Faith, Fact & Fantasy

By way of explanation, in the days of yore the first professional/academic degree conferred by a seminary was that of Bachelor of Divinity, or B.D. For those interested in academia, the B.D. was followed by both a Master's degree and a Doctoral degree. Although the nomenclature of the first professional/academic degree was changed to a "Master's" level by the development of the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) in the late sixties and early seventies, along with the development of the advanced professional degree Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) at about the same time, for academicians one still needs to spend significant time in residential university study in order to qualify to teach in a seminary. Such advanced academic study leads most commonly in this country to a Master of Theology (or Master of Sacred Theology) and a Doctor of Philosophy (or Doctor of Sacred Theology). Here is a simple chart: Collegiate degree = B.A., B.S. or similar (a prerequisite for any of the be

A personal note: I suspect I am about to disappoint many of my friends and acquaintances with what follows. To those who find themselves disappointed with my words, or with me, I apologize. I do hope, however, that each person who lands on this page will take the time to read and to ponder my thoughts. Thank you! I lived through the Sixties and Seventies, decades which in some sense give definition to the word, 'protest.' I watched the Civil Rights movement unfold, as well as the anti-war movement. I witnessed the murders at Kent State (and yes, I say, 'murders', intentionally). Memories fade with time and I am certain that representatives of the establishment at that time were not pleased with any of the protests, but I remember particularly rather more extreme angst expressed at the some of the behaviors of the Black Panther Party, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Weather Underground. What differentiated the more extreme groups from the larger c

An online dialogue the other day spurred my thinking so it is time for a post to the blog. I stipulate the following observations as a portion of reality in the world today. There is evil in the world. There is nastiness. Abusive behaviors, manipulative behaviors, and struggles for both power and control are evident. Random acts of violence, to include murder, rape, mayhem, assault, et cetera, exist. Intentional acts of violence, to include shootings, bombings, poisonings, beheadings, lynchings and other activities of terrorists are real. People steal from one another. I do not intend this list to be comprehensive. One can go on and on as the list of nastiness is long and anti-human behaviors seem to be on the increase. Each of us has choice in how best overtly to respond to one of the many provocations cited above. We can respond "eye for eye, tooth for tooth", and in many cases no one will criticize such a choice thinking same to be thoroughly justified. We

I've been reflecting on the Latin word, a verb which typically would be listed in a dictionary as: spiro, spirare, spiravi, spiratus If I remember correctly, because Latin is an inflected language, wherein verbs are conjugated, the various endings of the verb meaning various things, unlike English which uses helping words rather than endings, we have: I breathe, to breathe, I have breath, breath Our English word 'spirit' comes as a cognate from the participle, the fourth word listed above, 'spiratus', which translates 'breath'. The Gospels report that Jesus 'breathed on them' as he said, 'receive the Holy Spirit', i.e., 'receive the holy breath.' It is not just a play on words, although it is that, it is rather the recognition that life is defined by respiration (continuous breathing). When breathing stops, life stops. Receiving the Holy Spirit as we celebrate on Pentecost really means that we breathe God into our lives, and that onl

As one attempts to comprehend the reasons behind the current malaise in major Protestant organizations here in the United States, if not also in other "Western" countries, the question obtains, "why?" Is it possible to look beyond the presenting issues of border crossings and criteria for ordination to point to root issues such as, perhaps, corporate fear and/or the desire to centralize power? Is it possible to dig even deeper, to look for the fundamentals of corporate dysfunction? I postulate that the discomfort which stems from living in an increasingly disordered world may be an important factor in the current dysfunction. Ambiguity is antithetical to the desire for an ordered life yet we live in an increasingly ambiguous world. Instantaneous global communication only serves to heighten the ambiguity. In the early 1970s the Episcopal Church in the dioceses of Maryland and Washington teamed up to offer recent graduates from seminary a two year program of cont

People who pay attention to the role of The Episcopal Church internationally know that TEC is a member of The Anglican Communion, a voluntary association of various provinces of like-minded Christians who either trace their history to the Church of England, or who wish to be in relationship with same. The Provinces historically hold in common a similar liturgy expressing the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Eucharist, acknowledgment of the two principal Creeds, the presence of the "historic Episcopate," and the belief that the Holy Scriptures "contain all things necessary to salvation." Although I am no expert in the inner workings of the Anglican Communion, it is my understanding that membership is determined finally by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. During the second half of the twentieth century and extending to the current time, the relationship of TEC to the AC has been strained due to various actions by TEC which on their face appear to be more