:32.221-04:00All wonderfully said. Thank you for this post.All wonderfully said. Thank you for this post.Katyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02610117543051640146noreply@blogger.com