"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." (Galatians 5:1 NKJV)
One of the ways, of course, that the yoke of bondage manifests itself is in the so-called "power structures" of our society. "Power structures" has become something of a catch-phrase among social justice activists, but while I deplore jargonist psycho-babble, and while the term itself is perjorative, I think it might be useful to touch on this issue, if only briefly.
What I find interesting about many (not all) of those who bandy about the phrase in criticism of "institutional" Christianity is their naivete (in the most generous benefit of the doubt one can give) or their duplicity (in a more trenchant denunciation) with regard to the use of that phrase as social criticism. Take for example the issue of the ordination of women to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church. (Note: It is NOT my intent to argue for or against women's ordination in this blog. I'm offering my observations of behavior, not of theology.)
As has been well-documented, the ordination of women to the priesthood came about not through patient and civil dialogue, bathed in much prayer, with a building of consensus and practice over time, but by the illegal (that is, against church canons) ordination of eleven women prior to the 1976 ECUSA General Convention. At the convention, the canons were changed irregularly (not according to the accepted procedures listed in the canons themselves), and voila, ECUSA had women priests.
At the time, promises were made to those in ECUSA who opposed the ordination of women on theological, canonical and ecumenical grounds that though the ECUSA now accepted women priests, no one would be forced to disobey their conscience in this regard. The two opposed sides could agree to disagree. Despite the illegal and irregular way that all this took place, one could almost argue that at least here was an irenic compromise that all could live with. Twenty years later, that promise was broken, when in General Convention 1997 the canons were changed once again and all Episcopalians, whatever their personal convictions, were forced to accept the ordination of women as priests by canonical mandate. Bishops would be forced to ordain women, or forced out of office. Diocesan majorities could force, in time, women bishops on minorities. And bishops could in turn enforce a woman priest on a parish through various coercive means from the manipulation of the search process to reduction to mission status. All of these things have occurred in various places throughout ECUSA.
Then there are the actions of some of these women priests and bishops. Bishop Barbara Harris stated publicly that all the traditionalist Episcopalians who did not accept women's ordination nor approved of gay and lesbian sexual behavior and same-sex unions, could just go--leave the Episcopal Church. Priest Carter Heyward has publicly repudiated and denied the accepted tenets of the Christian faith in her books. Bishop Jane Dixon pulled out all the stops in a personal vendetta (not my judgment but the finding of the court, that is that Bishop Dixon was acting in her own person and not on behalf of the diocese) to get rid of a traditional priest who did not accept women's ordination--and she did so in clear violation of canonical law.
Then there are the various seminaries and parishes in which those who accept the traditional faith of the Church are marginalized and ostracized on the basis of their faith. They are shut out. I have personally witnessed traditional African Christians repudiated publicly for their traditional beliefs. I have heard what can only be construed as racist comments against African Anglican Christians--they are "naive," "ignorant," "unlearned in modern scientific discoveries and theories," and "naively controlled by wealthy conservative U. S. interests"; that is, according to those making these paternalistic, racist comments--simply because they hold to the tradition which opposes the ordination of women.
Don't get me wrong. I know that there are godly women who serve with dignity and grace as ordained priests in ECUSA. But I suppose that when one does a bit of the old fruit-inspecting that Jesus calls us to, one is left to wonder whether those old "power structures" have been dismantled, or merely replaced by other more insidious ones? Insidious because love, diversity, and freedom in Christ are preached but manifestly not practiced.
That is to say, we have not been given New Testament eleutheria by these brokers of so-called "inclusivity," but rather the newspeak "freedom." Which is just another name for oppression.
Posted by Clifton at January 8, 2003 01:21 PM | TrackBack